((Okay I am well aware that I have three sons of anarchy fics going right now. I hadn't meant for this to happen, but while listening to Prayer of the Refugee by Rise Against this idea struck me and I had to write it. I really hope you enjoy it as you have my others and leave me lots of feedback. Thank you!))
Tanya stared at herself in the mirror for the longest time. She was ready for this. She could do this. She reached up and touched the bruises on her face, blinking back the tears that filled her bright hazel eyes. She shook her head and took a deep breath as she turned herself around. She was wearing a simple outfit. A black v-neck t-shirt and a pair of well fitted dark jeans. She had her long dark brown hair pulled back in a tight pony tail. She stopped when she was facing the mirror again and she grabbed her make up and started putting it on to cover the bruises. All the other scars and marks were covered by her clothing. She had made sure of that. She sniffed a bit as she managed to make herself look less like she'd been beaten repeatedly for the last ten years. She was glad for that. She didn't need people feeling sorry for her. All her things were packed in her car. Her soon to be dead husband had headed to work. All she had to do was finish getting ready and then she could head home. She hadn't ever thought for a moment that she'd ever want to go back to that place but things change. People change. Something about this decision seemed right.
Tanya finally finished what she was doing and packed all her things in the bathroom and put them in her bookbag. She grabbed her i-pod and the charger for that, leaving her phone where it was. She'd pick up a prepay when she was out of town. She'd written down all the numbers that she needed. That wasn't many. Joe had made sure she never had friends. Never talked to anyone that he didn't want her too. He'd been smart when it came to controlling her. She hated him for that. She had fallen out of love with him less then a year after they had gotten married. She'd just been too scared to leave. Ten years. She had managed to survive the abuse and the torment. Ten years and she had finally decided she wanted to be free again.
Tanya wasn't a bad looking woman. She was in her mid-thirties, with caramel colored skin and bright hazel eyes and long dark hair. She was mixed, her mother had been white and her father Native American. She had got the best of both sides. She was only five foot and four inches tall, but she was curvy. She had married young, which had been a mistake now that she thought about it. She hadn't been ready to get married. She hadn't been ready for a lot of things. She made her way out to her car and dumped her bookbag in the passenger seat and walked around before climbing into the drivers seat. She pulled the door shut and started her car, sitting there for a moment before backing out of the drive way. It didn't take her long before she was finally on the road. Where she was headed, she thought she would always hate, but now, it was the only place left where she'd be safe.
The drive was a long one, almost seven hours. She had got herself a prepaid phone and made some calls. They were expecting her back. She was glad for that. She knew that Joe was well aware that she wasn't there anymore. He was probably trying to find her. He would have to go back to the one place he dragged her away from for that to happen. The one place she had been willing to leave because it hadn't been home to her then. Charming, California. She sighed a bit. She actually had grown up on a reservation about ten minutes outside of Charming, but her father had been the chief. He had worked closely with the bike club that was located in Charming. She knew most of the members. It had been ten years, she knew that some of them would be different now. She didn't mind really. However, she had kept one particular number after her father had passed away. Gemma Teller. That woman was tough as nails, and her husband was President of SAMCRO. She had kept that number because her father insisted that she might need it some day. She was glad she had. Gemma was waiting for her arrival back home. At least someone was, since not only was her father gone, as was her mother.
She saw the sign, the sun was just coming up, and she had driven through most of the night, stopping long enough to doze in and out for two or three hours, and get something to eat through the day. She blinked at the sight of the sign. Welcome to Charming. She gave a small sigh of relief and then pressed on. Only a few more miles and she would be there. She could rest, really rest, get some real food, maybe a shower and change her clothing. She hoped that she didn't cause any issues for anyone by being there. She didn't want to be a burden. She really didn't want pity or to be taken care of. She just needed a place to get back on her feet after all the years she'd spent locked away from the world.
She didn't need help finding Teller-Morrow automotive's. She didn't need help making her way through his town. Ten years and she still knew it like the back of her hand. It was funny how time didn't change much in this sleepy little town. She found the place, and she pulled up into the parking lot, and found a spot before shutting her car off. She sat there for a moment before checking to make sure that her bruises were still covered nicely before finally climbing out of her car. Gemma's Cadillac was there and she saw that the garage was opening up for business for the day. She took a deep breath as she started forward to find the woman. She hoped that she was really welcome here and that she wouldn't get grief when she actually saw Gemma face to face. She hoped that no one noticed how stiff she was, from the beatings and her body still healing from the latest of them. That no one picked up on the way she covered the bruises on her face. She wanted to stand on her own, she didn't need someone to hold her up. She was fully capable of healing. She just needed time to do it. A place to lay her head really.
Tanya looked around for a moment, taking in everything. She hadn't been here before without her father, back before she moved away, before she got married and her life went down hill. They hadn't come here often though, usually the men of SAMCRO went to them, went to the reservation where the local law couldn't touch them. It was a smart plan on their part honestly. She turned her attention back to the garage itself and not so much to everything surrounding it when she caught movement. She saw to whom she would assume was Gemma Teller coming out of the office with an older man and one she recognized growing up. Clay Morrow and Jackson Teller. Her husband and her son. She shook her head and started forward, feeling a bit nervous about all of this, though at this point she absolutely refused to second guess her decision. She deserved much better then what she had been dealing with over the last decade.
Gemma noticed Tanya and stopped and looked at her for a moment before touching her husband's arm and started forward. Tanya had stopped short herself, and really didn't know what to do from here. She hadn't known any of them really well, and she hadn't been in this place in so long. She was starting to feel like a stranger in her own home. That wasn't good at all. There was no way that could be considered okay. Right?
"Tanya Morrison?"Gemma asked as she stopped in front of the woman, looking at her closely as if she was looking for any reason to believe that it wasn't the girl.
"Yeah, Gemma, it's me."Tanya said, though she couldn't quite bring herself to meet Gemma's gaze. She hated that all the shit in her life had left her that broken, but she would find a way to better herself somehow.
"Oh goodness, baby, it's been so long."Gemma said and managed the most motherly smile that Tanya had ever seen, before embracing her.
Tanya had to fight off a wince, and her breath caught as Gemma hugged her tight. She was shaking as she was now in severe pain, but she managed to hug Gemma back. She was fighting off tears when Gemma pulled away, but she swallowed the pain and smiled back at Gemma.
"I'm so glad you made it here alright, you didn't have any troubles getting back to Charming, did you?"Gemma said, though the woman was studying Tanya, seeing past the mask that the poor girl was choosing to wear.
"Yeah I managed to get myself here without any problems, thanks for asking."Tanya answered honestly, because it had been true. She had left her phone, so Joe couldn't call her, and she had driven without thinking twice about where she was headed or why. No problems in that whole area.
"A few people from the reservation called, asking if you were coming into town, apparently Joe doesn't know where you are and called there looking for you."Gemma explained, lowering her voice so that this part of the conversation was just between Tanya and herself.
"I didn't tell him I was leaving, it would have never happened, and until I can get this issue with Joe actually taken care of, I think it's best my friends on the reservation don't know I'm back either,"Tanya replied softly.
"Alright, I can make sure that happens without an issue,"Gemma assured her, giving a smile and a nod of her head.
"Thank you Gemma, I'll make it up to you somehow."Tanya said softly and managed a smile of her own.
Gemma was getting ready to say something when a tall man with dark curly hair and bright blue eyes brushed past Tanya smiling at Gemma as he walked past, and Tanya seemed to freeze without meaning to. Gemma sighed and looked over at the man and frowned a bit, and he seemed to pause and finally take in the fact that he'd nearly ran someone down. He studied Tanya for a moment before looking at Gemma who was giving him a stern look.
"What?"He finally asked, before looking at the girl again,"What?"
"Apologize for acting like a brute."Gemma told him and put her hands on her hips.
"I didn't do anything, Gem,"The man argued lightly, before sighing and rolling his bright blue eyes before turning them on the girl,"I'm sorry."
"Oh...it's...it's really not a big deal, don't worry about it."Tanya managed to get out as she shoved her hands in her pockets so she would look less like she was getting ready to have a panic attack and more like she was trying to relax and speak with an old friend.
"See Gemma, I'm forgiven."The man said and gave her a cold smile.
"Tigger,"Gemma snapped lightly,"This is my friend, and you shouldn't just assume that she is actually forgiving you,"
"Gemma, darling, you know I didn't mean it, and clearly, being any friend of yours, had it really bothered her, she'd have let me know."The man, apparently called Tigger, which confused Tanya, said to Gemma, acting as if he were a child getting in serious trouble.
"Really, Gemma, it's alright,"Tanya said and managed a smile before looking at the man,"You're alright, I'm sure you just didn't see me standing there."
"See, I'm alright, just like the pretty lady said."The man said evenly,"Now can I go back to work?"
"Tig, seriously, you're an ape."Tanya heard someone else say and she looked over to see a man with long hair and a beard walking towards them, shaking his head and laughing.
"I didn't see her there, so I accidentally brushed past her, it's not like I tried to rape her or anything."Tig argued and rolled his eyes,"You guys can suck my dick."
Tanya just stood there for the longest time, just staring at the man with the icy blue eyes as he told the rest of them to suck his dick. She wasn't really sure what to do with him. He was a bit of a brute, but she wasn't really one to stand up to people. She knew that already. The bruises on her face proved that. She just rolled her eyes lightly and sighed before kicking at the ground a bit. She wanted a nap really. All that driving had taken everything out of her for the moment.
"Well Tig, maybe you should be a little more polite and everyone wouldn't be on your case all the time."Gemma said to him and rolled her eyes when he snorted at her. She wanted to smack the living daylights out of him sometimes.
"I don't know how to be polite, it's not in my resume."Tig retorted.
"Oh really now, and why do I have trouble believing that?"Gemma snapped right back,"Even Happy has a heart sometimes, so don't tell me you ain't some cold heartless bastard."
"Thanks Gem, gotta play that card, dontcha?"He said and rolled his eyes before looking back at Tanya,"Apparently I'm a brute, and apparently I have really upset you, though you don't look upset, so I'll apologize again, and my name's Tig Trager."
"Uh...once again, it's alright, and lovely to meet you Tig, I'm Tanya."She managed to reply, giving a small nod of her head, not really sure what else to say to that. She saw the glint in Gemma's eyes, the woman was thrilled she had won that one. Tanya wanted to laugh a bit, but she knew better, she had to just keep her mouth shut and she wouldn't get smacked around anymore.