#trager x oc

[mysticalmallard]

Flower Crowns

🦆: Finally finished I really hope you guys enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed writing it

Pairing: Happy Lowman x OC (Katherine Morrow)

Warnings: A few swear words nothing else I think let me know.

Word count: 4,203

♥︎ MainMasterlist ♥︎

Happy, standing amongst the other bikers of the club, surveyed the event with curiosity. As he looked at the various activities set up for the children, he spotted a flower crown making booth led by a young woman. She was helping the children make their own crowns, while teaching them about flowers in the garden. Her soft and nurturing nature seemed to draw all the children to her, her delicate features and light brown wavy hair adding an air of gentleness to her presence.

Intrigued, Happy couldn't help but take note of her. He had heard of her from the other members of the club, knowing she was the daughter of the club's president and sister to the VP. Her reputation for kindness and gentleness, contrasting with the rough and tough world of the Sons of Anarchy.

Unable to look away, he continued to observe her. He noticed the way she smiled softly at the children as they crafted their flower crowns. Her delicate hands gently guided them to weave the stems. There was a certain purity in her actions, a innocence that seemed untouched by the darkness of the club.

Sensing someone approaching behind him, Happy spoke without looking. Back.

"Shouldn't you be at your booth Bobby? Gemma will castrate you if u bail on another event brother"

"I'm on a break man get off my balls" Bobby replies

Happy chuckled as he turned to face Bobby, a smirk on his face. He crossed his arms over his chest as he replied

"A break, huh? More like avoiding responsibility as usual."

He teased Bobby, knowing all too well that he had a fondness for shrugging off his duties whenever he could.

Bobby rolled his eyes but couldn't help but grin. He knew that Happy was right, he had a reputation for avoiding work whenever possible.

"Hey, I'm entitled to a break every now and then, brother. Can't be on duty 24/7." He retorted.

Happy let out a smirk, enjoying the playful banter with his brother. He shook his head in amusement, knowing all too well that Bobby's excuse was as weak as his excuse to skip out on church.

"Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that, Bro. We both know you'd rather spend your time chasing women than doing your job."

Bobby feigned offense at Happy's comment, his hand going to his chest in mock hurt. He was well known for his love life.

"Hey, man, I'm just a man with...certain needs. Can't blame a guy for having some fun, can you?" He replied, a sly grin on his face.

Happy gave a hearty chuckle, finding amusement in Bobby's feeble attempts to defend himself. He knew all too well that Bobby had a wandering eye and a reputation for being a ladies' man.

"Yeah, just keep telling yourself it's all about your 'needs'. We all know you're just looking for the next woman willing to keep you warm at night."

Bobby let out a mock gasp, pretending to be offended but unable to keep the smile off his face.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I'm a romantic, brother. Not my fault these women just can't handle all of this" gesturing to himself.

Just then Gemma approaches "Hey Bobby Elvis!! There are kids wanting to take photos with you get your butt back to your booth or my boot is going up your ass"

Bobby chuckled and held up his hands defensively.

"Okay, okay, I'm going. Jeez, Gem, I was on my break!" He jokingly protested but knew better than to argue with Gemma. He shot another playful glance at Happy before heading back to his booth.

Happy snickered as he watched Bobby leave, amused by the way Gemma could always crack the whip. He had always admired her no-nonsense attitude and the way she kept the club in check.

"Hey Hap, have you seen the prospect around?? Katherine needs some more flowers from the van, but she can't leave the booth, and I ain't carrying them boxes in this heat"

Happy raised an eyebrow at the mention of Katherine's name. He had yet to have the chance to meet her properly.

"No, I ain't seen him for a while Gem"

"Clay better not have sent Half Sack off somewhere I need him later to tidy up.... You wouldn't mind getting them, would you?"

Happy shrugged and nodded. He wasn't about to decline a chance to get closer to the source of his curiosity.

"No problem, I can grab 'em for you. Where's the van parked?"

"Great, it's just round the back, its the only one that says florist on it you cant miss it" Gemma says, handing him the keys. "And don't drop any of them. Katherine wants them all looking perfect for the kids" she adds heading back in the direction of her chilli booth.

Happy took the keys from Gemma with a sharp nod, knowing better than to upset Gemma.

"No worries, Gem. I'll handle 'em with care."

He reassured her as he headed towards the back to find the van.

As Happy approached the van, his eyes scanned the area, taking note of any potential threats. The club's security was always on high alert, especially during events like these. Satisfied that there was nothing out of the ordinary, he unlocked the van and climbed inside.

He rummaged through the back, looking for the boxes of flowers that Gemma had mentioned. Finally, he spotted them, carefully stacked among various gardening supplies. He hoisted the boxes with ease, their weight insignificant to his muscular frame.

With the boxes in his arms, he closed the van door and started making his way back towards the community centre. As he walked, he couldn't help but think about the woman he was about to meet. When he had heard about Katherine from Gemma and the others, she was always described as kind and soft-hearted. It was refreshing to hear about someone untouched by the club's violent nature and he was curious to what she was like.

As he turned the corner, he caught his first glimpse of her working at the flower crown booth, her delicate features focused on the task at hand. His steps quickened as he approached her.

His heavy steps caught Katherine's attention, and she turned breaking out in a greatful smile, ready to thank whoever her mother managed to rope into helping.

When she locked eyes with Happy he got distracted. So distracted he stopped looking where he was stepping and didn't see the curb...

"MOTHERFUCKER!!!" Happy shouted as he lost his footing falling forward landing on the boxes crushing all the flowers stacked neatly inside. Definitely not the ideal first impression he wanted to make.

Katherine gasped as she watched Happy stumble and crash into the boxes of flowers, the colorful petals scattering everywhere like a colorful explosion. She quickly rushed over to him, concern etched on her face.

"Oh my goodness, are you okay?!"

She knelt down beside him, worry in her eyes as she looked over his condition. Her attention briefly shifted to the ruined boxes and the crushed flowers, but her main priority was making sure he was alright.

Happy grunted, feeling a mix of embarrassment and frustration as he sat up, nursing a slight bruise from the fall. He looked at the mess of flowers around him, a hint of guilt on his face.

"Ah, shit..." he muttered. "Gemma's gonna kill me for this."

The surrounding bikers couldn't help but burst out laughing at the scene. Seeing big, tough Happy fumble like that was not something they saw every day. Tig, Chibs, Juice, and Opie approached, all wearing grins on their faces.

"Dude, that was graceful." Tig snickered, teasing Happy like any good friend would.

Chibs chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "Yeah, really graceful, mate. Smooth as silk."

Juice just shrugged, trying to suppress his own laughter while Opie smirked, clearly enjoying the moment.

Happy shot daggers at his brothers, clearly not amused by their teasing. He pushed himself up, dusted off his jeans, and tried to salvage what little dignity he had left.

He looked back at Katherine, who was still looking at him with a mix of concern and amusement in her eyes. He could tell that she wasn't judging him, but still, he felt embarrassed at his clumsy entrance.

"Uh shit, sorry about that," he muttered vaguely gesturing to the boxes.

"it's okay, it was just an accident. I'm sure some are still salvageable, and if not, I can just turn them into potpourri" Katherine replies kindly

Her soft voice and gentle smile helped to ease his embarrassment a bit. He shot another glare at his club mates, who were still chuckling in the background, before turning back to her.

"Yeah, sorry about making such a mess... I, uh..." he trailed off, not sure what else to say.

"Hey miss, can you help me? I can't get this daisy to stick on." One of the little girls from the booth called over.

"Sure sweetheart i'll be there in a minute ive just gotta tidy something up first" Katherine called back starting to collect the scattered flowers into one of the less damaged box.

Happy watched as the little girl asked for help, and seeing Katherine starting to gather the scattered flowers into one of the less damaged boxes.

He stepped forward, feeling the need to help after causing such a mess. Happy moved with a surprising gentleness as he collected the delicate petals.

The others also joined in, their rough exterior contradicting their careful handling of the flowers. Opie helped separate the still-intact plants from the damaged ones, while Tig and Chibs gathered the more salvageable blossoms.

Soon, the mess was cleared, and the club members stood around the now semi-organized boxes of flowers, looking a bit out of their element in the flower-filled environment.

Katherine's giggle caught Happys attention he noticed it was directed at him.

"What are you laughing at girl?" He gruffly asked.

"Sorry its just...erm..here let me just..." She reaches over and plucks a bright yellow daisy which somehow latched onto one of his patches.

Happy froze, his rough exterior cracking for a moment as he watched Katherine reach over and pluck the daisy from his patch. He hadn't even realized it had landed there, blending almost perfectly with his dark clothing.

"Uh, thanks," he mumbled, feeling a bit embarrassed at the unexpected move. "I'm not exactly the flower type, you know."

"Well I better head back to my booth before the kids start a revolt." Katherine says starting to reach for some of the boxes but the guys step in picking them up first Happy a little quicker than the others.

"Aye lead the way love well offer back up if the little shits decide to act up" Chibs heartily stated.

Katherine smiled gratefully as the Sons picked up the boxes, led by Happy. They followed her back to the flower crown booth, their presence overshadowing the delicate and peaceful atmosphere.

When they arrived, the children looked up in awe at the intimidating bikers carrying colorful boxes of flowers. Some looked a bit intimidated, but others seemed excited to have the tough bikers join the activity.

One little girl hands Opie her crown "can u fix this for me please? It keeps falling apart"

"Erm I don't know but I can try..."

"Thankyou" the girl answers cheerily

Eventually all the members start helping making the crowns some enjoying it not that they would ever admit it though

Happy chuckled as he observed the club members struggling with the flower crowns. It was a sight to see them, these tough bikers usually found in a bar or boxing ring, now carefully weaving daisies and baby's breath into delicate works of art. Opie in particular looked like he was enjoying himself way too much, while Chibs kept grumbling about "girly crap".

None of them noticed some of the parent approaching worriedly seeing their little kids surrounded by the bikers. They were fine with them being around but they didn't like the idea of them being around their kids.

As the parents started approaching, concern etched on their faces, Happy caught sight of them. He knew what they were thinking, that he and the other bikers were a threat to the little ones. Even though they were very wrong, all of them would jump in front of bullets for any kid, but he understood the club has brought alot of trouble to Charming.

The atmosphere changed as the parents started to pull their kids away. Happy felt a pang of frustration, knowing that their reputation was working against them. He looked over at Katherine, noticing her crestfallen expression as the booth once filled with laughter and joy was now deserted.

The other members also noticed the parents' reaction, their faces falling as the children were being taken away. They all knew how they appeared to outsiders, with their tattoos, rugged appearance, and overall intimidating aura. It stung a bit, but they were used to it.

Chibs approached Katherine, trying to offer some solace.

"Hey, don't worry about it, sweetheart. They're just scared of what they don't understand."

"Yeah, believe me, I know being the daughter to the scary biker gang president. I'm used to it, dont worry," she replies, trying to sound indifferent, but everyone at the table hears the sadness hidden in her words.

The guys exchanged glances, understanding the underlying pain in her voice. They knew all too well that their lifestyle had consequences, and in this case, it was affecting the daughter of their president.

Happy clenched his jaw, feeling a mix of frustration and guilt. He looked at Katherine, her dejected expression tugging at his heart.

After a long pause Katherine clears her thoat and speaks up "...would you guys mind helping me tidy up may as well start packing up now"

The guys started to slowly pack away the booth she spent days preparing and planning for the kids

"Hey er what's this flower called again?" Juice asked picking up the closest flower to him trying to distract her

Katherine looked up from packing away some supplies and observed Juice holding the flower. She chuckled, appreciative of his attempt to distract her.

"That's a snapdragon," she replied with a small smile. "It's known for its unique shape that resembles a dragon's head. You see, the flower opens and closes its mouth as it dries." she replies a spark of joy returning to her eyes talking about her favourite subject.

"Really?..huh cool. Does it have a meaning like the different roses do?" Juice asked inspecting the plant closer.

Katherine nodded, appreciating his interest. "Yes, it does. Snapdragons represent grace, strength, and resilience. They are often used to signify hidden feelings and can be given to someone as a way of saying "I'll try to understand your unspoken thoughts and desires."

"Really this wee flower says all that?" Chibbs adds catching onto Juice's idea.

Katherine giggles, nodding her head in affirmation "Yes, it does. Each flower has its own language, so to speak, like a secret code that florists use to convey emotions and messages. Snapdragons, with their unique shape and symbolic meaning, are one of my personal favourites."

Happy listened in, finding himself actually interested in the conversation. He knew about the language of flowers to some extent, but listening to Katherine talk about it with such passion and knowledge was captivating. He found himself admiring her even more, impressed by her unexpected depth.

The Sons finished packing away the last of the booth's items, the once vibrant display now packed into neat boxes. Though he wasn't one for sentimentality, Happy couldn't help but feel a bit sad that all her work had been for nothing. He caught Katherine looking at the now empty space, holding onto one of the crowns a kid left behind, her eyes filled with a mixture of resignation and disappointment.

He stepped closer to Katherine, feeling the need to say something, anything to lift her spirits.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I am sure those kids had fun while it lasted." He tried to sound casual, but his gruff voice betrayed a hint of concern for her well-being. His eyes caught sight of the flower crown she held, and he added "At least got that as a memento, right?"

"Yeah..I guess but they were made to be worn...and this one got left"

Happy nodded slowly, understanding her point. The flower crowns were supposed to be worn with joy, not left behind like discarded toys.

He paused, thinking for a moment, then an idea came to him. With a sly grin, he extended his hand out to her.

"Here, give it to me."

Katherine eyed him with curiosity but handed over the flower crown, wondering what he was planning. She watched as he took it in his hands, his rough fingers gently holding the delicate petals. He placed the crown on his head, a comical sight that contradicted his intimidating appearance.

"flowers suit you" she giggled

"Hey no fair I want one I thought they were just for the kids" Tig whines. "Here give it to me it will suit me better it's wasted on you" Tig goes to reach for the crown.

Happy swats Tig's hand away, a smirk on his face.

"Back off, man. I look good in it."

He retorted, adjusting the flower crown on his head, enjoying the ridiculousness of the situation. The other members snickered at the sight.

Clay and Gemma approach, only to find Happy and Tig locked in a comical struggle over a flower crown. Their faces were caught somewhere between disbelief, amusement, and annoyance.

The other members tried to hold back their laughter, but the sight of their tough as nails friends bickering over a flower crown was too much. A chorus of snickers and chuckles echoed around them.

"Hey don't break it...Tiggy I can make your own one what ever colors you want there is no need to fight over it" Kathrine says in-between laughter

Happy and Tig were broken out of their bickering by Katherine's offer. They both turned to her sheepishly, embarrassed by their childish behaviour. Tig scratched the back of his neck, trying to act nonchalant.

"Uh yeah, okay fine." He grumbled, secretly relieved to get his own flower crown.

"Oh I want one too with lots of yellow" juice chimes in.

"Well hell I'll have one" Chibbs adds "you got any blue and white ones left??" He asks opening the boxes looking for the flowers he wants.

"You want them now?" Kathrine asks thinking they weren't being serious

"Well yeah...wouldn't want these flowers to go to waste" Tig says nonchalantly

Katherine laughs at the unexpected turnaround, still wrapping her head around the fact that tough bikers were now requesting flower crowns like giddy schoolchildren.

"Alright, alright, I'll make all of you a flower crown," she agrees, unable to suppress her amusement.

Happy stands there, flower crown still perched on his head, a mixture of embarrassment and amusement on his face. The other club members, meanwhile, eagerly wait for their crowns to be made.

They all sat in the grass watching her weave the flowers and listing off all their meanings Opie left and returned with his kids and Donna, who looked on with a mix of curiosity and surprise at the scene unfolding. Opie, ever the peacemaker, felt that this was an opportunity to show Donna and the kids a different side of the club.

Katherine continued weaving the flower crowns, listening to the bikers' requests for different colors and flowers.

Soon they all wore crowns except her even her Dad took one after hearing about her booth being deserted.

Happy was sat on the edge of the group, awkwardly attempting to weave the flowers together. His large fingers were far from delicate, and the petals kept slipping from his grasp. He muttered curses under his breath as his attempts looked more like a tangled mess rather than a flower crown he wanted to make for her as she was kind enough to make ones for all of them but he could give her this it looked like shit compared to her ones.

The other members glanced over at him from time to time, enjoying the sight of happy struggling with the flower crown. they whispered and chuckled amongst themselves at the sight of their friend, known for being rough around the edges, attempting to make something so fragile.

Happy grumbled at the snickers and comments coming from the other members, his face growing slightly red with embarrassment. He knew he looked silly, trying to make a flower crown when his hands were better suited to wielding a wrench or a gun. Still, he persisted, determined to create something somewhat presentable for her.

Though he was trying his best the result was somewhat pathetic the flowers were clumsily woven together, the petals sticking out in strange directions. He looked at the other members' crowns, neatly woven and vibrant, then down at his messy attempt. He knew it was nothing compared to her artistry, but it was the best he could do given his limited skills.

Finally, he finished tying the messy crown together. It looked a bit lopsided and rough around the edges, but he was oddly proud of himself. As he looked up at the others, he braced himself for the playful banter and mockery that was sure to come.

Happy muttered to himself, trying to rationalize his actions. he told himself he was only doing this to make up for ruining her flower booth, nothing more. He clenched the flower crown in his hands, feeling foolish and out of place surrounded by colorful petals and laughter.

He looked over at her, seeing her chatting and laughing with the other club members as she continued making the flower crowns. The sight stirred something in him he couldn't quite understand. he couldn't deny the pang of guilt he felt seeing her joyous expression, knowing that he played a part in ruining her day.

Well it's now or never he wasn't sure how to go about giving her his attempt at a flower crown, he's never given none before so isn't sure what to do so decides to just reach over from behind her and place it on her head.

Happy swallowed, taking a deep breath as he mustered up his courage. He reached out from behind, gently placing the flower crown on her head. He held his breath, waiting anxiously for her reaction, hoping she wouldn't laugh at his pathetic attempt.

She turned her head, surprised to feel the weight of the flowers being placed on her head. She looked back at him with a mixture of surprise and amusement, a soft smile on her lips. She could tell he was feeling a bit embarrassed, and reached up to adjust the flower crown, feeling the soft petals against her finger tips.

Happy watched her touch the flower crown he made, noticing the way she gently adjusted the messy petals into place. He scratched the back of his neck nervously, waiting for her to say something, anything. But all she did was smile at him, her eyes sparkling with an emotion he couldn't quite place.

The other Sons chuckled at the scene in front of them, unable to resist teasing Happy about his sudden burst of chivalry. Tig whistled approvingly, while Opie and Chibbs exchanged knowing glances.

Happy shot a glare at his fellow Sons, silently warning them not to say anything. He knew they were itching to tease him about his flower crown gift, but he wasn't in the mood for their jokes. He focused his attention back on her, watching her admiring the flower crown he made, hoping she didn't find it too pathetic.

She caught him watching her, and turned to face him fully. Her eyes met his, and she smiled, a genuine smile that made her eyes sparkle and dimple her cheeks. She looked down at the flower crown, feeling the messy petals against her skin, then looked back up at him, her eyes softened, and said softly

"Thank you, its beautiful." Sensing his awkwardness about it she decided to leave it at that and turned back joining in on the conversation again.

Happy's heart skipped a beat at her words. He hadn't expected such a genuine thank you, especially since the flower crown he made looked far from perfect. He nodded stiffly, his usual gruff demeanor replaced by a sense of vulnerability.

He sat back down next to Chibs, trying to hide his relief and elation over her kind words. The other Sons couldn't hide their amusement, but for once they refrained from their usual jokes and instead gave him approving grins.

The evening carried on, and Happy found himself stealing glances at her from time to time, seeing her interacting with the other club members, her smiles and laughter lighting up the gathering. He felt an unfamiliar pang in his chest, a mix of pride and protectiveness seeing her fitting in with them, even if she was surrounded by rough-around- the-edge bikers.

If you want to read more of my OC Katherine and her time with the club click here

Tags: @darqchilddaydreamz @ravennaortiz

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[necrominn]

i don't remember ever posting these here

[samcrosfaith]

A LITTLE LOST 𝟬𝟮| 𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙚𝙬𝙨

Happy Lowman x fem!oc

You can find the introduction chapter and chapter one here, just click on it. You can also find them, and all the future chapters, in my masterlist {pinned post!}

Let me know if you wanna be tagged in future chapters!

a/n; I promise Happy will finally appear in the next chapter. I just had to get this story started in a somewhat logical way. I hope you enjoy! 🤎

word count; 2900

IT WAS TWO DAYS LATER, two days after Juice and Jax made a horrifying discovery, when four speechless men stood across the street from the burger restaurant, shock and fascination etched into their faces.

"Shit man, that's creepyᅳ and it takes a lot to freak me out", Tig spoke first, his hands prepped on his hips, eyes covered by dark sunglasses. "Death seems prettier than everᅳI'd definitely tap that."

"What the hell, man?" Jax' face twisted in disgust, he snapped his head to the side to glare at Tig. "It's still Hap's Old Lady, have some respect."

"Did he ever have respect?" Juice asked from the left, a sigh leaving his lips. But for a brief moment the slightest grin crossed his features. "I don't think he knows the word respect when there's someone with two legs and a hole he could use."

"Hey, we don't talk about women like that." Tig smacked the back of Juice' head, shaking his head as if he hadn't started it. "Have some respect."

"Boys, enough", Chibs' thick Scottish accent interrupted the little teasing game, earning a grateful look from Jax as his serious gaze landed on the three men. "What d' we do now? Go inside and talk t' her? Juicy? Did ye' check her records?"

"I did", the Puerto Rican nodded, not exactly enthusiastically as he tilted his head to the side. "No one by the name of Josephine Lowman works hereᅳ but a Josephine O'Connell."

"That's her maiden name", Jax thought aloud, rubbing a hand down his face as he let out a deep sigh. "What the hell is this? She was declared dead. Hell, Happy saw her, checked for himself because he didn't believe the doctors."

"Since she's officially declared dead, tha' explains why she uses her maiden name", Chibs also thought out loud, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared thoughtfully through the large window into the burger restaurant, still fascinated by watching someone who was actually dead. "We need t' find out how that's possible, what really happened t' Josy."

"How? We can't just ask her", Juice stated matter-of-factly, uncertainty flashing in his brown eyes. All he wanted was to talk to Josy, to hug his very much alive best friend, to tell her how glad he was that she was still here. "Besides, I can't believe she would ever do this to Happy; letting him suffer and allᅳ that's not like her at all."

"Well, she didn't recognize me, which means she must've suffered some kind of memory loss", which was the only logical explanation in Jax' eyes.

"Or she just faked her death", Tig said dryly as he took off his sunglasses, shrugging his shoulders. "We're going in there now and talk to her."

"Tig!" Jax called after the man, but the man with the black curls was too determined and already halfway across the street, which gave the others no choice and practically forced them to follow him, which all three did with a shake of their heads.

The bell above the door rang as the four bikers entered the restaurant and attracted different glances. Glances that they had long been used to. They looked around carefully until Josy finally appeared, with a sweet smile on her lips that everyone could still remember.

"I know why Hap fell in love with her", said Chibs, without sounding creepy in any way. It was no secret how beautiful Josy was.

"Yeah, she really was a jackpot", Juice agreed wistfully, clearing his throat as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Or still is..apparently."

It was so strange to see the young woman alive, and yet it was a huge relief, a shock in a good way.

As the four men stood in the middle of the restaurant, still considering how exactly they should address Josy, she was already heading towards the small group, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Can I help you?", she asked, polite as always. "If you're looking for a table, I can offer you one over there", she added, spinning around to point to the free table.

"You can help us, darlin'", Jax began, trying his best to hide his fascination as he spoke to the redhead. "Can you give us five minutes of your time? We have a few questions."

"Uh..Iᅳ I'm working right now." The redhead clutched the menu card to her chest, swallowing nervously. Why did four bikers want to talk to her? "Maybe our manager can help?"

"No, we need t' talk to ye', lass." Chibs stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on Josy's shoulder, but removed it quickly when the young woman tensed up. "Sorry, sweetheart", he apologized sincerely. "We just have t' figure somethin' out, ye' know? It won't take more than five minutes."

"We really don't want to cause any trouble, we just want to talk." Juice sent a warm smile in Josy's direction, also stepping a little closer. "Would you give us a moment?"

Somehow the redhead managed to relax at the younger man's smile but she didn't know why. But what she did know was that she should be much more intimidated, much more worried, about the fact that four men from a biker club wanted to talk to her.

Were they old clients from her dad? Maybe they had hired him as lawyer and her father managed to piss them off somehowᅳ which wouldn't be the first time Arthur had angered someone to the point they were seeking for some kind of revenge.

But if there was one thing Josy wasn't, it was judgmental. Her sweet nature, her kindness, would probably, hopefully, always stay a part of her.

"Okay", she said finally, exhaling loudly. Apparently it really did seem important and her curiosity was piqued. "Five minutes, that's all I can do."

"Thanks, lass", Chibs nodded sincerely, as did the other three men. "Maybe we should sit down for tha', I think tha' would be better for all of us."

As if everything wasn't confusing enough already, an uneasy feeling was now brewing in the pit of her stomachᅳ a strange feeling that she couldn't quite shake off.

Josy, her beautiful freckle-covered face framed by her ginger strands, nodded slightly before leading the small group to the free table in a quiet corner and waited until everyone had slid into the booth to take a seat.

Pulling a chair from another table, she placed it in front of the table and slowly plopped down onto it, asking her colleague, who had just scurried past with a slightly confused look, to take over her tasks for a moment.

"Are you okay?", asked the brunette, her voice lowered as she placed a protective hand on Josy's shoulder.

"She's fine, doll", Tig winked with his typical smirk while his eyes checked out the beautiful woman. "I'd feel even better if you sat down too."

"Tig", Jax warned, glaring at the man once again. "Not now."

"Creep", the brunette scoffed; in contrast to Josy, she had a quick tongue.

Clearly amused, Tig raised his hands in the air. "I'm sorry, doll, sometimes I can't keep my mouth shut when I see a pretty face."

"Oh my God, here we go", Juice muttered under his breath, only able to shake his head at Tig's boldness.

"That's enough", Chibs grumbled, a certain vibration in his voice as he saw how uncomfortable and uncertain Josy's expression suddenly seemed. "I'm sorry, lass. My friend here can't control himself sometimes."

"It's okay", the redhead murmured before giving her colleague and friend a reassuring look. "I'm okay, thanks Summer."

"Good." The brunette shot the men a warning look, each and every one of themᅳ although she sheepishly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear at the Puerto Rican, who gave her an apologetic smile before her features turned hard again and she was pointing a scolding finger at them. "Keep your hands to yourself, all of you!"

Josy watched her friend with a small smile, grateful for her boldness, before she looked back at the men. "What could four bikers want from me? How about one of you finally gives me an explanation?"

"Nothing would please me more, darlin'," Jax winked as he shot her his signature smile, his broad shoulders sinking against the orange cushion of the seat. "Your name is Josephine, right?"

"You know my name?" Swallowing the forming lump in her throat, Josy shifted nervously in her seat. "How? I don't know any of you."

"Yes, yes ye' do, lass", Chibs explained with a sigh, his tone calm and reserved. Freaking her out even more wasn't what he wanted. "We know how absurd that sounds, and we'll understand if ye' throw us out in a minute, but give us a chance t' explain everythin', aye?"

"This is getting really weird, I hope you know that", the young woman uttered as she crossed her arms. "What do you want from me?"

"You died a little over one and a half year ago. At least that's what we thought." Tig dropped the bomb before they could make the woman any more nervous, empathy in his tone as he spoke. "And you were married to one of our brothersᅳ that's why we're here."

"I know this sounds crazy", Jax said immediately, his hands resting on the surface of the white table as a frown took over his face. "But it's the truth. At least if you're Josephine O'Connell, born in Roseville on October 10th, 1984. Is that right?"

Josy's lips opened and closed so many times that she would probably get a jaw cramp later, but not once did she utter a word. Instead, an almost hysterical-sounding chuckle slipped past her lips, a sea of emotion pooling in her eyes.

"And you are the mother of a one-year-old girl", Juice explained calmly, sympathy in both his voice and his eyes as he could see the deep shock cross Josy's face. "Well, she's one and a half now, looks just like you. Same red hair and all", he added with a beaming smile. "Her name's Esmee."

"Stop..please..", Josy whispered, sheer horror in her eyes as she listened to the words they were saying. "This has to be a bad joke. A sick, fucked up joke."

Suddenly her chest felt tight, as if someone was squeezing it. Her heart was beating so hard against her ribcage that she could feel it in her throat while the blood rushed through her veins faster than ever before, sending a feeling of dizziness to her head.

"We wish it was just a bad joke, believe me." Jax leaned over the table a little as he was the one sitting closest to Josy. The redhead looked as if she was about to pass out, so Jax put a strong hand against her arm just in case. "Are you okay? Is there anything we can do?"

Her head snapped up, astonished and partly speechless, she stared at the blonde man. "You wanna know if I'm okay?"

The hysterical laughter that sounded from the back of her throat sent a chill down the guys' spines. "You didn't seriously just ask me that, did you?"

"Josy", Juice began, trying to grab Josy's hand from the other side of the table as the redhead's breath faltered and she slowly began to hyperventilate. But the girl pulled her hand back in fright, a film of tears now covering her eyes, shattering Juice' heart. "You have to believe us, please. We may do a lot of questionable things, but joking about things like thatᅳ that's not our style."

"Then why the hell am I here if I should be dead, huh?!", she choked out, her splayed fingers pressed against her chest as she tried to take deep breaths. "I would know if I was married and had a child! What kind of mother would forget about her own child?"

"Normally people don't, that's right", Jax noted with a sigh, feeling bad for the woman who seemed absolutely frightened and desperate. "You had an accident when you were pregnantᅳ you died, the baby, Esmee, was saved."

"Someone must've played us really good, after all you're sitting in front of us, no idea who we are", Tig continued as he leaned forward a little, his arms crossed on the table as his piercing blue eyes searched for Josy's. "And your husband is losing it the more time passes without you by his side."

"I can'tᅳ I can't believe this." The first tears rolled down her pale cheeks, which she quickly wiped away with her palms before shaking her head frantically and shooting up from her seat. Smoothing her apron, she exhaled shakily. "I had an accident, yes. And yes, I've been suffering from anterograde amnesia since it happened", she explained, the words practically bubbling out of her. "But this..", another hysterical laugh fell over her lips. "This is absolutely crazy."

"Who told ye' all of tha', lass? Who was there after you woke up?", Chibs asked urgently as he also stood up without getting too close to the redhead. She was already upset and frightened enough, almost seeming like a little deer without a mother. "Can ye' at least remember what happened after the accident?"

"My family, who else?" All of this was too much for her, her brain no longer able to process all the information that she didn't even know if it was true. "I'm sorry, Iᅳ I can't do this."

"Josy, please!" Jax was the first to grab Josy's arm, causing the young woman to defend herself and yank her arm out of his grasp before stumbling two steps backwards, which caught the attention of the other employees and guests.

"Don't touch me", the redhead snarled, which wasn't normally her style. But at the moment she was so overwhelmed that all she wanted to do was to run away. "Leave me alone, all of you. I don't know what kind of sick game this is, but play it with someone else!"

"You heard her", the brunette from before intervened after she had immediately rushed over to her clearly upset friend, her gaze stern and warning. "You better leave now before I get the managerᅳ or before I call the police."

"Alright." Jax threw his hands in the air with a sigh while Chibs scribbled something down on a napkin. "Come on guys, let's go."

There was no point in staying here. In hindsight, someone would actually call the cops and they didn't need that at the moment. After fourteen months inside, a police station was the last place they wanted to see right now. Maybe they would try again in a few days, outside the restaurant.

"It was nice to see you again though", Jax added sincerely, wistfulness in his blue eyes before he shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded the guys over.

"If ye' change yer' mind", Chibs shoved the napkin into the small pocket on Josy's apron, an almost fatherly smile grazing his lips. "That's the address of our clubhouseᅳ ye' can visit us there anytime."

Josy's body stiffened, the muscles under her skin slowly began to burn from all the tension. Still, she didn't miss how calm she became when the man with the scars on his face shot her that smile. It felt familiar, but she couldn't remember ever having seen the man before.

"We'd love to hear from you." Juice was also back on his feet by now, suppressing the urge to hug his best friend with all his might. Still, he gently bumped her shoulder with his as he walked past her, smiling at her. "It's a relief to know that you're alive."

Tig was the last to walk past the women, giving Josy a warm smile before winking at the brunette, Summer. "You can join her if your friend decides to come by."

"Jesus, you're not giving up, huh?" Slightly annoyed, the brunette rolled her eyes, comfortingly rubbing her friend's arm as she watched the four men reluctantly leave the restaurant. "What a bunch of freaks."

The guests forgot about the incident quicker than expected and went back to their food while business continued as normal. Summer, on the other hand, led Josy into one of the back rooms so her friend could have a quiet moment.

"Do you need something?", asked Summer, concern evident in her tone as Josy slowly sank into a chair. "Want me to call Debbie?"

"No, please don't", Josy answered quickly, not in the mood to have to explain all of this to her sister right now. "I'm okay, Summer. You can go back to work."

The brunette raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, thank you", Josy assured with a weak smile and a nod, watching her colleague leave the room with a shrug and a sigh.

Only then did Josy reach for the napkin in her apron and stare thoughtfully at the address. Maybe she should look into it. If there was any chance that there was any truth behind what the men had said, then she wanted to know. Above all, she wanted to know why her father and sister, who supposedly only wanted the best for her, had lied to her.

Maybe, just maybe, she would take a little trip to Charming this weekend.

[garbinge]

Graduation Day

Jax Teller & OC Joanne ‘Jo’ Teller / Opie Winston x OC Joanne Teller

Fic also includes: Gemma Teller, Clay Morrow, Bobby Munson, and Tig Trager

Summary: The eldest Teller sibling, Joanne Teller, graduates from college with some of the SOA boys and Teller-Morrow family in the audience to cheer her on.

Warnings: Light angst, but fluffy. All my fics are 18+ regardless of content.

Word Count: 2.8k words

A/N: A little slice of life fic for my girl Jo. A little prequel to Charming Life in a way but will still use that taglist!

Charming Life Taglist: @drabbles-mc @livingdeadblondequeen @justreblogginfics​

Jo knocked on Jax’s bedroom door, a small tote bag in her hand.

“Can I bother you?” Her voice wasn’t loud but neither a whisper either.

“Yea, come in.” Jax called out, clearly not eager to greet his older sister at his door. He clocked the bag in her hand immediately as she entered. “I thought I was supposed to be getting you something for graduation.” His smile was one that could earn him a punch to the face easily, and definitely has in the past.

Jo threw the tote onto his bed before leaning against his desk. “It’s just some things to keep you occupied during the ceremony tomorrow.”

Jax leaned over and grabbed the bag and looked through it. Mad libs, activity books, cards. His eyes looked up at Joanne. “I know I’m younger than you, but I’m not 5.”

Jo laughed before pushing off the desk she was leaning on and moved back towards the door. “Trust me, you’ll thank me tomorrow.” She went to close the door before peaking back in. “And I’m still expecting a graduation gift.”

_____________

Jax rolled over, his hand searching for something on his nightstand to tell him the time. 9:01.

“Fuuuuck.” He groaned before jumping out of bed and opening his bedroom door. His voice was calling out quickly. “Mom!” Silence. No one was home. He could have assumed that. The graduation started at 9, Gemma and Clay had probably left at 8, easily.

“Fuck.” Jax cursed again, thinking through what he was going to do. His bike was at Teller-Morrow, he was in the process of adjusting the suspension. Gemma and Clay probably took the escalade which left no way for him to get there.

His hands were quick to dial Opie, praying that he’d pick up this early. They were freshly 21 after all, so waking up before 1 in the afternoon was a rarity. But even though Jax might have started off his morning unlucky, things started to turn.

“Yea?” Opie answered, his voice groggy, probably just waking up.

“You wanna see Jo graduate?” Jax was multi-tasking as he spoke to Opie, moving around his room, picking up clothes from the ground looking for something presentable to wear to the graduation.

“What?” Opie perked up at that sentence, he might have been with Donna, loved her even, but a part of him would always be connected to Joanne Teller.

“I overslept, everyone’s gone, I got no ride and need to be at the Stockton Arena within the hour.” Jax threw his phone on the bed on speaker as he threw a flannel on.

“Alright, I’ll be at your place in 10.” Opie was doing the same thing as Jax now, scrambling to get ready.

“Aim for 5.” Jax said before hanging up and finishing getting ready. Throwing on cologne to cover whatever non-showered, stale cigarette smell he was giving off and then grabbing the black leather box that held the gift he had gotten his sister.

_______

Gemma looked over at the 5 empty seats to her right and then down at her watch. 9:35.

“They couldn’t be on time just this once.” She said under her breath to Clay.

“First, you drag me to this thing and now I gotta hear the complaints too.” Clay said, looking through the program booklet to occupy himself.

Gemma’s eyes rolled and before she could respond back to him, Bobby and Tig were making their way over to them, asking people to let them squeeze through as politely as possible for the two bikers.

“Hi, ‘scuse me, sorry, I love ya, congrats, ‘scuse me.” Tig said as he climbed over the last few people until he reached Clay who was at the end of the row.

“You’re late.” Clay gritted his teeth and spoke under his breath.

“Yea, Tig was indisposed.” Bobby spoke from behind Tig.

Gemma looked up and gave them both dirty looks before moving her legs over so they could take the seats next to them.

“She’s the one, Gem, tall, I’m talkin’ 5’11, easy, biiiiiiig rack.” Tig motioned to his chest to imitate breasts.

It earned a few dirty looks from the surrounding crowd who was trying to pay attention to the graduation.

“Just sit down.” Gemma waved them past.  Bobby plopped down next to Gemma and then Tig next to him.

“Did we miss it?” Tig asked, standing back up now looking at the group of graduates below him looking for Joanne. “Where is she? She decorate her cap with anything?” He pointed to his head as he looked through the rows for Joanne.

“Yea, she’s wearing red.” Clay sarcastically spoke.

Tig looked out and saw the sea full of graduates all in red caps and gowns and nodded before sitting down.

“You hear from Jax?” Bobby asked when he realized there were still empty seats.

“Yea, this morning when he was snoring.” Gemma said, staring at the Jumbotron waiting to see if her daughter popped up on the screen. Bobby snorted at Gemma’s answer.

“Who makes a graduation this early anyways.” Clay leaned over to Gemma.

Just as she was about to speak, Jax and Opie were right at the end of the row.

Opie was there, hair back in a bun, sporting a simple t-shirt and jeans, one hand had a graduation teddy bear in it and the other had a big bouquet of flowers.

Gemma was shocked not only to see Opie, but to see what he brought with him. Opie must have clocked it and spoke up. “Didn’t want to show up uninvited and empty handed, got some things at the stands outside.”

Gemma smiled, she was one of the few that could see Opie’s love for Jo over the years. “You can take Unser’s saved seat, don’t think the Chief woke up in time either.” Gemma moved her stare over to Jax. His hands moved up in innocence and his smile was growing.

“I need my beauty rest, what can I say.”

“Yea, save some for the rest of us you pretty motherfucker.” Tig smirked and greeted Jax as he made his way to the last two empty seats in the row.

Clay stared up at Opie, his brows furrowing, a little angry. The small bouquet of 10 flowers sat in his lap, his eyes moved to Opie’s bouquet, which held easily double the amount of flowers. Opie simply nodded and moved past him, making his way to the very last seat in the row.

“Did we miss it?” Jax asked leaning over to talk to his mom.

“No, apparently these things last hours. Not enough that they charge thousands in tuition but now they have to bore us to death for 4 hours.” She mumbled to her son who was taking out the handful of items Jo gifted him last night.

Bobby looked over at him with his face frowning in confusion until he realized what he was doing. He leaned over to whisper to Gemma. “Enjoy it while you can, not like your other kid is going to college.” He teased.

“You’re going outside the lines.” Tig leaned over and whispered to Jax.

“You’re crossing one.” Jax snapped backwards and pushed Tig away.

“Play nice children.” Bobby called down to them.

Time passed slowly, Clay managed to fall asleep, sunglasses on so no one really noticed. Gemma had contemplated moving to another seat in the arena while the other boys went back and forth but she powered through it.

“Bachelor of Arts? That’s Jo right? Business?” Jax leaned over and called out to Gemma.

“Yea, this is her.” Gemma stood up now, eager to see her daughter. There weren’t many moments in Jo’s life that she could count on her mom, she leaned more on her father and when he passed that void was never filled. Jax might have been the closest person Jo had from her family in her life but nothing could replace JT. But in this moment, Gemma was actually excited, and maybe one would even say proud. Jo knew it was probably more for Gemma than her but she’d accept it.

“Joanne Teller.” The announcer said over the microphone.

The whole row of them stood up and cheered.

Jax was practically frat boy howling, his voice was so loud that it would be a shock if half the arena didn’t hear him. Opie stood the most relaxed out of all of them, clapping but keeping his voice way lower than the rest of the crew.

Clay had clapped and whistled and Bobby matched him with his own whistle while Gemma clapped above her head.

“That’s it baby!!!!!” Tig yelled out as Joanne walked down the ramp and back to the hallway where the graduates all entered from.

Joanne looked up at her family and smiled, she was surprised to see everyone that came. She pointed towards the exit and mouthed a few words that no one really understood except Gemma.

“C’mon.” Gemma said, waving everyone back out on the other side of the row.

“Don’t we have to wait for them to throw up their hats and shit?” Jax frowned.

“You wanna wait for the 200 more kids that have to be announced?” Clay leaned over and asked Jax who turned to look at the large group of graduates that were left.

“Alright, yea.” He stepped out of the row behind Tig.

“Jo’s the one that mentioned it, she’s gonna meet us outside now.” Gemma said as the group of them trekked up the bleachers.

_________________

The Charming crew stood in front of the event center, near a fountain waiting for Jo to arrive except Opie, who had gone off to a kiosk close by to order a cup of coffee.

“They don’t make Irish coffees at graduation ceremonies, Winston.” Jo’s voice caused Opie to turn around quickly, coffee in one hand and graduation gifts in the other.

His smile grew as he saw her in her cap and gown, her one hand resting on her cap to balance it as she stood in front of him looking up.

“And I unfortunately didn’t sneak in any.” He stepped out of line so he was closer to the girl.

“I did.” She reached into her gown and into her dress pocket and pulled out a flask and poured it into his coffee cup before he could say another word.

“Well, uh, I’m driving so…” Opie extended his hand out, now offering the coffee to Jo who was getting red in embarrassment.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry I didn’t…” She began apologizing before Opie cut her off.

“Nah, don’t worry about it, truthfully it was just an excuse to get away from the group for a minute.” They both looked over to the group to see Tig staring at a statue of a woman very intently, Clay and Gemma arguing about something, Bobby downing a muffin from the other kiosk near them and Jax on the phone.

“Wait, driving? You drove here?” Jo said as she took in Opie’s words and her head snapped back to look at him.

“Uh,” Opie felt caught and didn’t know exactly what to say based on Jo’s tone.

“He overslept didn’t he?” She shook her head and looked back over at her younger brother. After a couple seconds she looked back at Opie, she wasn’t going to make him explain, he was a good friend not only to her brother but to her also.

“Those for me?” She grinned and nodded to the flowers and bear.

“Huh?” Opie fumbled, still a little nervous as a whole before looking down and coming to it. “Oh yea,” His hands extended forward and now the flowers and the bear were nestled in her arms. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks Ope,” Jo moved against his torso forcing an embrace on him that he was gladly willing to accept. “Glad you were here.”

The two of them walked over to everyone, Jo was showered with flowers and hugs and congratulations from everyone, even her mother who showed a rare act of appreciation towards her daughter.

“Got this for you.” Jax handed Joanne a black leather box.

She opened the box immediately and she felt her breath hitch.

“Took a piece of dad’s bike to get repurposed into a necklace. It’s not like expensive or anything but–”

“It’s perfect.” Jo cut him off, running a finger over the necklace.

The center of the necklace was the same teal blue as the bike, probably taken from a piece of the old gas tank, and what Jo assumed to be part of the old engine framed the outside of it.  There were small metal work details in it that framed the inside blue piece so perfectly. It was truly a piece of her dad with her on this special day.

“Jax this is,” Jo’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “I don’t know how I’ll ever top this.” She let out a laugh and looked at her younger brother.

“Well good thing I ain’t graduating college anytime soon.” He teased her. “Plus, everything you’ve done for me,” he shrugged, “I kinda owed you.”

Before either of them could continue their conversation, Gemma was interrupting them. It was divine timing and ironic how she knew the perfect time to interrupt.

“Alright, we’ll meet you back at the clubhouse, Bobby put together a little thing for you.” Gemma called out as she walked away with Clay, Bobby, and Tig.

Jax looked from Gemma back to Jo and changed the subject.

“Mom said you’re going home with Micky, so I’ll catch a ride back with them. Congrats!” He smiled at his sister and looked over at Opie, “and thanks, Ope!” Jax was talking as his legs sped up into a jog to catch up to the group, leaving Jo and Opie behind.

“I’ll, uh, let you ride back with Micky, see you back at the clubhouse.” Opie was about to walk away when Jo reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Micky actually,” Jo paused in her statement, embarrassed at what was about to come out of her mouth. “Micky isn’t here, we uh, broke up. But I didn’t tell anyone yet because well, you know how everyone gets.”

Opie wasn’t one to ask questions or pry, so he just simply nodded. “I parked around the corner, I’ll take you home so you can show up on your own, lessen the questions.” Opie said.

Jo let out a scoff, “That’ll never happen and you know it.”

Opie smiled to himself, because he knew it was true. Everyone at the clubhouse would ask questions no matter what. He went to say something to Jo, his head turning to look at her when he saw her holding out the teddy bear he had gotten her.

“This must’ve cost you a fortune, they always rip you off at these things.” She stared at the bear.

“I got a discount because of the lopsided eye.”

Jo laughed, “Gives him character. What should I name him?”

Opie looked at the bear and then at Jo and shrugged. No idea what to call the stuffed animal.

“Winnie. After the person who gifted him to me.” Jo beamed and held the bear out next to Opie.

“Not sure if I should be honored or offended.” Opie teased, pulling his one eye down to mimic the bear.

Jo pushed Opie, he might have towered over her, he always had and now that they were in their early 20’s nothing had changed, but she still was able to trip him up a bit which is when he let out a genuine laugh right before they approached the parking lot.

“$45 dollars for parking?!” Jo exclaimed looking at the sign at the entrance of the lot. “My graduation robbed you blind, I owe you.” Jo said to Opie. “Well Jax owes you more but I’ll collect for you and we can go out.” She teased.

He smiled and unlocked his truck for them both to get in, “Smart idea, look at that college degree paying off.”

“That was the first class I took, ‘how to ethically steal from your brother and reap the benefits with your friends.’”

Friends. It was one word but it gutted Opie. It shouldn’t have, he had Donna, but it did. Opie looked over at his passenger seat to see Jo, still in her gown but her cap now situated with the bear and assortment of flowers she received, her hand running over her hair to fix the flyaways and he thought that at least he got to be a part of her life. He’d take being her friend over nothing, especially if it meant getting to be a part of these big moments.

[drabbles-mc]

Nothing To Tell

Tig Trager & OFC (Claire Morrow)

For Day 23 of @whumpril's 2023 Challenge: bloodstains / sharing clothes

Warnings: 18+, angst, mentions of blood, language

Word Count: 2k

A/N: Anj and I have clocked so many hours talking about Claire and until this I never felt like I had a good idea for a small fic to put her in. So, you know, shout-out to Whumpril for allowing this girl to make her debut. I love her.

SOA Taglist: @espieviolet99 @littlekittymeow @i-just-read-stuff @justreblogginfics @withmyteeth @buckybarneshairpullingkink @paintballkid711 @jitterbugs927 @fanfic-n-tabulous @mijagif @frattsparty @winchestershiresauce @beardburnsupersoldiers @darqchilddaydreamz @choochoo284 @artemiseamoon @yourwinchesterbros @nessamc @garbinge @passionatewrites (If you want to be added to any of my taglists, please let me know!)

 Despite the fact that Tig’s eyes were open, that his gun was in his hand, that he was moving down the stairs towards his front door, he still felt like he was asleep. He wasn’t, of course, because the pounding against his front door had made sure of that. It was incessant, and if he had felt a little more awake he would’ve been yelling at whoever it was to knock it off, but he just had to settle for grumbling under his breath. Holding back a deep sigh, he flipped the deadbolt on the door and pulled it open, gun held tightly at his side.

Of all the people he thought he was going to be opening the door to, Claire wasn’t one of them. It was late, she should’ve been home, and she also had a key to let herself in with. All of those thoughts were running in the background of Tig’s sleep-addled brain as he looked at her, trying to register the sight in front of him.

Her eyes were puffy and red, makeup smeared beneath them. Now that she wasn’t trying to break his door down, her arms were folded tightly across her body, trembling even though it wasn’t all that cold out. Her hair was a mess—however she’d had it tied up before, all that was left in the ponytail now were a few locks of it, the rest around her shoulders and out of control. She shifted nervously from one foot to the other as she stood on his front step, glancing back over her shoulder for a moment before turning back to look at him again. Her bottom lip trembled as she opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to find any kind of words to say even though she was coming up empty.

Even with the deep breath she took, her voice still came out small and shaky as she finally got herself to say, “Please don’t tell my dad.”

Confusion crossed his face at that. Shaking his head slightly, he reached out and gently looped his arm around her, trying not to take it personally when she flinched at his touch as he guided her inside. His voice was soft from more than just sleep as he told her, “Get in here.”

He did a quick scan of the street before stepping back into the house himself, putting the deadbolt back in place. When he turned around, he found Claire standing in the middle of his living room in much the same position she was on his step. It’d been a long time since he had seen her looking so rattled about anything. Fear never seemed to sink its claws into her, even though most times it should’ve.

“What’s going on?” he asked, tucking his gun into the back of his waistband.

She shook her head, running her hands back through her hair. “They can’t know. You gotta,” she paced in front of him, “you gotta promise you’re not gonna tell my mom and dad.”

“Claire—”

“Or Jax,” she cut him off, her voice trembling. “God. I didn’t even—” she dropped her face into her hands for a moment, “Fuck.”

He stepped in front of her so that she wouldn’t be able to keep walking when she finally lifted her face from her hands. He wanted to lift her head, make her look him in the eyes. He wanted to hold her, but he felt like she might shatter if he did.

“Claire,” he repeated, “talk to me, baby. What’s going on?”

She finally looked up at him, tears on her cheeks. She finally let her arms drop to her sides, and that was when Tig saw the blood splattered along the neckline and chest of her light grey t-shirt. “Please don’t tell them.”

Tig had never heard her plead like that, like she actually meant it. “I can’t tell anyone anything,” he reached out and gently thumbed the tears off her cheek, not saying anything about the way she recoiled slightly at the gesture, “if you don’t tell me what happened. So,” he brought his hand to rest on her shoulder, “what happened?”

She sniffled, shaking her head. “They told me. They told me not to get involved. And I,” she stepped away, giving herself room to start pacing again as she spoke, “I didn’t listen. That’s what they’re gonna tell me, too, you know. They’re just gonna tell me that if I had fucking listened—”

“Don’t worry about them,” Tig interrupted her spiraling train of thought. Whatever she went through, and she was still worrying about the rest of them. “Gemma, Clay, Jax—fuck all them right now, okay?”

“Tig…” the lump in the back of her throat made it hard to speak, his name coming out weaker than she wanted it to.

He could see the way her eyes darted around, looking at him, scanning the room, glancing over at the door, going back to him, repeating the cycle all over again. The longer the two of them stood there, the more he realized that he might not be getting anything out of her for a while. As much as he hated being in the dark, he also knew that trying to drag it out of her wasn’t going to be good for either of them. Claire had never been anything other than an open book with him. She’d been that way her whole life: a chronic over-sharer, oftentimes to a fault. If she wasn’t telling him something, it wasn’t a choice for her—she just couldn’t do it.

“What am I doing?” The question rhetorical, forced out past a sob.

“You’re okay,” he said, not knowing at all if it was true. Stepping in, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug that she gladly collapsed into. Hooking his chin over her head, he ran his hand up and down her back. “You’re okay.”

She didn’t hug him back. She wanted to, but she couldn’t force herself to do it, like the amount of strength it would take to return the embrace was too much for her to exert in the moment. Her arms hung limply at her sides as she leaned against him, tears and makeup smearing across the shirt that he was wearing. She was glad for the reprieve, the comfort and care that she wouldn’t have gotten if she had gone home.

Tig didn’t know how long the two of them stood there like that before he finally asked, “You gonna stay?” He asked it like a question, but there was only one answer that he was going to accept.

She didn’t pull away, just nodding as she stayed pressed to him. “If that’s okay.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Of course it is.”

He finally pried himself away from her, hands still resting on the outsides of her arms. Claire couldn’t force herself to look him in the eyes for a moment, her gaze staying fixed on the floor. There was a brief moment when she thought about turning around and running back to her car. But there was no getting away from it. It was all going to come crashing down eventually.

“Can I borrow something to, you know,” she gestured to the blood smeared on her shirt.

Tig nodded. “I’ll grab you something.”

He was hardly gone for a minute before he reappeared with a shirt and a pair of sweatpants in his hands. Neither of them were really going to fit her, but they didn’t have blood on them so they were a step in the right direction. She was only going to wear them to sleep, after all, so he figured that she wasn’t really going to mind.

Handing them over to her, he said, “Go shower. I’ll,” he gestured to the couch, “get this ready for you.”

She didn’t know why fresh tears spilled over onto her cheeks as she nodded, but they did. Neither of them acknowledged them as she reached and took the clothes from him. “Thank you.”

Tig watched her as she slowly made her way off towards his bathroom. He waited until he heard the sound of the shower running before he went to grab an extra pillow and blankets for the couch. He was going through the motions of it all, realizing how long it had been since someone had turned up on his step looking for a safe place to stay. That’s not usually what anyone needed him for.

It wasn’t often that Claire came by for more than a drink and to complain about her brother. Both of those activities were things that Tig was more than happy to indulge in with her. But she never needed to hide out at his house. The more Tig thought about it, the last time she was there for anything close to this purpose, was when she was a kid. It wasn’t just her, though. Thomas was there, and so were Tig’s daughters. Jax had managed to talk his way into staying at Opie’s with Mary and Piney, which was just as well. Despite the circumstances of it all, Tig almost found himself smiling at the memory of it. No one told the kids why they were actually staying at Tig’s, so they all just treated it like a big sleepover. They were better off that way.

The smile on his face faded when he realized that Claire was the only one out of the four who was still around. Tig couldn’t remember the last time that Dawn or Fawn had crossed county lines into Charming, and everyone knew what had happened to Thomas. So it was just Claire, and it didn’t seem like she was much better off than the rest of them for having stayed.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her footsteps, the creak of the floorboards beneath her feet. Turning around, he saw her standing there in his clothes, hers balled up in her hands because she didn’t know where she should leave them. Despite his clothes not being the right size for her, Tig couldn’t help but to think that she still didn’t look as small as she did standing on his doorstep. She didn’t look okay yet, but she looked better. It was a start.

He wanted to ask how she was, but the answer was obvious. He also wanted to ask her again about what had happened, but she finally looked like she wasn’t waiting for someone to come kicking his door in after her, so he let it lie. Whatever the circumstances were, they wouldn’t change before morning.

“I’m sorry,” she said as she stepped in closer, her voice quiet, still unsteady. She didn’t know which part of it all she was really apologizing for. Maybe all of it.

He shook his head as he took the clothes from her, unsure of whether he should just toss them for her or wash them. “It’s okay.” He gave her a small smile. “Not the worst mess I’ve had to clean up.”

It got a weak laugh out of her as she shook her head. “Gross.”

They both chuckled for a moment, despite the exhaustion, all of the questions lingering above their heads. Tig let a few beats pass before asking, “Want me to stay down here?”

She shook her head, nose twitching to fight off the sniffle she could feel creeping up. “I’ll be okay.”

He studied her face. “You sure?”

She took a deep breath, trying her best to sound as certain as she usually did. “Yea.”

He didn’t want to push it, didn’t want to make things worse all over again, so he nodded. Stepping in, he gave her another hug, kissing the side of her head, not caring that her hair was still damp. “I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”

She nodded as she hugged him back. “Thank you.”

He noticed the way that she wasn’t quite ready to let go yet, so he didn’t make her. Leaning his head against hers, he said, “Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out.”

She let out a shaky breath, but she still nodded. “Okay.”

[ravennaortiz]

Lost and Found Chapter 1

This is a twisting tale of love, family and loyalty told through present tense and flashbacks.

Trigger Warnings: General themes of the show( death, violence, drinking etc), Minors DNI, implied sexual assault in later chapters.

Jax sat at Opie’s grave site thinking on his actions the last few months. In his need for vengeance he had put so many of those he called family in harm’s way because he hadn’t wanted to believe the truth. He sighed his soul and mind heavy.

“I wish you were here brother. You always knew how to reset me” stated Jax as he cleaned the rings on top of the head stone. The cool morning breeze caused a piece of pink paper to flutter on a bouquet of black roses that were in a vase that sat attached to the headstone. Jax recognized the writing as his baby sisters and the pain in his heart deepened. “I see Scar’s been here recently” stated Jax as he gently took the note off the flowers to read it.

Hey Op,

I miss you every day. I’ve never felt as lonely as I do now. Trying to stay strong and believe that everything will fall back in place like you would tell me…..but it’s hard. I wish Jax would see the truth but I fear Clay’s corruption has infected him and it’s too late.

  Love Scar-

“Last time I saw her she had a shotgun in her hands and I still don’t know why she didn’t pull that trigger. After what I did everyone would have understood” stated Jax as he thought back to that day a few weeks ago at the clubhouse. The day that changed his relationship with his sister forever.

Flashback

 Jax had just adjourned the club meeting when he heard one of the new prospects shout before the chapel doors slammed open. Every man in that room had been shocked at the sight and that allowed his sister Scarlett Rose Teller to hop onto the table and shove a shotgun into Jax’s chest. Jax would never forget the fiery rage in her brown eye nor the haunting, icy sadness that shown from her blue one that matched his own perfectly. Jax put his hands up in surrender before speaking quietly. “He was a traitor Scar. He hurt the club” Jax had calmly stated never taking his eyes off hers.

“No. He was not a traitor and he never meant to hurt the club. Everything he did was to protect the club, his family and me” she had spat before unleashing a rant about traitors and throwing the Donna situation in Tigs face before storming out of his life.

Flashback Ending

“I suspect I’ll be seeing you soon brother” stated Jax as he kissed the tombstone before getting up and walking to his bike.

Stockton

“What did you tell your girl?” inquired Ron Tully as Juice got on his bunk and curled up facing the wall. “Told her I was taking her off my visitor list” replied Juice his voice cracking as he tried to keep the tears at bay. He loved her so much and had struggled with this, seeing pain cross her face that he had caused tore him up. He had always promised her he would never hurt her and he felt like he had broken that promise. He also knew that she understood it wasn’t because he didn’t love her or want her to visit, but that he wanted her to get used to life without him before it was permanent. Jax had been clear a few days ago that he would never leave this place and that he had taxed Juices cell mate Tully to take his life.

Jax’s House

“Hey Kiddo” greeted Jax in surprise as he noticed his sister on his porch. “I want you to know I hate you and I always will” started Scarlett her voice shaking as tears poured down her face. “I know. Juice didn’t say it aloud but I know what you have done. That you made a decision for the club without a vote, ordered a members death.” Continued Scarlett her whole body shaking now.

“Scar…please. I never meant for you to be hurt” started Jax as he moved closer to hug her.

“Don’t touch me” growled Scar as she moved back away from him. “You knew me being hurt would be the outcome no matter what. You had the choice though on how much and obviously you don’t care. You’re a monster just like Clay” she finished before moving off to her car and speeding off.

Jax closed his eyes to his own tears before going inside.

Return to Chapter List

[triviadimplesblog]

🇹​​🇭​​🇪​ ​🇨​​🇷​​🇮​​🇲​​🇸​​🇴​​🇳​ ​🇭​​🇴​​🇷​​🇮​​🇿​​🇴​​🇳​

Chibs Telford x OC Brianne O'Connor

Brianne O'Connor's life takes a thrilling turn when she becomes entwined with the infamous Charming's Sons of Anarchy motorcycle club. Amidst the brotherhood, she finds an unexpected connection with the charismatic Scottish member, Chibs. As their bond deepens, Brianne starts to believe in a chance at happiness, until her haunting past resurfaces, threatening to shatter her newfound peace. But it is revealed that the Sons' loyalty and protectiveness run deep, and they're ready to stand against any danger to safeguard what they hold dear.

The Crimson Horizon masterlist:

Prologue/Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Fanfic edits:

Fanfic edit #1

Fanfic edit #2

Chibs edit - not mine! credits to the owner!

Note #1 Brianne's faceclaim is changed to Rachelle Lefevre

[broiderie]

Meet the Reaper 25

Alrighty. Here's the next bit. Another bit of filler, but it also gives a little more information on how the club has planned to take care of Megan in everything they can.

Do not copy or steal my work. This is the only place it's posted. Do not translate my work. Please DO reblog it. Our fandom is still active, but we're quiet. Let's make them a little less so.

Warnings: slight suggestive material. I don't remember cursing in here but I probably did. More foreshadowing, but it's my favorite literary device so you might as well get used to it.

OH! I also have a poll up about Mayans villains. Go check it out.

Back at the clubhouse, Megan grinned as she saw Tía Diana and Tessa waiting on the porch. Marcus laughed as he dismounted his bike, only to discover Tessa was headed for the Mustang to meet her prima. Taza grinned too. “We’re chopped liver as long as the princessas are together, Padrino.”

He smiled as Diana came to greet him with a kiss. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way, Brother.”

They spent a low key night in the clubhouse watching -mostly- kid safe movies. Megan and Tessa curled together on a couch with snacks as the men unwound by playing pool or just hanging out. By the time Diana and Marcus were ready to head back to Bishop’s for the night, the girls were fast asleep, curled together like puppies with Rex.

Hank chuckled and pulled out his phone to snap a picture. “That’s another one for her wall…”

Taza grinned. “I agree, ‘mano.” He looked to Marcus. “You sure you want to wake her? She could stay at the ranch for the night and give you two a night to yourself.”

Diana smiled. “Sorry, Taza. We’re going to head out early. Tessa has missed enough school already.”

He shrugged and grinned. “Well - I tried.”

Marcus chuckled a bit. “And we appreciate the thought,” he said before moving to gently wake Tessa.

As soon as Tessa moved when Marcus shook her gently, Megan’s eyes popped open and she was reaching for her holster. 

“Easy, Poquito. Just me,” he soothed. “Time for Tessa and Diana to head out.”

Megan blinked rapidly to clear the sleep from her eyes and then relaxed. “Sorry Tío. Habit.”

He smiled and smoothed a hand over her hair. “You’re okay Bebita.” He tried again to wake Tessa only to be greeted by a whine as she buried her face in Megan’s hoody on her good side more.

Bishop laughed around the cigar he was smoking. “Looks like she’s officially out for the count, Primo.”

Megan smiled ruefully and squeezed her cousin a little tighter for a moment. “Are you guys leaving in the morning, Tía?” she asked without looking up.

“Sí. Time for the tiny princessa to go back to school.” Diana leaned over the back of the couch to press a kiss to the back of Megan’s head. “We’ll call from the road so that you two can make plans, okay?”

“Okay,” she smiled sleepily up at her aunt. “Be safe.”

Marcus scooped Tessa up and smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Poquito,” he promised as they headed out the door.

Chibs smiled at Megan from his barstool. “I do believe tha’s my que too, Princess. We’ll head back tomorrow too - but not early.” Tig and Venus had already slipped out earlier in the night. He stood and came to offer Megan a smile. “See ya tomorrow, Lass.”

“Night. Ride safe, Chibs.”

Back at the ranch after showers all around, they gathered in the living room to decompress a bit more. Hank had Megan sitting between his knees so that he could brush her hair out for her before bed while Taza relaxed in the recliner. 

“That was a good catch today, Chica. What gave them away?” Taza asked.

Megan shrugged as well as she could. “They were just too interested in us to be bystanders. We always draw attention, but not like that. And then the lady showed up on that balcony and it didn’t feel right. I figured being the bubbly tourist was the safest bet. Worst case - they were L.O. and Adelita would laugh at me.”

Hank pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Either way, it was brilliant. Now - we just need to figure out who they actually were.”

Taza sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. “Most likely they were either feds or they belong to Galindo. Either one would have reason to have us followed.”

“If they were Galindo’s, they weren’t any that Luisa recognized,” Megan supplied. “She didn’t know their faces.”

“Most likely feds then. We’ll have to be extra careful about tails while Galindo is tied to them,” Hank mused as he continued to run the brush through Megan’s dark hair. “And you -” he tugged he head back to look at him. “You never carry contraband. Never. Don’t even touch it.” He kissed her forehead. “The rest of us can handle it.”

Taza nodded in agreement. “And if we’re ever caught - you know nothing about what we do. You play dumb. We’re just a M.C. Women in our world are never given details so they likely won’t think you have any. As far as the feds are concerned - you’re a cute mascot.”

Megan grimaced, but nodded. “I understand, Papa.”

“Good.” Hank looked at Taza. “And if we are caught and she’s with us - the lawyers go to Megan first. I don’t care how many of us are caught. We would have each other’s backs inside. She’d be alone.”

Taza nodded again. “That instruction has already been given, brother. Bishop and I handled it with the lawyers the other day.”

“And on that cheerful note - Bedtime,” Hank joked. “C’mon mi princessa. You’ve had a long day. Let’s go to bed. 

Megan smiled and stood to go claim a cuddle from Taza. “Night Papa.”

“Sweet dreams, Sweet Chica. Maybe in the morning we can make sure your saddle fits like it should. You can’t ride, but we can fit it at least.” He kissed her forehead softly and smiled at the excited little noise that Megan gave. 

Once in the bedroom with Rex in his dog bed, Hank watched Megan carefully for signs of pain. “How was it today, mi reina? I’m sorry I didn’t think to send your meds with Taza.”

Megan put her hair brush down on her dressing table and smiled at him in the mirror. “I was okay. The pain wasn’t anything like before when I wasn’t taking the pain relief.” She turned and moved to stand between his knees where he was perched on his footlocker at the end of the bed. 

His hands automatically went to her waist where he could slip his thumbs under her sleep shirt to stroke her skin. “I’m glad. I worried all day, but Bishop said Taza would call if you needed them. We didn’t want to interrupt your fun if you really were alright.” He smiled. “Did you enjoy the fair?”

“We had lots of fun with the games. Papa won me a duckie. He’s in the car.”

Hank laughed. “He said you kicked ass at the shooting games though.”

Megan grinned at him and bit her bottom lip. “Maybe a little. There are more prizes with the duck in the trunk.”

He kissed her softly. “That’s mi reina.” He moved her back gently so that he could pull off his shirt and crawl into bed so that she could snuggle back against his chest the way she liked. Once they were settled he frowned a little. “I wish I could have gone to the rodeo with you. Taza said it was eye opening for him. I can only imagine what it would be like for me. I’ve never even been on a horse, let alone rode in anything like that.”

She looked up at him over her shoulder. “Really? Never?”

“Not in my memory. You’ll have to teach me to ride if you want me to go with you on the horses.”

She smiled a little and yawned as she snuggled closer. He draped his arm over her waist to hold her good hand and cradled her as close as he could. “I can do that. You’d do well with Trucker, I think. He’s big enough for you. And Papa says he’s steady. He didn’t even spook when he met Rex the first time. I think you’ll be okay on him.”

Hank chuckled. “Which one do you think you’ll ride most?” he asked curiously.

“Papa says Rocket. He’s the fastest. Sugar is sweet, but she’s slow and a little lazy. And Trucker and I would be okay, but with his size I’d look like an ant riding an elephant. He’s too wide for me to ride for any real length of time properly.” She closed her eyes and Hank moved to turn off the lamp that was their only light before settling back in to hold her. Megan yawned again. “Papa also said something about buying me a cutting horse to compete again. It might be fun to finally have my very own horse… To know that it was mine…”

Hank smiled as he listened to her drift off before he closed his eyes to join her.

The next morning, Hank woke up as Megan tried to sneak out of bed. Just before she got to the edge of the bed, he grabbed her gently and pulled her back in close. “Morning, Princessa. Where you going?” he asked with a rumble.

Megan jumped a little and giggled as she realized what was happening. She relaxed back into his bare chest easily. “Morning, Baby. I was going to TRY to get breakfast ready before you woke up.”

He smiled and nuzzled her neck, placing kisses on her skin. “Mmm but I like making breakfast with you.” His hands wandered a little, stroking the skin of her abdomen and hips. 

“Mm. Doesn’t mean I don’t want to spoil you once in a while.” She melted, enjoying the feeling of his mouth and calloused hands on her skin. She pressed her hips back against his with a tiny whine. 

He grinned and nibbled gently at the hinge of her jaw. “This is spoiling me, mi reina. How’s your pain level this morning?”

She shivered pleasantly and pressed entirely against him, feeling him hardening the more she wriggled. “A little achy, but not bad. I really think I could drop the sling…”

He pressed his whole hand below her navel with a chuckle. “Easy, Princessa. Don’t start that unless you want teased back.” He laughed again at the whine she let out. “Let me see if we can get you in to the doctor in Santa Madre today. You may be right about the sling.”

They both looked up as Taza knocked on the door frame of the cracked open door. “What might she be right about?”

“Good morning, Papa,” Megan said with a smile. “I was telling Hank that I think I’d be okay without the sling.”

Taza stepped inside and frowned. “You shouldn’t push yourself, Chica…”

“I know, Papa, but the pain is so much better without the cast. I went all day without pain relief yesterday and I’m not really hurting this morning either.” She smiled and wiggled until Hank released her so that she could sit up.

Hank pushed himself up to sit against the headboard and hastily arranged the blankets before he smiled. “I told her that we’d get the doc’s opinion in Santa Madre with an x-ray.”

“They said three weeks at the hospital and the Rez doctor said you weren’t healed enough to be without the sling yet…” Taza fretted.

“That was with the plaster cast, though. The soft cast is so much lighter and without my muscles spasming like they were I’ve felt so much better…”

Hank smiled as he watched Megan weedle her father. “An x-ray with the doc won’t do any harm, Taz. If she needs to stay in the sling, then she stays in the sling. But you know it’s driving her batshit.”

Taza winced. “Fine. Make the call.” He moved to sit in Megan’s reading chair. “You call. I’ll help Megan if she needs it.”

Hank smiled and nodded before pressing a kiss to the back of Megan’s head and going to the living room for his burner phone.

Megan smiled. “Can you braid my hair for me, Papa? I can get dressed after.”

“Of course, Chica. What are we doing today?”

A short while later, Taza and Megan exited the bedroom to find Hank sitting at the table on the phone. He was speaking Spanish as he absently rubbed Rex’s ears. 

Without pausing, Megan pressed a kiss to his still sleep ruffled hair and went to the stove to start the coffee. Taza leaned in the doorway and watched as he held in a chuckle. Megan’s back was to Hank so she didn’t catch the double take he gave or notice him lose track of the conversation since it was in Spanish. 

Taza had braided Megan’s hair into her tight warrior braids and then sat back as she fussed a bit over what to wear. Eventually, she’d settled on a white racerback tank top and her light washed skinny jeans that looked like the distressing machine had gone completely apeshit on them. She was completely covered, but it was also tighter than she normally wore. She had all plans of putting her leather jacket under her kutte the way Chibs did before they left the house. 

Taza gave Hank a moment to allow his brain to reboot before he joined him at the table and jokingly threw a napkin in front of his brother. Hank shot him a glare before quickly wrapping up his call. He cleared his throat a bit. “All ready, Princessa?”

Megan finished setting up the percolator and turned to smile at them. “Yeah. Were you able to get an appointment. 

The men looked at each other and chuckled. “We don’t need an appointment, Chica. We just needed to be sure the doctor would be in town. He sometimes has out of town deliveries to make,” Taza explained. 

Hank grinned. “But, yes, mi amore, I got in touch. He’s in town today and we can see him whenever.”

“Oh good. I really want my arm back.”

Taza smiled. “We know, but you still will be limited with the soft cast.”

“But without the sling I can ride with y’all again. Or even drive my car.” She grinned. “And I can go back to work at the bar.”

Hank shook his head, grinning ruefully. “True enough, mi reina.” He stood. “I’ll go get dressed.” He winked at her. “Looks like we’re going South today.”

Taza and Megan made a quick breakfast og burritos while Hank changed. By the time they were all done eating, all three of their phones went off. Megan was closest and checked hers. “Templo tonight. Angel and EZ are headed South today too, so we’ll meet for an update after that. Also - Tía Diana left a text to say that they started back before sunrise this morning.”

Taza paused from loading the dishwasher and grabbed his. “The Scot says they’re leaving in about an hour. Want to stop by the clubhouse and say goodbye, Chica?”

“Yes, please. That means Venus is leaving too,” she said with a smile. 

They gathered their gear and donned their kuttes before heading out to meet everyone at the clubhouse. 

Hank kept a close eye on Megan on the way over, to see if she was having any anxiety over so many people leaving. She seemed to be calm and collected, but he kept a hand on her knee when he wasn’t shifting gears just in case. 

Angel was the one who rolled open the gate for them to the clubhouse, but by the look of the pit - everyone was there. The Sons were standing on the porch in what looked like last discussions of plans with Bishop and Marcus. Once they got parked, Hank came around to open Megan’s door for her so that she and Rex could get out. He started towards the porch, but realized that Megan seemed to be lingering by the car as she fussed with Rex’s harness.

“All good, mi princessa?” he asked quietly. 

Megan shot him a smile. “All good. Just don’t want to interrupt business…”

Hank grinned as Taza joined them. “Mi reina - you’re an officer. No business that you don’t know about.” Taza smiled too as realization passed over Megan’s face and she looked a bit sheepish.

“Ooops. I keep forgetting,” she grinned. 

Taza laughed. “You’ll get there, Chica. C’mon. I know you want to say goodbye to Venus.”

They joined the group just as they stepped off the stairs. 

“Well, good morning to you, Little Bit. Come to see us off?” Tig asked, ginning at her as his eyes lingered a little too long on her tight jeans that were just brushing the tops of her biker boots.

Venus smacked him in the stomach with the back of her hand before turning her own attention to Megan. “Good morning, Sweetheart. Feeling alright?” she asked, stepping forward for a hug.

Megan hugged the tall woman back. “Good morning. I’m fine. Not hurting as much. We’re actually going to see a doctor today about maybe being able to drop the sling.”

“Oh good. You let me know what they say. We’ll be on the bike, but I’ll text at rest stops.” She pulled back to smile at the younger woman and straightened the girl’s necklace for her. 

“I will. I’ll miss you,” Megan said quietly. 

“Psh. I’m only a phone call away. Call me anytime and I’ll start driving, Honey.”

Megan hugged her again. “Ride safe and say hello to Happy for me.” She grinned at Tig over Venus’s shoulder. “And you need to stop being lazy in the ring. It’s just making it harder on you.”

Tig laughed. “Oh. She bites this morning. When you’re all healed up, we’ll see who’s lazy in the ring.”

Chibs stepped forward. “It’ll still be you, Tiggy,” he drawled with a wink at Megan. “This lass’ll be a proper fighter.” He offered Megan a hug which she took. “We’ll be down in style for tha’ big party soon enough. Keep ya’self safe til’ then, alrigh’?”

Megan squeezed him around the middle gently. “I’ll be alright. Ride safe, Chibs.”

“You too, Lass.” 

With a few final goodbyes, SAMCRO mouthed their bikes and headed back North. 

Taglist:

@jemmakates

@msjava1972

@drabbles-mc

@delightfulheroshoeflap

@iamthegraham

@oureternalbond

@camelia35

@anaeve

@tallrock35

[the-wandering-lunatic]

Scars Remain - Pt. 4

Bishop Losa x Female OC, Lex

Mayans & SOA crossover

⚠️ Warnings: domestic violence, abusive relationship, panic attacks, normal canon violence

PART ONE / PART TWO / PART THREE

Part Four

Bishop stood, hurling the beer bottle across the room to shatter against the far wall, fury burning through his veins.

Chibs' fist swung out to Bishop, catching him below the eye, knocking him back to the couch. Chibs towered over him. "You should've fuckin called the moment you found out she was my daugh'er! No, instead you decided to fuck her-!"

Bishop rose and clocked Chibs in the jaw, making him stumble backwards.

"The fuck did you let her leave with that son of a bitch in the first place!?" He hollered at Chibs. "This is all on you!" Bishop seethed, shoving at Chibs again. The rest of the Mayans stood, waiting the next move.

"Good!" Tig yelled, clapping as he and Happy stood from their seats at the bar, moving to them. "Get that shit out of your system so you're not trashing shit in front of her like fucking animals!" He motioned between Chibs and Bishop. "You two need to handle your shit right fucking now. Beat the shit out of each other or what have you, but fucking handle it! I'm not having her see any of this! I'm getting her out of here. Call me when you're done!" His eyes wild as he stepped back and jerked the clubhouse door open, slamming it behind him as the chaos erupted.

___

The next thing I knew, a hot plate of eggs and bacon was sat in front of me. I snapped to the present and looked around. Tig and I were at a diner just outside of Santo Padre. How I got here was a blur. My brain a jumbled mess from earlier this morning at the clubhouse.

"You with me, doll?"

My stomach growled loudly and I slowly lifted a piece of bacon from the plate. My hand trembling.

"Well, ya got an appetite, so that's a start."

I glanced up at him, his ice blue eyes warily watching me.

I devoured the plate in front of me in silence. My only focus right now on staunching the hunger. I leaned back, placing the fork on the empty plate. The fog began to clear from my mind. My thoughts slowing as I processed this morning's events.

Happy...

My father...

Finally coming clean with everyone...

Bishop...

"He wants nothing to do with me now..." I whispered, staring at the now empty plate. "He wouldn't even look at me.."

Tig sighed, taking a gulp of coffee. "If that's the case, then I'll kill him myself...if Chibs hasn't already." He sat the mug back down. "But, think about it, sweetheart. You just relived your worst nightmare in front of him." He paused, placing his hand on mine as I gripped the side of the table. "He just heard every horror that fucking bastard did to his girl...that you almost died. He needs a beat to process it all. He's angry - not at you, doll-" he countered, seeing the expression on my face. "-none of that was your fault so stop blaming yourself right now." His voice was strained, trying to real his anger in as he pointed at me. He closed his eyes a moment and drew a deep breath in. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. Like I said, it was... a lot to hear. We all want our turn with the prick. We're all angry, but none of it is directed at you. Alright?"

I chewed on my lip, going over everything he'd said. Tig was right. I knew he was. But being able to forgive myself after all this time of thinking everything was my own doing, that I deserved it all... was going to take time.

"I just don't want everyone to look at me with pity. I don't want to see that. I can't-"

"Hey...relax, babe. If they do, then just call Uncle Tigger and I'll set them straight." He smirked across the table at me.

I forced a small smile back at him. It didn't reach my eyes, but it was a step forward.

"We missed you so much, baby girl-"

Tig was cut short by his phone ringing. He glanced at the number and grunted as he stood. "Stay here. I'll be right outside."

I nodded, picking up the still steaming cup of coffee in front of me as I watched him walk out to the lot. Surprisingly, no tears had fallen since I'd been with Tig this morning. I'm not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Was I closing off? Becoming numb and compartmentalizing? Or was I finally moving forward and healing?

___

4 months later...

I sat on the rooftop of the clubhouse, the night dark except for the lights from the yard. I'd found this to be my escape when the parties got a little too claustrophobic. My personal vantage point where I could silently observe everyone.

I heard the hatch rattle and soon enough, EZ came to sit next to me.

I took one final drag off my cigarette and shoved the butt into my empty beer bottle, taking the fresh cold one EZ handed me.

"Bishop's looking for you."

I snorted. "He should know where I am by now, E." We clinked bottles "Salud."

He chuckled "He does. He sent me-"

"To come check on me" I finished his sentence, shaking my head. "I love the man, but he can be suffocating at times since..." I trailed off.

It had been 4 months since my worlds collided at the bonfire. Everything tilted after Happy had unexpectedly been at the clubhouse that night. Forcing my dark secrets into the light, resulting in a downward spiral in my head for a few weeks. After my recounting of the abuse and my attempted murder at the hands of Ryan, my father had damn near dragged me from Santo Padre. Bishop and him got into it, each coming away with sore jaws and bruised egos. I'd managed to convince my father to let me stay. I wasn't a child anymore, hadn't been for some time, and we agreed that Charming may not be safe just yet until we knew what or if Ryan would try and do anything. The Mayans were now my family too, and would go to the death for me...and as much as my father hated to admit it, he knew I'd be safest here. At least for a while.

A switch had flipped inside Bishop after that. While he assured me that nothing that had happened to me was my fault, it took a while to shake the thoughts from my head. But Bishop was always there with a comforting presence when my demons would surface.

Bishop was constantly at my side, and when he couldn't be, EZ was tasked as my shadow. I'd hated having a tail at first, but EZ and I quickly developed a sibling type relationship.

EZ sighed. "Yeah, but can you blame him?"

"No, I get it. It just gets too much at times and I need some space is all."

EZ held the bottle up, pausing before taking a drink. "Have you tried telling him that?"

I cocked my head, giving EZ a side glare silently saying 'really?'

He laughed. "Bish isn't the best at being told what to do."

I laughed lightly "Understatement of the decade."

I smiled to myself. As protective and somewhat overbearing as Bishop was at times, it came from a place of deep love, and I was grateful.

EZ and I fell into comfortable silence for a few moments before I took a breath, eyes locked on the small bonfire below. "Will you teach me to fight?"

EZ froze mid sip and lowered his beer as he looked over to me "What?"

I huffed out a breath and faced him. "Teach me to fight...box....spar, whatever you want to call it." I waved the beer bottle.

"No, I heard you. I just... I guess I expected someone would've taught you growing up..."

I looked down at my hands, picking at the label on the bottle "Never had the need.... until I did and I couldn't defend myself. I refuse to let that happen again. No matter what Bishop says or does, he won't be there at all times, and neither will you... I need this, E. Please."

He stared down at the fire for a moment, the flames dancing in his dark eyes before meeting my gaze and giving a small smile. "We'll start tomorrow."

~💀~

Tags:

@shinymoonstarfish @saltyunicorn079 @stitchattacks

[mysticalmallard]

Fun and Responsibility

Description: Jax wants to take his 4year old little sister for a ride on his bike, what could go wrong.

Word count: 2,230

Warnings⚠️: swearing and general SOA warnings.

Taglist: @aimkatsz @ravennaortiz @darqchilddaydreamz @arkytiorlecter

(If you wanna be added or removed from the SoA taglist just comment or message me)

♥︎ MainMasterlist ♥︎

Jax carefully fastens the straps that holds his four-year-old sister, Katherine, against his chest, a small but proud smile playing at the corners of his lips. The other club members snicker and chuckle as they watch the scene unfolding before them.

Jax grins back at them, their laughter only fueling his mischievous nature. He climbs onto his Harley, the engine roaring to life beneath him.

As he revs the engine with a loud rumble, the sound seems to catch the attention of both his mother Gemma and Clay. Gemma comes running over, her eyes wide with horror.

"Jackson Teller, what on earth do you think you're doing!?" she demands, her voice rising in pitch with each word.

Jax grins back at her, the wind whipping through his hair as he prepares to ride off. "Just taking the kid for a ride, Ma. What's the big deal? She'll be fine," he calls back over the noise of the engine.

Meanwhile, Clay joins Gemma's side as he hears the commotion, his face darkened with anger.

"You know damn well what the big deal is, boy. You're not taking our daughter out for a ride," he snaps, his voice sharp and authoritative.

Jax just rolls his eyes, his usual cool demeanor wavering for a moment. "Come on. She'll be fine. I've done this plenty of times before, she loves it. Nothing has ever happened."

"What do you mean you've done this before!?!" Gemma glares

Jax shifts in his seat, trying to keep the bike straight as he faces his mother's anger. "I mean, I've taken her for rides before. It's not a big deal. She loves it," he repeats adamantly, refusing to back down.

"And what if something happens? What if you crash and she gets hurt?" Gemma's voice trembles as she voices her worst fear.

Jax rolls his eyes again, scoffing at her anxieties. "Nothing's gonna happen, Ma. I'm a good driver, I've been riding this bike since I was sixteen, I think I know what I'm doing. And I'd never let anything happen to her. I love her, too, you know," he protests, a hint of defensiveness in his tone.

Clay crosses his arms, eyeing his step son closely. "That's not the point, Jax. You're still young. You're 18 and you're still learning to be responsible."

Jax bristles at Clay's words, his pride wounded. "I am responsible. And I'm not a child anymore. It's just a ride on the bike, not like I'm gonna take her out on the highway or anything," he argues.

"It doesn't matter, Jax. It's not responsible to have a four-year-old strapped to your chest while you ride a motorcycle. It's not safe, period," Gemma bites out, her hands on her hips.

Jax clenches his jaw, his stubborn nature refusing to give in. "She'll be fine, stop being so paranoid."Jax revs and starts to pull off the lot

"Dammit, Jax, don't you dare!" Gemma yells after him, her voice shrill with anger and worry.

Clay moves to stop him, but it's too late. Jax speeds off with Katherine strapped to his chest.The other club members watch as Jax zips away, their grins disappearing as they anticipate the storm that follows.

Meanwhile, Gemma and Clay stand there, their faces pale and stricken. Their only daughter is riding away on a motorcycle with her reckless brother.

The ride is smooth at first, the wind brushing through Jax and Katherine's hair as they gain speed. The freedom of the open road is exhilarating, and Katherine's soft giggles and squeals of delight confirm her enjoyment. Jax grins, feeling proud to be the cool older brother who can give her this experience.

But soon enough, Jax starts to push the limits, weaving in and out of traffic and taking sharper turns than usual.The adrenaline rush is intoxicating, and Jax forgets the consequences, living in the moment. He pushes the bike to its limits, feeling the rush of wind in his face as they speed down the road.

Katherine, strapped to his chest, is blissfully ignorant of the danger, her small hands gripping Jax's arms as she laughs in joy.

They continue their high-speed journey, Jax growing more reckless with each mile. He knows he's pushing his luck, but the thrill is too good to pass up.

Suddenly, a sharp turn approaches, and Jax takes it at a dangerous angle. The bike skids slightly, but he manages to right it before it tips over.

Katherine lets out a frightened squeal, her grip on Jax's arms tightening. Jax's breath catches temporarily as he feels the bike's instability, but he quickly regains control. "It's okay, Kitty. We're okay," he tries to reassure his little sister and himself, his voice shaking just a bit.

Jax knows that was a close call, he slows down and he stops the bike at the side of the road, his hands trembling just slightly as he unstraps Katherine from his chest. He picks her up in his arms, holding her close, feeling a pang of guilt at having put her in danger.

Katherine clings to Jax, her small body trembling slightly from the fear she just experienced. Jax strokes her hair, trying to calm her down.

"I'm so sorry, Kitty. I got carried away," he mutters, his voice apologetic. He looks down at her and sees the fear in her eyes, and it breaks his heart.

"I won't do that again, okay? I promise," he whispers, cradling her gently. What could of happened playing in his head.

Just then, the rumble of other motorcycles fill the air, and Jax looks up to see the rest of the SoA pulling up next to him. Clay and Gemma are among them, their faces etched with anger and concern.

"What the hell were you thinking, son?! You could have gotten her killed!" Clay explodes as soon as he dismounts his bike.

Jax holds Katherine tightly against his chest, her small body trembling. "I... I didn't mean to get carried away. We're both fine, aren't we, Kitty?" he tries to defend himself.

"Don't try to downplay it, Jax. You took that turn way too fast," Tig chimes in, his voice stern but concerned.

Gemma pushes through the group, her eyes on her trembling daughter. "Give her to me. Now Jax," she demands, holding out her arms.

Jax hesitates for a beat. He knows he screwed up, but the thought of losing his little sister's trust and love is even more painful. Reluctantly, he hands Katherine over to his mother.

As Gemma takes her daughter into her arms, Clay gets into Jax's face, his expression hard as stone. "You're damn lucky she's okay. But you've pushed it too far this time, boy."

Jax grits his teeth, his pride wounded. "It was one mistake, okay? I got carried away. I didn't mean to scare her," he retorts stubbornly.

Clay's eyes narrow, anger and disappointment mixing in his gaze. "That's the problem, Jax. You never mean to. But you're careless and reckless, and it's gonna land you in trouble someday... or worse."

Jax's jaw tightens, the words hitting him hard. He's grown up in the Sons of Anarchy, surrounded by chaos and danger, and he's always thought he was invincible.

"This isn't a goddamn therapy session, Clay. I get it, I messed up. I'm sorry. It won't happen again," he snaps, his voice sharp and defensive.

Clay stands his ground, not backing down. "You're damn right it won't happen again. Because from now on, you're off the bike until you prove you can be responsible enough to handle it. And that includes taking your sister on joyrides."

Jax's eyes widen in shock and anger. "You... you can't do that. You know how much the bike means to me." he protests, his voice rising.

Clay crosses his arms, his expression still stern. "I can, and I am. You wanna act like a reckless kid, I'll treat you like one. The bike stays off-limits until you learn to respect and control yourself."

Anger and disbelief flare in Jax's eyes. The thought of being separated from his bike, his only freedom and escape, is almost unbearable.

"You can't do this, man. You're grounding me for one mistake? That's bullshit, and you know it," he protests vehemently.

"It's not about a mistake, Jax. It's about your attitude and your lack of maturity and responsibility. You put your sister's life at risk, and that's unacceptable. Until you learn to control yourself, your bike stays in the garage, Tig will go back to TM bring the truck round," Clay's voice is firm, not leaving any room for argument.

Jax's anger and frustration boil over. He feels betrayed, being held responsible for something he feels wasn't entirely his fault. "This is bullshit. You're taking away the one thing that matters to me. What am I supposed to do now? Sit around and twiddle my thumbs?"

Clay doesn't waver, his gaze unwavering. "That's exactly what you're gonna do. You're gonna sit, you're gonna think about what you did, and you're gonna learn some damn restraint and responsibility. You're 18 years old, and it's time you start acting like it."

Chibs steps forward, resting a hand on Jax's shoulder. "Come on, lad. This is for your own good."

Jax angrily shoves off Chibs's hand, his eyes ablaze with frustration and resentment. "For my own good? You've gotta be kidding me. You're all just using this as an excuse to keep me under your control. Well, newsflash, I'm not a goddamn kid anymore. I can handle myself."

"Look at your sister!, Jax look what you did..what you COULD have done..and tell me again how you are a responsible person" Clay shouts

Jax looks at Katherine, her small, shaking form still clutched in Gemma's arms. The fear in her eyes cuts through him like a knife. Guilt and remorse wash over him as he's forced to face the consequences of his actions.

He takes a deep breath, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "I... shit...im sorry i wasnt thinking i just wanted her to have some fun."

Clay's expression softens a fraction, seeing the remorse in Jax's eyes. "Fun is fine, but not at the expense of someone's safety. You need to understand that."

Piney steps forward, his voice calmer than the rest. "We're not trying to keep you under control, Jax. We're trying to look out for you and your sister."

Jax clenches his jaw, the fight in him slowly ebbing away. Deep down, he knows they're right, but his pride and anger make it hard to accept.

He runs a hand through his hair, his eyes flickering towards his sister, who's starting to calm down in Gemma's arms. "Yeah, I get it. I messed up."

"Now go give your sister a hug while you sit and wait for the truck...you will strap your own bike on...you will drive the truck back home and you will put it in the garage where it will stay until you prove you deserve to ride it again" Bobby adds

Jax feels like a scolded puppy, his pride wounded. But he swallows his ego and walks over to Gemma, who still holds Katherine.

He gently takes his sister into his arms, holding her close. "I'm sorry, Kitty. I was an idiot, and I promise I'll do better from now on," he whispers, his voice genuine.

He then looks at the other members of the Sons, his gaze filled with resignation. "I'll drive the truck back... and I'll keep the bike in the garage."

The Sons nodded, a mixture of relief and acceptance on their faces. They knew it wasn't easy for Jax to take responsibility, and seeing him do so showed maturity.

Clay pats Jax on the back, his expression softer now. "You better damn well keep your promise."

Jax looks at Clay, his expression a mixture of guilt, regret, and determination. "I will. Trust me."

He turns to the rest of the group, his eyes lingering on Tig. "Can we just get this damn truck now? I want to get her home."

Tig nods, his usual smirk replaced with a hint of concern. "Yeah, I'll go back now and grab it."

He heads off, leaving Jax standing there with the rest of the Sons and Gemma. An awkward silence hangs over them for a moment, the tension and anger slowly dissipating.

"Jaxie...bike bad?" Katherine says looking up at her brother. Jax looks down at his sister, her innocent question cutting through the tension. He feels a pang of guilt and remorse for what he's put her through.

He forces a small smile, his voice soft. "No, Kitty. Bike's not bad. I was bad, riding it too fast. But I won't do it again, okay?"

Katherine nods, seemingly appeased for now. Jax holds her close, his arms tight around her. He feels the need to protect her, to make amends for his mistake.

Clay and Gemma share a look, a silent conversation passing between them. Clay then turns to Jax, his voice firm but softer now. "We'll leave you to get her home. But remember, son. That bike stays in the garage, no exceptions."

Jax nods, his expression solemn. "Understood." He knew well enough that challenging Clay wasn’t going to change a goddamn thing.

He holds Katherine a little tighter, her small body pressed into his chest. "Let's get you home, Kitty."

•○•○•○•

If you wanna read more about Katherine and her time with the club click here

[razrbladekiss]

TYRANTS | Chapter Eighteen - Tolerate It

WORD COUNT: 2.2k

WARNINGS: just some almost smut, strong language, jax and tig, the usual SOA shit. enjoy :)

And come morning, Tig's stomach was in knots.

It was a full-throated affliction. Like he had been struck with a machete, beaten and bludgeoned, left for dead in one of Charming's many arid backstreets as the perpetrator got away.

Only, the convoluted scenario that festered away inside of his brain was but a convoluted scenario. Something that he had spent hours curating, dwelling on while Isla had remained sound asleep and fastened to the left side of his chest, blissfully unaware of the way that her profession had rocked his entire fucking world.

He felt the walls of sanity collapse around him, the more he thought about what she had said. Like he was completely unable to uphold even a mask of lucidity, or something remotely reminiscent of calm.

And all he wanted to do was extrapolate his innermost thoughts to Isla, though he was certain she hadn't managed to cling to a single memory from the night before.

Partially because, had she recognized the weight of what she once blurted, she would have blushed her way through the morning and cringed all the way to the Clubhouse. 

But she didn't do that. Any of that. And today, like most others, started with Isla in a very compromising position, and Tig's tongue anywhere but his own mouth.

"Don't be scared, baby. Ride it."

"But..." Isla shifted so that her legs were either side of Tig as she straddled him, feeling his cock hard beneath her. "But won't it hurt? Wouldn't you just rather regular sex—"

"Angel, listen to me." Calloused palms slid over her thighs, soothing gentle, concentric circles into the supple tan flesh that he couldn't seem to get enough of.

She was, objectively, perfect in every way.

"Isla." He said, watching her silently mull it over.

She let out a soft breath and nodded with a warm, completely comfortable smile. "I am. I'm listening."

Tig waited for a few moments, until her eyes had finally found his and her visible anguish had subsided, before making his next move.

"It's not gonna hurt me, alright?" He guaranteed, slowly veering himself down the bed until he was able to rest his head on the pillow that was once untouched. "If it hurt, I wouldn't have even suggested it."

"How do you know it's not gonna hurt? It's, like, my whole weight."

"I've done this before." Isla's eyebrow raised as he spoke, waiting for him to further build on his response. "Babe, seriously. Just sit on my face, and ride my tongue."

"Sit?"

He nodded.

"Like—like sit on your face? Don't you mean hover—"

"Stop." Irked, he plucked her from his lap and yanked her forward. Until she was situated atop his sternum.

Trembling.

"I said sit on my face. K? I don't mean hover. I don't mean holding off from putting your whole weight onto me. I said sit on my face, and ride my tongue. Now."

"Tig—"

"If you don't do it, I'm sure I can find another bitch with a crow tattoo that'd be more than happy to let me eat her pussy this morning—"

"Oh, wow." She cut him short, feeling her heart wrench inside of her chest.

It was a pain rooted in anger—fervor—as Isla saw nothing but a red hot rage. Blistering fury. Like the embers of resentment from last night hadn't quite burned out yet, and Tig's mindless riposte had ignited a fresh flicker of that same inimical passion.

And, truthfully, he didn't know why something so harsh had bled from his tongue in such a churlish manner. Because not even twenty-four hours ago he had professed his love for her, hadn't he?

Last night, while she was deluged in one of her most vulnerable states, Tig told her that he loved her and held her hair back as she threw up.

Idiot.

"That's all you really see me as, huh?" Isla spat, promptly peeling her frame away from him.

Like being stuck to Tig was the worst fucking thing she could've thought of.

"I'm just some bitch with a crow tattoo?" Affronted, she said. Isla slid off the bed and onto the freezing redwood floor of his dorm room. "If that's how you feel, then maybe you should go fuck Ima like Jax suggested—"

"Don't fucking do this, Isla!" He barked, sitting upright when she snatched her jeans from the ground. "Do not fucking go there. You know I can't stand that slut."

Indifferently, she shrugged.

As she shimmied back into her Levi's and fastened the zipper, Isla's focus was wholly laid upon trying to wrangle her boundless impenetrable thoughts before they began to sputter from her lips.

"I didn't mean to sound like such an asshole there, baby—"

She snorted.

Tig rubbed his lips together, watching her shrug on a crisp white bardot top with broderie anglaise detailing along the hem. He had to stifle a smile at the sight, actually.

"You can hate me all you want, but you know that I'm gonna have you speared on my cock when I get back from this run. 'Cus it always ends the same way."

"And you're so sure about that?" She said, fighting a stippling blush. "You're gonna be gone for, like, three days, Tig. That's plenty of time for me to think about what you just said."

"This is true." He nodded, getting out of bed. "But it's also plenty of time for you to think about how much groveling I can do to get back on your good side."

That unbelievably suggestive eyebrow raise had sent a scorching heat to her core. Isla's stomach flipped.

But she snapped herself out of it. Promptly remembering that he had, essentially, told her that he would have been willing to sleep with another woman when she didn't particularly feel like doing what he wanted.

And, once again, she glared at him like he made her sick.

"No amount of amazing sex is gonna make what you just said any better. You're gonna have to really fucking pull something outta the bag when you get home."

"Oh, trust me." He smirked. Wickedly. "I know exactly what I can pull outta my bag to impress you—"

"Don't." She held a finger up to silence him, grabbing her keys and sunglasses while he simply stayed grinning at her. "Just head out on this run, do what you've gotta do, keep yourself safe and your dick in your pants, and I'll see you when you roll back into Charming."

Tig smiled, bowing his head a little as he reached for his jeans.

"So, you'll be there when I get back?" He asked.

Isla nodded and slid on her black frames, hoping that her (kind of) better half didn't heed the way her lips began to contort into a small smile.

She pulled herself together and cleared her throat, nodding again.

"I'm always here when you lot get back." Tig opened his mouth to speak, but she silenced him once again. "I'm always here for my father and Jax."

And, with that, Isla wrenched the handle between her polished pink fingertips and pulled open the door. Leaving Tig absolutely dumbstruck as she sauntered away.

"Holy shit, man." He mumbled to himself, fighting with the slightly taught denim. "I love this woman."

—

"No fuckin' way." Jax snorted, flicking his cigarette butt to the ground. "No way am I gonna apologize to that—that psycho bitch. She tried to hit me—"

"She Did hit 'ya." Chibs corrected as he passed by, feeling Gemma's piercing glare burn holes into his silver hair. "Had it comin' though—"

"Fuck you."

Chibs chuckled, letting the left side of his lips curl upwards.

"Regardless of that." The matriarch said, side-eyeing the Scot. "You still provoked her, Jackson."

His eyes rolled.

"Now, I don't know what went on or what was said—'cus I wasn't there—but what I do know is that Isla is pissed off."

"When isn't she pissed off these days, ma?" He huffed out, plucking another Marlboro from the breast pocket of his kutte. "She's like a new person. Ever since..."

"Ever since Tara rocked up into Charming in those goddamn scrubs. I know." Gemma hissed, though managed to reign in any ill feeling she had for the doctor. "But can you blame her? She ran away from you and then came prancing back into your life like nothing happened."

"She didn't do that—"

"But, to Isla, it might look that way." Softly, she mentioned. "And because you don't make the effort to talk to your best friend anymore, she probably does feel like that's what's happening."

He was sick of this. Being dubbed the villain—the bad guy—for simply not having the time to converse with a woman that, truly, had no interest whatsoever in making small talk with him anymore.

Or, so he felt, anyway.

"The effort does work both ways, y'know?!" Jax snapped.

His mother was speechless.

Gemma's face fell while she tried to collect her thoughts, to compose even a hint of a response to such a riposte from the man that she made.

But now...Now it seemed as though his traits and attitude and just his demeanor had started to mirror Clay's, and Gemma was far from impressed that her impact had started to wear away from her son.

Turning into Clay was the very last thing that she wanted for John's boy.

"Christ, Jax. Now I can see why Isla avoids you like the goddamn plague." She asserted, taking a step back when she saw the blonde in question padding her way toward Chibs.

He'd never been so brash before. Not when it pertained to Isla Telford.

"Listen to me." Gemma grabbed at his arm, pulling him closer. "You either apologize to that girl and let this whole thing slide, or you keep her name out of your fucking mouth unless someone mentions her first. Got it?"

He scoffed, ignoring his mother's tight grip.

"She's not your kid, y'know that?"

"I know." Bluntly, she asserted, letting Jackson go. "But she's been more of a daughter to me than what you've been a son these last few years."

His face fell.

"Sort your shit out, Jax. Don't take it out on Isla."

Gemma turned on her heels and began walking toward Clay, ignoring the violent exhale of the man she had completely intentionally started to maim.

Much like how he hated being dubbed a villain, Jax Telled hated his mother turning against him...Choosing another's side.

But, it was Isla. And, to the club—to his mom—Isla couldn't do wrong.

She was perfect in their eyes. A complete angel. A gift from the Gods.

And he was absolutely fucking sick of it.

He was sick of her.

Jax didn't know exactly why he was so disgusted by the mere thought of his childhood best friend anymore, really. Because he didn't feel this way about Opie.

He didn't feel this way about all of the people he'd known the majority of his life.

But, right now, Isla boiled his fucking blood. The sight of her pissed him off more than he'd like to admit, and he hated it.

Resenting Chibs's daughter simply because his brain had trained him to, not so much down to a specific rhyme or reason.

And, really, if anybody should've despised a member of this "family", it should've been Isla loathing Jax.

He killed another man and forced that poor woman to dispose of his dead fucking body, no questions asked.

"Fuck this."

He grunted, throwing his roach to the ground and stamping it out with his sneaker. Jax sauntered over to the clubhouse.

"Isla!" He shouted out. Aggressively, actually.

Chibs lifted a brow, nodding toward the Vice President.

He thought it best to stick around. Just in case his daughter wanted to leather her comrade, more than anything else.

"Hey, Telford!" Jax yelled again, storming over to the duo. "You got something you wanna say to me?"

Isla had actually reached the end of her tether with the men of SAMCRO today. She was done.

She didn't fucking care. She didn't have it in her to care.

"Not particularly." She sighed. "But I suppose that you think I have, no?"

Jax glared at Chibs, but the Scot held it. He wasn't intimidated, nor was he particularly bothered. Much like his offspring.

"Alright." Isla rubbed her lips together. "Good luck for this ride, and I hope you don't crash and fucking die." She spat out, storming away toward the bar.

Isla turned around, walking backward for a second. "Good luck, dad. I'll see you later. Love you." She called.

Chibs blew her a kiss, she caught it, and continued stomping into the clubhouse.

He had raised a bitch, that was for sure. And everyone knew it.

"Isla--" Tig began.

"Fuck off." She barked. "Be safe today, but fuck off, seriously. I don't wanna talk to you, I don't wanna see you, and I really really don't wanna think about you until you roll back into Charming."

He nodded with a tight-lipped, stoic expression, and watched her hold back tears.

"I am really hurt, Tig. I think you know that."

"I know, baby, and I'm sorry--"

"If you were sorry then you wouldn't have said all that you fucking said." Despite her tone, she had managed to remain calm. "But it is what it is. And I'll be fine after we have this little bit of time apart."

He reached for her hand. "If that's what you need, then that's alright baby."

"Tig!" Clay yelled from the front door. "Come on, you jackass! We're not gonna make good time if you're yackin' here!"

"Yeah, I'm comin'!" He called back, not turning to see his superior. "I promise I'll be safe, but you gotta promise that you'll forgive me when I get back."

Isla stared at him blankly as he held her hand to his lips, and gave it a gentle peck.

"I don't expect you to forgive me right now. Just at some point. Okay?"

She nodded.

He dropped her hand, and kissed her cheek.

"See 'ya later, angel. Stay safe."

Isla nodded again. Smiling slightly. "You too. Make sure Jax is looked after."

"Will do."

Tig left her, making his way out of the bar and toward his bike.

There was nothing that Isla wanted more than to tell him that she loved him, but she couldn't. Not after this morning.

[garbinge]

Misdirection

Happy Lowman & Daughter OC Scarlett Lowman

From these August Prompts: Misdirection A/N: Forgot to post yesterday, so here's yesterday's August fic!

Words: 1.9k

Warnings: Angsty. Mentions of hospitalization, hurt, broken arm, worry, etc.

SOA Taglist: @drabbles-mc @justreblogginfics

“Scar.” Happy’s voice rarely sounded worried, unsure, or defeated but right now it was a mix of all 3. 

“What’s wrong?” She knew to ask immediately. 

“It’s Lex. She got hurt at the clubhouse.” Now that was a typical Happy response, little information, but just enough detail to have Scarlett’s heart drop to her stomach. 

“What happened? Where is she?” Scarlett was grabbing her keys, eager to get wherever her daughter was. 

“We’re at St. Thomas, Tara’s got her, she’s checking her out.” Happy said that as if that was going to solve everything, like that would make his daughter's anxiety completely disappear. 

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ, Dad.” She was now leaving in the middle of her shift at work, no notice, just calling out to one of her server friends that she needed her to cover her tables. 

Scar was going to stay on the phone, pressure Happy for more information but she knew it’d be a waste and just get her worked up more so she hung up. She began speeding down the Charming roads on her way to St. Thomas, cutting through backroads and shortcuts, anything to cut down on the ETA. She didn’t bother parking, she handed the keys to valet and knew she’d make Happy pay for it. 

Before she could make it to the front desk she ran into Jax, literally. 

“Oh shit, my bad, Scar.” Jax steadied her. 

“Where’s my kid, Jax?” Her hands practically threw Jax’s off of hers. 

“Woah, relax, she’s up in pediatrics, Tara’s checkin’ her out.” Jax spoke like it wasn’t a big deal, like he wouldn’t rip down walls and bulldoze over people for his kids. 

“Don’t tell me to fuckin’ relax, Jax. What the fuck happened?”  

“She climbed on top of the playset, jumped down, fucked her arm up. Pretty gnarly jump for a kid her age.” Jax was smiling again like this wasn’t the most serious situation to Scarlett. 

“You saw her?” The rage was about to be pouring out of Scarlett. 

“Yea a group of us were by the garage, when it happened.” Jax was so oblivious to what was happening. 

“None of you said anything? Told the fuckin’ kid to– I don’t know– maybe not do that? Jesus, are you all so far up your own asses? Do you not get what the fuck could of happened, or did happen, I don’t even know because no one is telling me anything!” 

“Hey,” Jax held up his hands and stepped back. “We all called out, Happy was right there telling her not to do it but she didn’t listen, must be a Lowman family trait.” Jax’s eyebrows raised as he referred to Scarlett. “If it was super serious I wouldn’t be here bullshitting with you, I would be up there with everyone else waiting for you. So don’t misdirect your anger on me.” 

“Get out of my way.” Scarlett was pushing past Jax. 

As Scarlett entered the pediatric wing she saw Gemma, Bobby, Tig, and Happy. 

“What room is she in?” Scarlett wasn’t in the mood to have another ‘bullshitthing’ conversation with anyone. 

“201.” Gemma was immediate to answer, understanding what Scar was going through, mother to mother. 

Scarlett was moving quick past the waiting room and down the hall in search of the room so she could find relief or some sort of answers. She stopped in her tracks when she saw her daughter with a bandage wrapped around her arm, her face was stained with tears but currently her face was all smiles. There were so many things floating in Scarlett’s head right now as she stared through the window of the room Lex was in. Her baby was okay, she was hurt, but she was there smiling and okay.  But that guilt was still eating her alive. 

“Hey, she’s alright.” Tara’s voice alerted her to turn around and face the doctor. “Her arm is broken, we’d describe it as an acute fracture, she’ll wear a cast for a month and then a split, but it’ll fully recover, no surgery needed.” 

Scar let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much, can I go in and see her?” She was turning her head and already starting to go into the room. 

“We still need a couple more x-rays just so we can see progress as time passes with the cast and splint.” Tara explained hoping that Scarlett would get it. 

“Alright, I’ll wait out with the club, you’ll find me when I can see her?” Scarlett sounded eager. 

“Right away.” Tara smiled and touched the side of Scarlett’s arm before moving into Lex’s room. 

Scar knew standing there and watching from afar would be tortuous so she quickly moved back to the waiting room. For a few moments she stood back, looking at everyone in the room but specifically her father. Happy was nervously standing against the wall where the waiting room began to open up. Nervous was a feature that Happy didn’t show very often. To be fair, he wasn’t showing it too much, but Scarlett clocked it right away. The stoic face had more of a frown to it, and his leg was lightly tapping up and down, he had his eyes focused on one spot on the floor, he was fixated on it probably thinking about all the potential possibilities, all the things that could have happened mixed with the anger that there was nothing to do, no one to blame, no one to fight to get payback unless he was going to punch the play set to pieces. 

Scarlett knew exactly what he was thinking because when she broke her arm when she was just slightly older than Lex, Happy went and threatened the parent of the kid who pushed her off the gym stage. It took 30 minutes of her begging for him not to threaten the child themselves before she negotiated him down to ‘talking’ to the parents. She should have known better, even at that age. 

“She’s gonna be fine.” Scar reached her hand up and touched Happy’s shoulder. 

His gaze immediately broke and turned to his daughter. “Can we see her?” 

“Not yet. Tara’s doing more x-rays, progress shots. She’ll be in a cast for a bit.” Scar’s hand was still resting on her father’s shoulders.  “You’re not mad. I thought you’d be mad.” Happy said now standing up straight and staring down at her. 

“I was mad. You’re lucky I ran into Jax down the hall first, I yelled at him and now I feel better.” She smiled. 

“I told her not to jump.” Happy still had his stoic face on. 

“What can I say, she gets her listening skills from you.” She pushed her hand against his shoulder before letting him go. 

“She gets that daredevil spirit from you.” Happy turned a smirk now. 

“And I wonder where I got that from.” Her eyes rolled and she turned to the other people who had begun approaching. Bobby, Tig, and Gemma. “She’s alright, gonna have a cast, that she’s probably going to ask all of you to sign, so please no inappropriate shit. Or cursing. Or SOA colors or markers please.” Her eyes moved to Tig specifically. “Why are you lookin' at me?” “Because when she asked you to sign her field trip form you signed it with the anarchy A.” Scarlett crossed her arms. Everyone turned to look at Tig as if to ask that was seriously what he did. 

“It makes the A in trager look better, what can I say.” He shrugged. 

Before anyone could answer, a little voice was getting louder from down the hall. 

“Mommy! Mommy!” 

Scarlett turned around and squatted to be eye level with her little girl. “Hey baby!” 

“Look I broke my arm!” She was grinning from ear to ear despite the tears being stained on her face. It was such a Lowman thing to do. “Its pretty cool, right?” 

Scarlett was going to answer, but it truthfully wasn’t the right time to reprimand her, she had been through enough and she’d talk to her at home about listening and making better decisions. “The coolest, but I’m just glad you’re okay. I was scared.” 

“So was Pops.” Lex pointed to Happy. “Pops, look at my cast! They let me draw on it and look I did a smiley like the tattoos you and the one mom has!” She raised her arm to Happy. 

The silence between everyone was very prominent, the tension rose. Some eyes looked over at eachother, some looked at Scarlett to guage her response, guage Happy’s. Tig was the first one to speak with humor in his voice,  a shrug falling off his shoulders and the sentence he spoke earned him a look from everyone.

“Well at least it wasn’t one of us that did something inappropriate.” 

[mybulletyourlove]

FIRST CHAPTER IS UP!!!!

1. a great day for freedom

ao3: chapter

wattpad: chapter

ao3 > bigtimerush

wattpad > httparanoid

[ravennaortiz]

Chapter 3 of the Juice and OC Stormie Rayne story.

Warnings: As always this is an 18+ story. General themes of the show such as violence, drugs, swearing, smut etc. Mention of child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault/harassment are in some chapters.

Clay nodded as Juice finished telling him what he had found on Half-Sacks sister. "I don't have any concerns that make me feel she poses a risk for the club. Does anyone have objections?" asked Clay looking around the table at the men seated. After hearing none he adjourned the meeting.

As the men filtered out, Gemma made her was in. "Stormies a sweet girl and so is Isabella. Makes me wish I had a daughter" stated Gemma wishfully as she sat down in one of the many chairs. "Hassling her already" chuckled Clay as he shook his head. "No" replied Gemma with some annoyance. "Just checking to see what she is made of.....and there is a spice that I can't wait to see come out" replied Gemma with a laugh. "I came in her though to ask a favor" stated Gemma changing the subject. Clay laughed, "of course you had an ulterior motive." Gemma ignored him before continuing on. "I was telling her about Luanne and Kira-Kira. Told her I could get her a job their but she declined doesn't want to do that line of work anymore. I can't blame her after what she has been through. So I was thinking maybe she could be the club's bar tender." explained Gemma pausing to gauge Clay's response.

"Does she know how?" asked Clay after a moment. "Yes, she made all kinds of drinks out here while we were waiting" replied Gemma with a smile. "Sounds fine to me. She can start when she's ready" replied Clay. "Thank you" replied Gemma before getting up and leaving.

***

"I hope my mom wasn't too much darling" stated Jax as he sat at the bar where Piney was sitting coloring with Isabella while Stormie cleaned up what she had been using to make drinks. "Gemma? She was fine" replied Stormie as she glanced up at the blonde haired, blue eyed guy. "I assume your Jax? She gave me a whole history" inquired Stormie as she caught the VP patch on his kutte. Jax frowned slightly. "What exactly did my mom say about me" he asked curious. "Lets see. Two kids, inability to keep it in his pants, married to a woman she doesn't approve off, ex wife is an addict to which she said you have poor choices in women. Piney did I forget anything?" relayed Stormie with a smile as she looked towards the older man. He had put her at ease right away when the clubhouse filled up hours ago especially after Isabella announced that "her mommy was scared of men" making Stormie cringe and flush with embrassement.

"I think that was everything" laughed Piney as he looked at Jax who shook his head with a small smile. "All true. At least my mom is honest when she talks shit" laughed Jax as he took the beer Stormie offered him. "Don't feel to bad. She gave me all the dirt on everyone" replied Stormie as she caught sight of Gemma waving her to her. "I'll watch her" stated Piney as he saw Stormies gaze as he nodded to Isabella. "Thank you" replied Stormie before walking off to talk to Gemma. "Don't go sniffing around her Jackson. She's had a hard enough life and doesn't need you making it more complicated" warned Piney as he looked over at Jax. "Why do people keep telling me that" muttered Jax as he sipped his beer and thought of how Half-Sack, Chibs and Tig had already given him separate lectures.

Return to Chapter List

[triviadimplesblog]

🇹​​🇭​​🇪​ ​🇨​​🇷​​🇮​​🇲​​🇸​​🇴​​🇳​ ​🇭​​🇴​​🇷​​🇮​​🇿​​🇴​​🇳​

Chibs Telford x OC Brianne O'Connor

Warnings: violence, guns,

The Crimson Horizon Masterlist

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Chapter Eight

Life had been kind to Brianne from the moment she impulsively decided to save Chibs, Tig, and Bobby. It was the best decision of her life, now that she looked back, whether or not it was impulsive. Now, five months into her relationship with Chibs, she had been ecstatic. She was riding with the boys, getting more important assignments as the months drew closer and closer to the one-year mark. She had formed good friendships with everyone around, except for Wendy. Speaking off, Jax and Wendy decided to end things, but then Wendy came forward and announced that she was pregnant. However, Jax still things it's not gonna work out between them so he allowed her to stay at their previously shared house and he was spending his nights at the Clubhouse.

Brianne and Chibs' relationship, however, had been smooth sailing. They had taken it slow for the first month, but then something between them shifted and suddenly they were spending nights at each others' places, even for a few nights in a row. Chibs almost had all his stuff at Brianne's apartment at this point. She didn't complain, she loved having him there as much as possible. To fall asleep while he was holding her, then waking up in his arms – it was a dream come true.

They had become the hot topic when it came to teasing, though. And their number one bully? Tig freaking Trager. He was not letting go of the fact that he slept with Brianne before she and Chibs got together and now he's using any chance he could get to mess with the Scotsman. For that one time Brianne was touching up her bike, trying to fix a minor issue. Chibs was by her side, guiding her through the process, explaining which part of the machinery did what and what she needed to look out for. Neither of them noticed Tig and Juice entering. „What are you now, some motorcycle expert or something?" Tig had said jokingly, looking at Brianne.

„She's got some serious skills for this. Quick learner." Chibs shot him a wary smile, hoping that was the end of it. Brianne smiled at the compliment, looking over her handy work.

Tig snickered and Brianne knew right away that he was about to shoot one of his lame jokes. „She's got other skills you're enjoying too, right?" She looked at Tig just in time to see him wiggle his eyebrows suggestively at Chibs and Juice laughing beside him. She rolled her eyes playfully, although she was used to his teasing by now.

„Just let me work on my bike in peace, bastard." She had said, feeling Chibs' supporting hand patting her shoulder.

Being a Prospect for these idiots wasn't easy. Half-Sack got the short end of the stick when it comes to that though. Sometimes she felt sorry for the fella, but there was nothing she could do about it. If she tried to defend him, they would turn their attention to her and start their usual teasing. All in good fun, of course.

Peace doesn't last long though. She wasn't aware of it, but Brianne's past was slowly catching up to her during those few blissfull months, and soon it would finally catch her. That day was scheduled for one of their meetings with Laroy, they have all been gathered at the Clubhouse for a breakfast that Gemma had prepared. They had to collect guns and then transport them straight to Laroy today. Brianne loved it when it was just them, no croweaters, no other charters (although she had nothing against any other charter at this point, they all had to accept her as a Prospect and they did, Clay made sure of that), but it was something special when it was just them. Until it all came crashing down. Gemma had just cleared the table, with the help of the Prospects, when some unfamiliar men burst through the room.

They all had them at gun point and there was no time for any of them to pull out their guns. So they were at the mercy of these people. Brianne's breath stopped midway when she noticed their uniforms. The very familiar logo that she grew up with. Then their leader entered. She felt as if the floor opened, sucking her into the dark hole. They found her. It was all over. The Shadow Hand had arrived. As Declan O'Rourke stood in front of her, smirking, she knew there was no getting out of this alive.

„What a lovely little situation we've got ourselves in here," Declan was looking around the Clubhouse until his eyes landed on Brianne. „Isn't that right Bri?" The Sons looked at each other in confusion. Just who was this guy and how did he know Brianne? „You've got yourself quite a life here in Charming. Shame that it must come to an end."

Brianne clenched her fists, this was not the time to go all soft. She had to protect her club. „I'm afraid yer wrong," She spoke sternly. Chibs watched her focused glare, she seemed different. Like a switch was turned on and she was a different person than she was a few minutes ago. „Ye've got no business here, leave or I'll make ye leave."

Declan laughed suddenly, a sound that sent shivers down her spine. „You were our best operative, Brianne. You know too much, and you've become a liability. You can't just walk away." The truth hurts. She did know too much, but she hadn't been a threat in over four years, why would she risk everything she acquired here, just to spite the organization?

She wasn't that stupid, even they had to know it. „I left that life behind," She spoke. „I won't go back."

Declan chuckled darkly. „Oh, sweetheart, there's no escape from the Shadow Hand. You know that better than anyone." When she didn't budge, he looked around, nodding at his men. Suddenly all the guns were pressed on the back of Sons' heads, even Gemma wasn't spared from that fate. Brianne's demeanor wavered slightly at the sight of her family being put in that position. She whipped out her gun and aimed it at Declan's head. He, in turn, aimed his at Chibs. „Tell you what, you come with us peacefully and I don't blow a hole into his head. Would be a shame if your handsome Scotty died right here, wouldn't it?" Declan watched as Brianne was struggling with her options. He spoke again. „Or you could kill me, but then my men would kill every one of them," He was motioning around at all the faces she grew to love. „You can't save them all in time-„

„Alright!" Brianne shouted, easing the grip on her gun and slowly putting it down. „I'll go with you. Just don't hurt anyone." Declan jerked his head in her direction silently, putting down his gun. The two men, who had their guns aimed at Gemma and Tig, instantly grabbed her by her arms and began pushing her out the door. She didn't have any courage to look at her friends, especially not Chibs. She had messed up by letting herself settle down in the small town of Charming and almost had people she cared about killed. Now she had to pay for her mistakes. But at least they will all survive, she told herself. Her heart sank as the men led her through the Clubhouse door and towards the two vans waiting for her. She couldn't believe she had let her guard down after almost five years of freedom, and put the people she cared about in danger – and the man she loved with all her heart. She turned her head towards the Clubhouse one more time and locked eyes with Chibs. As soon as her eyes met hers, he tried to reach her, but Tig and Juice held him back.

„Let her go, ye bastards!" He shouted. Her heart broke at the anger and desperation in his voice. At that point, the Shadow Hand's men were already loading into the vans one by one and the Sons were standing outside of their Clubhouse, still as confused as ever.

„Don't try to follow us," Declan warned. „Or I really will blow a hole in Telford's head." He turned to Brianne, forcefully pushing her into the van. „Daddy dearest can't wait to see you, Brianne. Let's go."

The Sons gathered back in the Clubhouse, their assignment of the day, long forgotten. Chibs paced back and forth, having been already stopped from following after them. Jax had sent Half-Sack to discretely follow the vans and let them know of their whereabouts every few hours if they stray too far. But Chibs wanted to charge right away, not even caring for his safety. Clay looked deep in though, remembering when she told them that the less they knew about her past the better. Maybe if she had told them, they could have foreseen all of this and prevented it. But on the other hand, he did understand why she hid this from them.

Suddenly Gemma approached him, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. „We couldn't have predicted this, Clay," she said softly, knowing the turmoil he was going through. „We didn't know what we were up against." Gemma always knew what to say when someone was going through shit, and she had always been Clay's person to lean on when he needed it the most. So he appreciated having her by his side at this moment as well.

„I just wish she had trusted us enough to share more about what she was running from," He sighed. „Maybe we could have protected her from this."

Gemma understood what he meant by that, she wished Brianne had told them about her life before the Club, but the girl must have had a good reason not to. „Sometimes people keep their past hidden to protect themselves and those they care about," she said. „She was trying to start fresh with us, away from whatever she left behind."

Chibs hadn't meant to listen to their conversation, but he had caught Gemma's words. He had calmed down and cleared his head after realizing that charging in now would do neither of them any good. He was a stable person whenever they faced trouble and he shouldn't change that now either. Not when Brianne needed him the most. He faced Clay and Gemma, nodding. „Aye, she wanted a new life, a clean slate," he said, his voice tinged with frustration. „We can't blame her for that."

Clay nodded, sighing once again and standing up. „Church, now." He began walking towards the Chapel when he turned to Tig. „And get Happy and the Tacoma boys here, now." Tig just nodded, getting to making the phone call right away. The rest of the Sons took their seats in the Chapel and after Tig was done he entered as well, closing the door shut. The tension in the Chapel was palpable and could be cut with a knife, but they were used to situations similar to these and knew how to deal with the pressure. „Juice, what do we know?"

Juice had been tasked with finding out anything he could find about the supposed 'Shadow Hand', questioning any of his contacts he could ask and even going as far as doing a simple internet search. He looked up from his laptop at his brothers. He cleared his throat. „So far, I've managed to dig up some information on the Shadow Hand," He began. „They're a highly secretive and dangerous organization with ties to international crime networks. They've been involved in everything from drug trafficking to arms dealing, and they're known for their ruthless tactics."

„So what do they want from Bri?" Jax leaned in, focusing on Juice.

„I couldn't find anything on Bri. If she was a part of the organization, they must have wiped everything they had on her," Juice shook his head. „I'm guessing they see her as a liability?" He froze for a moment. „Hold up," With a few more taps on the keyboard, his eyes widened. „Holy shit."

„What? What you got?" Tig questioned.

Juice turned his laptop screen to his brothers. „This is Michael O'Connor."

The Sons leaned in to look at the image displayed on Juice's laptop screen. It was a photograph of a man in his late forties, with a hardened and dangerous look in his eyes. "Who's Michael O'Connor?" Jax asked, furrowing his brow.

„Brianne's father." Chibs suddenly chimed in. He stared at the man who looked as ruthless as any of the IRA Kings he used to know. Juice's nod only confirmed his suspicion. Chibs had asked Brianne about her family but the only person she ever talked about was her mother. Beautiful woman, according to Bri. She never mentioned anything about her father, not even his name. Chibs could only conclude that he must not be winning any 'Father of the Year' awards. „We should focus on the leader. Declan, wasn't it?"

Juice shook his head. „He's not the leader," He returned to his laptop screen one more time and typed something before showing it to his brothers once again. „Victor Blackthorn." Chibs' eyes narrowed at the image of the said man on Juice's laptop screen. There was a strange glint in the man's eyes, he could see it, even on an image. That was a man not to be messed with, Chibs could tell that much. Just how did Brianne escape from these people in the first place?

„So what's the plan?" Tig asked. „We can't just sit here and do nothing." It had taken a lot of strength for the Sergeant at Arms not to shoot every single man that broke into their home and took their Prospect from them. He was eager to break some bones once they track down the fuckers, that's for sure.

Clay cleared his throat. „We need to gather more intel before we do anything. We meet Laroy as planned, and see if he heard of this Shadow Hand. Juice, keep digging, see if you can find any weakness in the Shadow Hand's operations," Juice nodded, muttering how hard it would be since they seem to have any internet info on lockdown. „Bobby, reach out to your contacts and see if anyone knows anything about this Blackthorn guy," Bobby got up right away, exiting the Chapel and already calling everyone he assumed could help. „And Chibs," The Scotsman's head snapped in his President's direction. „You need to keep a level head. We can't afford to lose you too."

Chibs nodded, agreeing with his Prez. Clay was surely right, Brianne needed him and he had to be stable for her sake. „I hear ye, Clay," He responded. He did his best to keep his voice steady despite the hurricane of emotions raging inside his heart.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Brianne was pulled out of the van by Declan, who wore a satisfied smirk on his face. The drive wasn't long and she was sure they took her just outside of Lodi somewhere, which meant there was still hope for the Sons to catch up before they took her to Chicago. She was taken to a hotel they stopped by and with no doubt, Brianne was sure her father awaited her there. When the two of them entered, she wasn't surprised to notice how desolate the hotel looked and she concluded that the Shadow Hand had bought the entire hotel just for this reunion today. It wouldn't be the first time they took drastic measures such as that.

Declan led her down a corridor and in front of a double-sided door. She knew her father awaited on the other side, but when the door opened she wasn't expecting to see Victor Blackthorn as well – the cunning leader. Both men stared at her with ruthless eyes. Michael briefly dismissed Declan, who closed the door shut. Once she was alone with her father and Victor, her heart began pounding in her chest. She wasn't afraid, not until now at least. If Victor was here, it would be serious. 

@crazyworldofsiani

[broiderie]

Lost Princessa: Meet the Reaper 19

Here it is! The next chapter. I know I normally update on weekends, but I'm currently working those as well as week days. SO - I'll be updating as I can throughout the month of May.

Warnings: pushy drunk, alcohol, cussing, Mayan men... I think that's it. If I missed anything, please let me know.

Also - don't steal my shit.

A few minutes later, Bishop came back inside. “Hey, Poquito, come on out to the ring. The Reaper’s getting in the cage with one of the Oakland boys. I want you to see his style.”

Megan smiled. “Sure, Padrino.” Hank helped her to stand and steadied her. She offered him her hand to pull him up. 

Hank kissed it. “Go on with Bish, mi princessa. I’ll be right there. I need the bathroom.”

She smiled down at him and leaned to press a soft kiss to his lips. “Okay.” She turned to Bishop, who offered her his arm, and followed him out to the ring.

After Hank finished in the bathroom, he stopped at the bar to retrieve Megan a bottle of water. A girl he vaguely recognized from Vickie’s gave it to him with a flirty smile. “Here you go, Sweetheart. Need anything else?” she asked, batting over done lashes at him.

“Nope. I’m good.” He turned to head outside when she grabbed his hand to slip her number into it. 

“Call me if you change your mind, handsome.”

Hank shook his head and sat the piece of paper on the counter. “Mi Reina is outside. No thanks,” he said, flashing the crown tattoo on his wrist. He turned again and whistled for Rex so that he could go join Megan by the ring.

Venus was standing by the outside door and chuckled at him. “Remind me to educate your sweetbutts about a taken man before I go home, Sugar. They were apparently raised by wolves.”

Hank chuckled with her and offered to escort her outside wordlessly. “She’s lucky Megan is still so sensitive. Give it a month and mi princessa will be taking them apart for that shit.”

Venus smiled and accepted Hank’s arm. “You are a good man, Hank Loza.”

Hank shook his head. “Just one who knows he’s found his queen. Megan deserves that.”

They found Megan by the side of the cage where Tig was fighting. She was perched on the picnic bench with Chibs on one side and Bishop on the other. The men were analyzing the match out loud for her benefit. The Oakland Mayan was coming out the worse for wear, much to Bishop’s disappointment. 

Hank guided Venus to seat beside Chibs before climbing up to sit on the table with Megan between his feet. Without removing her eyes from the match, she settled easily against his warmth and kissed his wrist tattoo in greeting. Rex settled himself in front of her with his eyes on the crowd. 

“Watch his left, Poquito. He’s been holding back. Won’t be much longer…” Bishop muttered.

Chibs laughed. “I warned you Tiggy was a sure bet, Bishop. He was Samcro SAA for years.”

Megan smiled as well. “He is good - but he’s not invincible, Chibs. He loses power if the fight goes too long. And he doesn’ focus his power much…” 

Bishop grinned at her, surprised. “You’re right, Poquito. You’ve been listening more than I thought you had.” He patted her knee nearest him. “A years time and you’ll be an absolute goddess in the ring if you want to be.”

“Aye. The lass analyzes well,” Chibs agreed, sipping his whiskey. “Lemme know when her first fight is. I’d like ta see it.”

Megan laughed. “I don’t plan on competing much. I just like to spend time with my tío in the ring.”

Bishop smiled proudly again, but winced as the Oakland member hit the mat, out cold. He pulled out his wallet and handed Chibs fifty dollars. 

Chibs pocketed the money smugly as Venus shook her head. “Really, gentlemen?”

Both men shrugged as Tig made his way out of the ring and reclaimed his kutte and shirt. Then he beelined to Venus to claim a victory kiss. Finally he turned to the watching group. “Well, Little Bit - did you learn anything?” Tig asked jokingly.

Bishop chuckled with a wicked twinkle in his eye. “We learned that Poquito can analyze a fight pretty well.”

“Oh yeah?” Tig grinned cockily. “And what did she say?”

Marcus joined the group chuckling. “Probably the same thing we’ve told you a million times.”

“Pretty damn close,” Bishop said with a laugh.

Tig groaned. “Really, Little Bit? Gonna side against me here?”

Megan shrugged. “You don’t focus as much power into your hits as you could and that makes you tire quicker as the fight goes on because you’re having to hit more to do the same amount of damage. Too much expended energy.”

Hank chuckled and kissed the back of Megan’s head. “You tell ‘im, baby. Maybe he’ll listen to you.”

They all laughed. 

“Who’s next in the ring?” Marcus asked, sipping his beer.

Bishop shrugged. “I say we throw a couple of prospects in the ring for entertainment.”

Megan giggled. “Are you TRYING to get the Reaper boy killed? EZ would send him to the moon if he hit him.”

Chibs grinned. “Tha’ lass has a point. I wish ya’ were in fightin’ form, Lass. I’d like ta see ya train.”

“She’ll be in the ring when she’s healed,” said Taza as he joined them. “And even then it’ll be for training only. She has a caballero for honor fights.”

Hank tugged her further into the shelter of his body and smiled. “Always.:

Megan grinned up at him. “Arthur and Guinevere.”

Tig rolled his eyes. “Alright. Enough sappy shit. I wanna see Tranq in action.”

Hank shook his head. “Not tonight if I can help it. I’m sticking close to the Birthday Girl.”

Chibs winked at Megan. “Aye. Gotta be in full working order when you get him home, right Lass?”

Megan smiled up at him in faux innocence. “Of course. If he’s too sore, who will carry me to bed?”

Taza snorted into his beer as Marcus grinned. 

When Megan shivered the first time, Hank suggested moving back inside. A couple of hang arounds were in the cage, but it was nothing to hold her interest anyway. They excused themselves and headed back inside with Megan tucked securely under Hank’s arm.

Inside they found Angel and Coco shooting a game of pool against Quinn and T.O. Gilly sat on the sidelines making smart remarks and sipping a beer. Hank settled Megan on the couch nearest the pool table with her back to a wall. Then he went to find her jacket and something warm for her to drink at the bar.

While he was gone, Gilly made his way over to sit on Megan’s couch. She could smell the beer on him and saw how unsteady he was as he walked. “Havin’ fun, Princessa?” he asked, sitting just a little closer than Megan liked.

Megan rubbed at Rex’s ears distractedly as she kept a careful eye on the Mayan. “Mostly,” she answered honestly.

“What’s not fun? I’ll make it go away. Let Gilly make it better,” he said grinning crookedly.

Megan shifted uncomfortably and Rex shifted to put himself between her and the bigger man. “Crowds make me nervous, that’s all.” She glanced to see Hank adding honey to the tea he’d had EZ brew her behind the bar. “I’m okay though.”

“Aww. Maybe a drink would help you loosen up? Just one…” Gilly suggested, slurring his words and leaning closer to her offering her his beer bottle.

“Hey! Gilly! Back off, man. Leave Ma alone. You can have the next game,” Coco offered, watching his best friend warily.

“I ain’t doin’ nothin’. We’re just talkin’, right Princessa?” Gilly said glaring at Coco.

Rex shifted again to stand firmly between Gilly and Megan. He wasn’t quite growling, but he was definitely alerted to his owner’s discomfort. Megan wrapped her good hand in the dog’s collar cautiously. “GIlly, you know I don’t drink. Hank’s getting me some tea. He’ll be back in a minute.” Megan glanced shakily toward the bar to see Hank talking to EZ about something. She shifted to put herself further away from the large man on the couch. 

“Ah - fuck Princessa…” Gilly dropped his head and sighed as he saw her moving away. “Am I being an ass?”

Coco swore loudly. “You’re about to be dog food, Estúpido.” He snatched Gilly’s beer away. “Sorry, Megan. He’s a damn pushy drunk.”

Megan nodded and swallowed shakily. “Go sober up, Gilly. You can apologize tomorrow.”

Angel appeared and hauled his friend up by the shirt collar. “Don’t worry, Princessa. He will. We’ll make sure of it.” He shoved him roughly towards the other side of the room and followed him, cussing in Spanish.

Megan relaxed and took a deep breath, releasing Rex’s collar as she did. She shook out her hand to ease the cramping from holding the dog’s collar so tight.

“You alright, Ma? Need me to get Hank? Or Taza?” Coco asked, squatting in front of her. “We won’t let him do that again. We got distracted by the game. I’m sorry.”

Megan smiled, but it trembled. “I’m good. Did you win?”

Coco laughed and flashed a couple of hundred dollar bills at her. “Don’t I always? Soon enough we’ll team up and take everyone down - charter by charter. You and me, Ma.”

That made Megan laugh and her shoulders relaxed. “We’ll see. I think Hank and I can take you on.”

“Take him on in what, mi amore?” Hank asked with a smile. He handed Megan the warm mug of tea. “Sorry. The Prospect had a question.”

“Thank you, Baby,” Megan said as she took a sip. “And I was saying that I think you and I could beat Coco and Angel pretty solidly at pool.”

Hank chuckled and sat next to her, sliding her jacket around her shoulders. “I think you already proved we can, Princessa. Pretty solidly at that. What’d Gilly do to piss off Angel? He’s got the prospect taking him home in the van.”

Coco snorted and cut off Megan as she started to answer. “His drunk ass was flirting with Megan. You know how he is. We’ll make sure he apologizes - properly - in the morning.” He patted Megan’s knee. “La Princessa handled him, but Angel figured we better remove his ass before Rex ate him. Be bad for the dog’s digestion.”

Hank stiffened and shot a look at Megan. “You alright, mi Princessa? Drunk or not - his ass can get in the cage…”

Megan handed Coco her tea for a second so that she could squeeze Hank’s fingers with her good hand. “I’m alright, Baby. Not my first pushy drunk. He’ll apologize tomorrow.” She pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “If he doesn’t - THEN you can beat the shit out of him, okay?”

Hank searched her face for a moment and then relaxed. “If you say so, mi reina.”

Megan smiled and took her tea back from Coco with a mutter of thanks. Then she shifted to tuck her feet up on the couch and lean into Hank. As Coco and Hank talked possibilities for the next week’s yard schedules, Megan relaxed into Hank’s warmth. She felt her eyes getting heavier and glanced at Hank’s watch. It was nearing two in the morning. She sipped her tea and tried to cover a yawn. 

Coco caught it and chuckled. “I think the birthday princess is sleepy, Tranq.” 

Hank grinned down at her as she struggled to sit herself up some more so she wouldn’t fall asleep at her own party. “I think you’re right.” He pressed a kiss to Megan’s hair. “Would you mind letting Taza and her Padrinos know she’s ready to head out?”

Coco just smiled. “Sure, ‘Mano. Keep her awake until they can come say goodnight, huh?” He kissed his fingers and pressed them to Megan’s hair. “Happy Birthday, Ma.” He slipped off to find the men Megan would want to say goodnight to.

After goodnights were said and Megan and Venus had made lunch plans for the next day, Hank took her and Rex home for the night.

Rex had apparently seen dog doors before, because he used the one in the front door before they could get the door unlocked to go in. Megan snorted. “Well that makes it easier, I guess,” she said as Hank turned the key and Rex poked his head back out the door as if to ask what was taking them so long.

Once inside, Hank cuddled Megan against his chest. “I know you’re tired, mi reina, but you’ll sleep better if you get a shower tonight.”

Megan whined a little, but nodded. “I smell like the bar. I’ll have to sleep on wet hair though,” she whined burying her face in his chest.

“I’m sorry. I’ll help you brush it out so it won’t tangle so bad…”

Megan sighed. “I’m so tired. I might fall asleep in there.”

Hank led her to the bathroom in their ensuite. “I know. I wish I could let you, baby, but you’ll hate yourself tomorrow if you don’t shower. I’ve got to take one too.”

Megan froze a second. “... or we could share one,” she suggested, tentatively. “I could really use the help to wash my hair properly… and it’s not like you haven’t seen me naked…”

Hank chuckled, but he thought about it. “Are you sure, mi princessa?”

Megan nodded. “Please? Washing my hair with one hand is a nightmare. Papa helped me wash it in the sink last week, but…”

Hank kissed her forehead gently. “Of course I’ll help.”

He adjusted the water temperature before helping Megan undress and remove her sling and soft cast. Once she was in and under the spray, he undressed and joined her. 

He quickly discovered that washing Megan’s hair was a two handed job. She walked him through it carefully, but when he started to shampoo her scalp, she practically went limp in his arms. He panicked and stopped, only to be greeted with Megan’s whine.

“Don’t stop. Feels SO nice…” she fussed at him.

He chuckled and then resumed scrubbing gently. “Scared me, Princessa. Thought I hurt you or something.” 

She practically purred under his hands. “Oh… that is NICE…”

He grinned and turned her to face him so she could lean against his chest and he could still reach her. After a while, he guided her under the spray with his body as he rinsed her hair. The feel of her wet skin against him made him breathe deeply and remind his hormones firmly how tired Megan was and that she wasn’t healed enough for what they wanted. He carefully rinsed all the suds from her long strands and couldn’t resist placing a gentle kiss on her lips. Megan just smiled up at him with her eyes contentedly closed.

Then Megan showed him how to condition her long locks. He was shocked as hell when she showed him how much conditioner it took for her hair. Megan just giggled and kissed his tattooed shoulder. 

While the conditioner sat in her hair, he basically completed his entire shower routine. Then he helped her to rinse her hair again. After he was sure her hair was properly clean, he helped her to wash carefully, being gentle with the now nearly nonexistent bruises.

Once they were out and wrapped in fluffy towels, Hank helped Megan back into her cast and sling. Then she convinced him to join her for her night time skin care. That made her giggle too as he grumbled, but he followed along and even asked questions. At least he’d know how to do it if she was ever too tired.

By the time they were done, Taza was home. He found them curled together on the couch in the living room in their pajamas with Megan barely awake and Hank gently brushing her hair to help it dry faster. “You okay, Chica?” Taza asked with a grin,

“Mmhmm,” she said, cracking her eyes open to look at him. “Tired.”

“I can tell. You did one hell of a fine job tonight, Sweet Chica and I’m proud of you for it.” He eased himself down into his armchair. 

Megan perked up a little. “What do you mean, Papa? It was just a party.”

“First - Templo. Beautifully done. You were amazing and everyone saw it. Then - you controlled your panic at the party. It took us way too long to realize you were anxious because you had it under control. And Chibs - I think he’d adopt you on the spot if we let him.” He chuckled. “He couldn’t stop talking to Bishop about how lucky we are to have a mind like yours on our side. Those knives he gave you - those are his specialty from when he was a True IRA enforcer. As far as we know - no one else in the state carries them.”

Hank nodded. “They leave a very distinct cut, mi amore. So should you ever use them and a body is found - the federal database will lead cops right to Chibs’ door. And he gave them to you.”

Megan thought about that for a minute. “Why would he do that? He had them before we ever revealed the plan about the guns. So… why me?”

Taza sat back in his seat. “Chibs had a kid. A daughter ‘bout your age. He never got to see her grow up. An enemy ran him out of Ireland and raised his kid as his own. The girl was used to keep him in line for years.”

“Kerrianne? He’s mentioned her,” Megan said, settling into the couch more.

“Yeah.” Taza played with a ring on his hand. “She’s still there. Visits some, but he can’t get those years back. Kinda like us, I guess.”

“So, he sees me - in the same situation as his daughter - and decides to do for me what he hopes someone is doing for his Kerrianne,” Megan realized. “Am I anything like her?”

Hank smiled and kept brushing. “Not really, Princessa. I met her once when Happy was tattooing me. She’s a timid thing. Scared of her own shadow and wouldn’t be caught dead handling a gun or in a boxing ring after the way she was raised.”

Taza smiled. “I think he sees in you the strength he hopes his own girl gains some day. Plus - he just likes you, Chica. You’ve got sass.”

That made Megan laugh again. “And the tíos? How do they feel about tonight?”

“They’re so damn proud of you, Megan,” Taza assured her. “So damn proud to be your padrinos.”

Megan smiled sleepily. “Good. I like that.” Her eyes drifted closed again.

“Why don’t you go to bed, Sweetheart. You’re exhausted.” Taza suggested quietly.

Megan fought her way awake again. “Mm. Hair’s still wet.”

“Just damp now, mi reina. Here. Feel.” Hank draped her hair over her shoulder so she could feel the damp silk on the skin her tank top exposed.

“C’mere, Chica. I’ll braid it loose so it doesn’t annoy you. Then you can sleep. You’re exhausted.” Taza patted the arm of his chair.

Megan yawned hugely. “‘Kay, Papa.” She struggled to stand and finally managed it under Hank’s steadying hands. She perched on the chair arm and let Taza braid it for her. He loosely braided it down her back and then guided Megan into his lap for a cuddle. 

All night he’d been struggling not to baby her too much in front of the other clubs. They wanted her seen as a member in her own right. That wouldn’t work if Taza was constantly shielding her from every interaction. Hank could be the doting Ol’ Man - but her father and padrinos had to restrain themselves in public. She had to stand alone or it would be seen as extreme nepotism. 

It had been especially hard that night when she’d been uncomfortable in the crowd. Taza had wanted to shield her, to take her into Templo for a break or even into the yard office. But he had to trust that she could do it or she’d never trust herself.

Megan melted into his lap and let him rock her gently. She tucked herself against his chest like a small child and yawned. “Tell me a story, Papa?”

Taza kissed her hair. “What kind of story?”

She laid her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. “Any kind.”

Hank grinned and snuck away to be sure the blankets were pulled back on the bed. As he heard, “In the days of your grandfather’s grandfather…” he knew Megan wouldn’t last ten minutes. 

When Taza deemed Megan deep enough asleep, he stood to carry her in to bed. Hank was sitting in the reading corner chair with a book when he appeared to lay her down. Taza settled her on her left side and gently pulled up the blankets before softly muttering a prayer for nice dreams in his mother’s native tongue.

He turned to see Hank putting his book aside to come join Megan in bed so she’d stay asleep. “Thank you, Hermano.”

“For what?” Hank asked quietly. 

“For shielding her when I can’t. For loving her through her pain… despite her pain.”

Hank smiled a little and shrugged. “You don’t have to thank me for that, Taz. I knew before we left the casino when we met her that she was mine. It just took me a few days to get my head out of my ass and do something about it.” 

Taza smoothed the blanket once more and smiled. “All the same. Thanks.”

Rex padded in to his dog bed in the bedroom from the one in the living room and flumped down tiredly, making both men chuckle. They exchanged good nights and Taza slipped off to his own shower and bed, closing the door behind him.

Hank had been asleep maybe an hour when he woke abruptly to a whimper from Megan. She wasn’t moving, but he could hear her muffled sobs and it broke his heart. He guided her over onto her back to find her still asleep through the tears. “Shh, mi amore. Shh. I’m here. Open those pretty eyes for me. C’mon Princessa.” He propped himself up beside her and stroked her hair and face gently. She didn’t seem afraid this time, he noted, just sad.

Rex had lifted his head, but hadn’t gotten out of bed yet. Maybe that meant it wasn’t too bad.

Hank pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and cupped the side of her neck in his massive hand. “Wake up, Baby.”

Megan’s eyes fluttered open and she reached for him slowly. “Hank?” she whispered.

“Yes, mi reina, I’m here.” He softly kissed her lips. “What happened?”

Megan laced the fingers of her good hand through his where it rested against her skin. “You were gone.”

“What do you mean, Baby? Gone where?”

“You left me. I was too much, so you left me.”

“Oh, Princessa,” Hank frowned. “Never.” He kissed her ring gently. “You will never be too much for me.” He gathered her as close to his chest as much as he could and rocked gently. “I swear to you, Megan, I’d marry you tomorrow if Mama wouldn’t murder us.”

Megan giggled a little.

Hank smiled and pressed kissed where he could reach. “You know she would, and no offense, mi reina, but my Mama scares me.”

Megan giggled again and nuzzled close, tucking her face into the crook of his neck. “She scares me a little too.”

Hank laughed. “Good.” He felt her wet cheeks against his neck. “In all seriousness, Princessa, that’s all that’s keeping me from kidnapping you and hauling you to Vegas. Well - you and your papa because he’d shoot me for not taking him to walk you down the aisle.”

Megan giggled again and sniffed. “Rex could be the ring bearer.” She breathed his scent deeply and he felt her relax.

“That’s my girl.” He tilted her face to press a kiss to her lips again and look her in the eye. “I’m serious, Megan. Start planning your dream wedding because all I’m waiting on is the right ring to show up and Mama’s social conventions.” He stroked her hair gently, tucking a strand back into her braid. “I love you and you’ll never be ‘too much’ for me.”

“But…”

“No ‘but’, mi reina. That ring may be a promise ring, but in my mind, we’re already married.” He shifted to reveal the crown tattoo on his wrist. “That’s what this means, Baby, and tomorrow - we can make it even more obvious if you want. We’ll tattoo a ring on me…”

Megan pulled his wrist to her to press a kiss to the nearly new tattoo. “Okay,” she whispered, but he could see the doubt still lingering behind those big brown eyes. He promised himself, silently, to never prove her right.” 

Hank shifted himself to cuddle her close and reached for her book on her nightstand. Once she was securely tucked into him, he opened the book to her marked page and began to read.

Three chapters later, Megan’s eyes finally started to flutter closed. He kept reading until he was sure she was asleep before he put the book aside to rest with her as close as he could get her. 

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