The Arrangement
Chapter 1
(Chibs/OC. Very AU and a bit weird, but I couldn't resist trying my hand at the SOA "arranged marriage" concept.)
This is set quite a few years preseries. I am assuming that the first episode of SOA was set in 2007, last episode 2014, and each season summarized a year in our heroes' lives. Kerriann was somewhere around eighteen or so in season three, which would mean she was born around 1991, and I am also assuming Chibs is the same age as Tommy Flanagan. For the purposes of this story I am also concluding that Chibs came to the US shortly after his daughter was born.
January 12, 1993
(How it all came to pass)
"Dammit, William, how could you!" John Teller slammed his fist down on the table, his jaw clenched. "You know what Tino is capable of. How could you just…." He shook his head.
"I fucked up, John. I thought I could pay it off, so I took him up on his terms. I didn't count on the plant closing."
"But you used your own daughters as collateral to get a gambling loan. How the fuck does your brain work to make that okay?"
William shook his head. "I don't know what to tell you. I thought I'd win it back, that I could pay it back even if I didn't. Then my job disappeared. Now the loan is overdue, and Tino is giving me two weeks to pay him back the whole twenty thousand - otherwise he kills me and takes the girls. Lindsay is just eleven, and Mariah - well, Mariah is a very innocent twenty-one. They don't deserve what he'll do to them, John. They didn't do anything wrong." His voice dipped. "It's just a loan. I'll pay you back."
John sighed. "We both know you won't. And even if I pay off the loan there's a chance Tino will still take the girls because you weren't on time." He frowned. "And even if he doesn't, you might borrow more from him under the same conditions."
"I … I wouldn't…."
"Wouldn't you? I think you just might." John frowned again. "Give me a moment. I need to discuss this with Gemma."
Ten minutes later, Gemma sat at the table with John and William. "We'll do it," John said quietly. "But there are conditions."
January 19, 1993
Chibs
(John Teller makes arrangements)
"Wot the hell, John. I can't believe you would ask me to do this." Chibs shook his head in astonishment.
"Don't have a choice. I just told you why. Tino has made it very clear that unless she belongs to a Son he will take the girl as penalty for her father's failure to pay on time. She's my goddaughter, and she's a good girl. He'd destroy her." He sighed. "Look, Chibs, you've been miserable since Fiona told you what she did about Kerriann. You two never were happy together. You fought all the time. Give this a shot. You might be surprised. Arranged marriages have been happening for thousands of years."
Chibs shook his head. "Do I have a choice?"
"No, brother. I'm afraid you don't. You're the only one I trust for this." He stood and went around the table to put his hand on Chibs' shoulder. "She's a smart girl, very pretty as well. I have a feeling you're going to like her."
Chibs snorted. "We'll see. Ain't promising to go through with it if I don't."
John just smiled. "You'll go through with it. You aren't the kind of man to leave an innocent girl to what will happen to her if you don't."
January 23, 1993
Mariah
(Always the last to find out)
I gaped in astonishment for at least thirty seconds before replying. "Dad, you know I love you, but this really is out of the question."
My Dad closed his eyes and sighed, then took my hands in his. "I'm sorry, Mariah. There's no other way. If this doesn't happen, we won't be able to pay off that loan, and if we can't pay…." He trailed off, leaving me to finish the thought. I was all too aware of what the loan shark he has borrowed from would do to us if the debt was not paid. Dad would be beaten to death and my sister and I would be raped, then sold to a brothel. She was just eleven. I couldn't let that happen to her.
"John will pay off the loan, but he was adamant about the terms… for both of you."
I sighed. "But why doesn't he just adopt me like he's doing with Lindsay? I don't understand why he's decides to - to - to - " I shook my head hurts n frustration, not finishing. I couldn't believe John Teller would force this on me. He was my godfather, my Dad's oldest friend. I loved the man. How could he?
"Because he's decided this is for your best - and because you're twenty-one. I can't sign over custody of an adult." He licked his lips and looked away. "John is concerned that Tino might come for you even after being paid off, in order to punish me for my late repayment. If you're married to a Son he won't attempt it. You'll be safe."
"Will I at least be allowed to finish the school year out? I've worked hard, and I want to get my degree. I've already paid tuition."
He sighed. "That will be up to him, but probably, if you do your part and don't fight this. They aren't monsters, you know."
"I still don't understand why the guy is willing to do this sight unseen. For all he knows I am ugly as sin. And don't they have a herd of whores for these guys? Why would he tie himself to a stranger when he has that?"
Dad shrugged. "That would be a question for you to ask John. He should be here this evening for you and Lindsay. He'll tell you more about the details when he gets here." He hugged me. "I'm so sorry that my bad judgement forced this decision on you girls."
I shrugged. I was not about to tell him it was alright, because it wasn't. He had stolen my life in order to settle his debt, and there was not a damn thing I could do about it.
Some hours later I was in my room packing up the last of my things when I heard the roar of motorcycles approaching. John was on time.
January 24, 1993
Chibs
(The next afternoon)
Chibs looked in the mirror for the twentieth time and sighed. He was nervous, self-conscious as well. He covered it up well, but his confidence since Jimmy fucked him up was not great. He wasn't sure why he cared what John's goddaughter thought of him, but he did. From what John told him, she wasn't the kind of girl he was used to. She was a nice girl, innocent and sweet. She was in her last year of college to become a school teacher. What John thought a lady like her would want with him he still couldn't figure out, but he was wearing the new dark jeans and black button down shirt he'd bought for the occasion all the same.
He kept remembered the night he'd first been introduced to Fiona. He'd seen her around the SAMBEL clubhouse. She wasn't a sweet butt, but she was a wild little thing, and she said yes when asked much more than she said no, so he had asked. He'd fallen hard for her right off the bat, so when she'd introduced him to the IRA a few weeks later he'd been sucked right on in. She wouldn't have kept seeing him if he hadn't, and he'd sold himself on the honor of The Cause. The biggest lies of his life he'd told himself, after all.
He sprayed on a bit of cologne and grabbed the keys to his bike. It was time.