Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Sons of Anarchy's storylines or characters seen on the FX television show. Those all belong Kurt Sutter and FX. The original characters: Garrett and Natalie Winston and Makenna "Mak" Harrison.

Plot Summary: This story is slightly alternate universe in the sense that Opie and Donna were never married, and because of that they never had children. Instead Opie has a younger brother Garrett, who never patched SAMCRO instead acts as a friend to the club and because of that was arrested five years prior to season 1 along with Opie. Makenna Harrison is the sister of Garrett's wife Natalie has her own set of trouble. She's been in an abusive relationship for years and when she gets word about her family's murder she uses it to finally take her leave. When she gets to Charming she finds out that she and Opie were granted joint custody of Alex and Sophia the children of Garrett and Natalie.

Author's Note: Alright so after much debate and reading over this story a million and two times I've decided to do a rewrite on it. There were things that I had originally thought worked and at the time of I wrote them they did but as a big picture I'm not loving it. I've been out of the writing of fanfic for about a year and a half roughly and so this being my attempt to re-enter has failed. It's actually bothered me for days and I've felt like I needed to do a rewrite. The basis of the story is the same with a few tweaks. I ended up changing the OC's name because anytime I had to write Opie and Olivia it kinda made me cringe it was a little too cutesy for my taste. Anyway hope you all enjoy the rewrite remember reviews are like crack to any writer and are much appreciated and enjoyed even the not so nice ones.

Chapter 1

Opie Winston was laying on the slab of rock the State of California Judicial system called a bed. During the days it was easy to forget about how things were on the outside. At night there was nothing to do but think. If someone were to tell him about the loneliness that crept inside of you during those times he never would have believed them. He knew that it was worse for his baby brother Garrett, he had a wife he loved a year old little boy and another baby who could be born any minute. They had five long years stretching in front of them, three if they behaved themselves if they behaved themselves. It was something that could be easier for Garrett, his brother didn't have the stigma of being a member of the Sons of Anarchy. When you were a member of SAMCRO things like "good behavior" didn't really exist. The only thing Opie had waiting on him on the outside was his club and his porn star girlfriend Lyla. Trouble with porn stars were you didn't always know where their loyalties lie. He cared a lot about her. Was he in love with her, he wasn't sure. He'd never made the move to make things official between them and tag her as his Old Lady. While some of his MC Brothers had been through a few old ladies he was old fashion in the sense that he wanted one and only one. Maybe if she stuck around along enough he'd consider it. "Hey Ope….you still awake?" his brother's voice sounded lowly in the dark.

At first Opie thought about not answering, he blamed himself for their being inside. After all if Garrett hadn't been helping him the fateful night they'd been arrested he wouldn't be inside now. Because of that he wasn't sure what to say to him in fact for the last month that they'd been in jail he did his best to avoid him. Trouble was at night…he couldn't. After a few minutes he sighed, "Yeah, I'm awake."

"You know since all of this went down we haven't really…talked." Garrett said.

"Just wasn't sure what to say." Opie said after a few minutes.

"It's not your fault you know….all this shit." Garrett said.

"That's debatable." He snorted, "If you weren't helping me that night…if you were at home where you should have been with your wife and kid you wouldn't be here."

"You have really got to stop blaming yourself for it. I volunteered to help you remember?" he asked but didn't wait for his brother to respond. "Besides that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. Nat had the baby…a little girl."

Opie could hear the smile in his brother's voice. Even in all the shit they were in here in what could only be described as hell on earth his brother had a reason to be he was really honest with himself he was happy as well. "Congrats man…Natalie's doing okay right?"

"Yeah…yeah she's good the baby too, named her Sophia Grace." He said. "Nat wanted to bring her by next family day but I told her no…got Jax after her too. I think she got the point. I don't want my kids here, I don't want them to see me like this. Pictures are enough for now."

Opie didn't believe that for a second but didn't call him out on it. They all had their brave fronts that they had to put up. Especially being in a place like this. "I know what you mean, you did the right thing." he knew that Garrett was too young to remember the time their father, Piney, had been doing time and Mary brought them to see him. He had been barely more than five and Garrett was around two or so. Nothing terrified him more than being there. There was something about the atmosphere and seeing his father there in his prison blues. He knew that he never wanted to go to prison even as a small child. As an adult he learned that sometimes things happened that were out of your control. Of course one could argue that blowing up a warehouse was something in his control but the circumstances had been complicated.

"Being in here…it makes you think…a lot." He said. "I didn't patch the club because I wanted to have a life where I didn't have to live in fear of going to jail. Here I am, sometimes I wonder if I should have just patched. Our lives are screwed up, Pop being who he is things will never been simple. Maybe marrying Nat having the kids was my mistake. Maybe we aren't meant to have normal lives."

"If you think that way you're a fucking idiot." Opie said clearly getting pissed at his baby brother. "Hell Nat and the kids are probably the best damn thing you got going."

The darkness was quiet for a few almost uncomfortable moments then Garrett said. "You're probably right. I just can't help wonder though…you know if things went south-"

"Do you need me to kick your ass?" Opie cut him off.

"Just shut your fucking mouth for a minute and hear me out." Garret snapped.

"Fine." Opie huffed.

"Our lives are fucked up. And yeah I probably never should have married Natalie but I'm a selfish bastard. I just need to know that if something happened-"

"Nothing is going to happen." Opie cut him off.

"If something happened…you'll take care of them right?" Garrett asked.

Opie felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. That was the last thing he'd ever expected his brother to say to him. Sure trouble followed them because they were Piney Winston's sons. The fact that Opie had followed in his father's footsteps and Garrett had decided to live a legit life for the most part didn't mean that their lives didn't come with complications. One thing they'd learned from their father was that you never talked about your mortality. You didn't think about dying, it was an inevitable part of life but you made sure no matter what that you lived life with no regrets. "You sound like a little bitch." He brushed his brother off.

"Just yes or no Ope….I gotta know." He said.

"I don't know why this is so fucking important to you right now."

"I just need to know….can I count on you?" he asked again.

Opie rolled to his side in an almost defensive move. "Yeah fine whatever." He said his brow furrowing.

"Thank you." Garrett said, the tone of his voice was almost that of relief.

~Three Years Later~

Opie Winston was leaning against the porch rail of his best friend, Jax Teller's house. He had a cigarette between his fingers and his head was full of thoughts. It seemed like from the time that he and his brother had gotten out of Stockton nothing seemed to be going right. There was shit with the Mayans, shit with the Nords, shit with the Irish, shit with the One-Niners, shit with ATF….all and all it chalked up to a whole lot of shit. He couldn't put his finger on it but something didn't feel right. Even being here at this party that celebrated the health of Jax's infant son Abel…Opie couldn't get past the detached feeling that had been in his gut since he and Garrett got out three months earlier. Not long after he got out his relationship with Lyla had gone to shit, not that it had been perfect to begin with. He wanted to settle down and she wasn't ready to give up her career. He wasn't the kind of guy who could be serious about a woman who took her clothes off for a living. He tried but it was something he wasn't able to get past. As a result he threw himself full force into the club and he was slowly starting to get back to the place he'd been before his incarceration. Garrett on the other had seemed to be struggling. Things between him and Natalie were less than ideal. While he had always earned his living straight, he'd always picked up extra work for the Sons when they needed odd jobs done that wouldn't fall back on the club Garrett had been there man. Since getting out of jail if he went near anything that resembled a reaper he had hell to pay with Nat. Because of that they were behind on bills and they couldn't seem to get ahead. The things that they did to provide for their families wasn't exactly honest but it was bred into them. What's more they wouldn't allow Opie to help them out either. He was jerked from his thoughts when the door opened and Garrett and Natalie walked out. "Leaving early?" he asked.

Garrett nodded, "Natalie has a shift at the diner, I'll be back in a few to pick up Sophia and Alex."

"Gemma said it wasn't a problem to leave them. They're having fun I didn't want to pull them away so soon." Natalie explained.

Opie nodded, "I'll look in at them."

"See you later Ope." Natalie said.

"Careful." Opie replied.

"You sound like a woman." Garrett teased as he helped his wife into the car.

Opie gave his brother the finger causing the younger man to laugh as he climbed into the car and drove away. He decided he needed another smoke before heading back into the party. He put the cigarette between his lips and was lifting his gold zippo lighter to his lips when he heard the echoing pop…pop…pop of an automatic rifle. His lighter dropped to the floor with an echoing thud and he pulled the cigarette from his lips and ran towards the sound.

The next few hours came to Opie in flashes of consciousness, he remembered the gun shots and sound of his SAMCRO brother's boots hitting the blacktop behind him as they ran in the direction is baby brother had left in. He remembered the overwhelming hurt that filled him when he saw the busted out window of the cab of Garrett's pickup truck and the rage he felt when he saw the cab painted red with the blood of not only his brother but his sister in law. Once the bodies were taken away everything else was like a blur. To be honest he wasn't even sure, exactly how he'd come to be at the clubhouse, still holding the unlit cigarette. "You with us brother?" Jax asked nudging Opie a little.

"Yeah…sorry." He said trying to snap out of the shock.

Tig who was sitting across from him noticed the cigarette in his hand. "You need a light for that?"

He shook his head, "No I'm okay…I dropped my lighter….I don't remember where."

"You sure you're okay bro?" Jax asked.

He nodded, "Yeah…just go on."

"Piney and Mary are making the funeral arrangements for Garrett nobody was sure what to do for Natalie. Her family-" Clay said.

"She has a sister who lives in Biloxi that's it. They were in foster care when they were kids, their parents were pieces of shit, they were never around." Opie said. "I'll call her, get her on a plane."

"Club will handle the expenses." Jax said.

"Thank you." Opie said as he raked his hand through his thick hair. "Do we know who did this?"

"Unser said there were witnesses at the scene. Black ghetto SUV lots of chrome it was gangsta for sure." Juice said. "Nobody saw any faces."

Opie nodded as he turned the cigarette over in his hand tapping the end of it on the redwood table. "Bangers killed my brother and his wife." He nodded his voice thick with anger.

"We'll talk retaliation later." Clay said, "First we have to bury a brother and his wife." He banged the gavel ending the session.

Makenna Harrison was just finishing up her dishes when they phone rang. She frowned as she looked at the clock on her wall, it was late nearly one in the morning. The only person who ever called her that late was Natalie. Even though her older sister had been living in California for the last decade she still didn't comprehend the time zone thing. It was one of the enduring qualities that Olivia loved about her. Knowing that the sound would irritate Brian, her boyfriend, she walked over to the phone not bothering to look at the caller ID and answered it before the second ring. "I swear I'm gonna get you one of those watches that has two faces for multiple time zones." She said.

There was a long pause before a male voice came over the line. "Is this Makenna Harrison?"

A cold chill ran up her spine, "Y-yeah." She stammered a little. A phone call this late from someone other than her sister only meant one thing, something was wrong. "Can I help you?"

"Hey…um this Opie Winston. I'm Garrett's older brother." He said the tone of his voice was one of relief at reaching her. "We met a few years back when you came out to Charming."

Makenna remembered who Opie was, he was a bear of a man made up of tattoos, muscles, and hair. "Yeah I remember you." She said. "Is everything alright?"

"No um…there was an….accident." he said but the way he said 'accident' she knew that there was more to it than just that. "Natalie and Garrett were killed."

Makenna felt like something stabbed her in the stomach and was spreading cold through her body. Her grip on the phone went slack and she didn't even realize it had slipped from her fingers until she heard the loud crack against the tiled floor snapping her out of it. She scrambled to pick it up after she sank to the floor. "Sorry….I'm sorry." She said as tears burned her big blue eyes.

"Are you still with me?" he asked.

"I'm…I'm here." She said wiping tears on the back of her hand.

"Good, I won't take up much of your time I just…..the club is flying you in for the funeral." He said. "Natalie had said that you were the only family she had."

"It was always just us." She said her voice cracking.

"For what it's worth….you got us now." Opie said.

"Thanks…." She said. "For what it's worth."

After making the arrangements with Opie she hung up the phone. She refused to break down, she knew that if she let herself cry she'd never stop. She had too much to do to get ready to go to Charming.

"Who was on the phone?" Brian who was standing at kitchen door his arms crossed over his chest asked.

"It was Natalie's brother in law." She said her voice shaking as she slipped the piece of paper with the information she needed into her cardigan pocket before he could see it.

"One of those biker fags?" he asked as he walked over to the fridge and pulled a beer out and took a drink. "The fuck business did he have calling here?"

"There was an accident." She said her voice quivering a little. "I have to go to-"

Before she had a chance to block it Brian backhanded her hard. "You're not going anywhere! You belong here!"