Disclaimer:New year, new story, new OC.That's right people.I own all the OC stuff.You know what I don't own?You guessed it, SOA.Not mine don't own it, just goof off with it.
"Stop fidgeting." Lowen harshly whispered to her client who was currently sitting beside her rapidly bouncing his knee. Chibs glared at her, but heeded her command. He was uncomfortable and annoyed. He sat beside his lawyer in the courtroom amongst the crowd in stiff unyielding benches, waiting for his case to be heard. He looked down at the button down shirt and slacks that Lowen sternly suggested that he wear for the court date and missed the comfortable weight of his kutte. The Scotsman was annoyed to be here in the first place, doing nothing to improve his mood.
Several weeks ago he'd gone with Tig to pick up some breakfast for the guys at TM. Gemma said it would be a nice gesture, sending them to one of the most popular bagel joints in San Joaquin County. Tig and Chibs passed the time waiting in the interminably long line talking about a particularly troublesome yet beautiful 1945 Harley-Davidson WLA that was currently in the shop. Some corporate looking suit decided he needed his bagel and coffee more urgently than everyone else in line. The entitled asshole inserted himself between the bikers and the counter just as they came to the front, then rattled off an order. "Woah there Chief!" Tig exclaimed, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "Did you miss the line?" He gestured behind him at the two dozen people that were filed in line behind him.
Chibs was hungry and pissed that he was on this bullshit errand in the first place. The only reason he'd agreed to go was because Gemma claimed the muffins were better than Bobby's. When the clean cut business type angrily slapped away Tig's hand and made a derisive huff of disgust Chibs lost his cool. The Scot grabbed the man by the lapels of his tailored suit and shoved him in the direction of the end of the line. Unfortunately the 'gentleman' tripped over his own feet due to the shove and fell heavily against a table and tumbled to the ground. As he rose to his feet he demanded that the police be called because he'd just been assaulted.
So here he was currently sitting in the San Joaquin superior court on a shit simple assault charge flipping his lighter around in his hand because Lowen wouldn't let him bounce his knee. He couldn't believe that asshole was pressing charges. He also couldn't believe that the prosecutor was wasting time and effort on this case. Chibs was busy ruminating on how badly he wanted a cigarette that he didn't hear his case number called. Lowen elbowed him to get his attention, he threw another glare her way before following her towards the front of the courtroom. The bailiff introduced the case number and the charge. Chibs stood looking towards the judge trying to keep his face neutral.
"The people are not going to proceed with prosecution." The prosecutor said lazily.
Chibs' head snapped in attorney's direction. 'Why the fuck did you have me waiting here all fucking morning your fucking fuck?!' his internal voice screamed.
Lowen set a hand on his shoulder and began to guide him out of the courtroom, but was stopped when the judge spoke up flipping through a dossier. "Mr. Telford, please take care of your unpaid speeding ticket on the way out with the Court Clerk."
In response Chibs gave a barely perceptible nod. As they exited the courtroom he untucked his shirttails and unbuttoned the top buttons on the shirt that seemed to be weakly strangling him all morning. "Well, I appreciate you keeping me company all morning Ally, but I hope to not see you for a while." He gave her a quick kiss to the cheek.
"Feeling is mutual Chibs." She pointed at him and lifted and eyebrow. "Stay out of trouble and pay your ticket."
He watched the club lawyer walk away as he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. Chibs found the signs posted on the walls pointing him in the direction of the Court Clerk. As he approached he saw a very trim black man with sculpted eyebrows in a bright pink polo shirt sitting at a counter desk labelled 'Court Clerk'. He reached for his wallet as he spoke to the man at the desk. "I have to pay a traffic fine."
"Excuse me, what?" The man behind the desk said as he pulled an earbud out.
Chibs waved his wallet. "A traffic fine."
"Sweetie, I can't understand a word you're saying. Hold on a just a sec." The man at the computer called out over his shoulder. "Dorothy! There's someone here." He then returned his attention to Chibs. "I'm not the clerk, I'm just IT support." He smiled congenially and looked Chibs up and down in a way that made the Scot feel strangely uncomfortable and objectified.
Chibs impatiently tapped his wallet against his palm waiting for Dorothy to appear. His movements came to an abrupt halt. Dorothy scuttled in from the back of the office with an armful of file folders. By the name he'd expected some old angry biddy ready to separate him from his money. Instead he saw strikingly attractive woman with a kind smile that melted some of the irritation that had built up in him all day. He couldn't help himself, he smiled back and gave her a quick wink.
"I'll be with you in just a moment!" She said hurriedly as she deposited the files in a filing cabinet. She stood next to the man in the pink shirt and leaned against the counter smiling brightly. "I'm so sorry, my computer fritzed out on me. What can I do for you?"
Chibs leaned on the counter across from her matching her posture. "Apparently the county sheriff seems to think I drive a little too fast. I've got a fine to pay, Dorothy." His smile grew wider as he noticed her blush.
"Oh, well, let's…. let's take care of it then." She stammered. The man at the computer coughed to cover up a laugh at her flustered response. Dorothy surreptitiously kicked the chair out of the sight of the handsome Scottish man in front of her. "We're going to have to look this up the old fashioned way, my computer is down."
The man at the computer spoke up. "Nope. Everything is back up again. Lucky you." He winked at Chibs.
Chibs felt uncomfortable and flattered at the same time that the gay man at the computer was flirting with him, but he was only interested in the blushing brunette pulling a pen out of the loose bun in her hair. She was beautiful with soft light brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He knew however that being a court employee made her out of his league, hell they weren't even playing the same game.
"Thanks Pete." Dorothy patted her coworker on the shoulder when he didn't move from her seat immediately. "THANKS Pete!" She emphasized.
"Sure thing, Honey. No problem. Call me when you're done here, I want to chat with you." Pete gave a tiny wave to Chibs as he walked off that Chibs awkwardly returned.
Dorothy situated herself at her desk and typed at blinding speed. "Alright. What's your name?"
"Filip Telford. That's F-I-L-I-P." Chibs responded familiar with being required to spell his first name.
She typed in his information and pulled up his record. Her eyes widened a bit as arrests and convictions popped up on the screen. 'Damn' she thought 'he's cute, but shit, he has quite a few arrests.' Dorothy shook her head, she was usually very professional and didn't pine over people looking for files or paying fines. "Ah hah! Found it. That'll be $225."
"Jaysus. That's extortionate!" He exclaimed before pulling cash from his wallet.
Dorothy smiled cheekily and leaned forward. "Well how else do you think they pay this Court Clerk the big bucks?" She referenced the ticket details pulled up on her screen. "The county pulls over Harley riders to pay me."
"Ach, Lass, at least it's going to a good cause." Chibs winked at the blushing Clerk as he counted out the cash. "Here you are, spend it wisely." He kidded. She looked at him like he had a chance, but he knew he probably didn't. She dealt with scumbags all day and was probably used to putting on a pleasant front. Chibs knocked on the counter and gave a wave before heading to where his bike was parked.
As soon as he exited the courthouse he pulled a cigarette from his pack and lit it deftly with his zippo, the tossed the lighter in his chest pocket. Leaning against a wide cement bollard at the bottom of the steps he took a long appreciative drag that he's been dreaming of for the past few hours. A familiar voice snapped him out of his reverie.
"Got a light?" Dorothy asked sheepishly, pushing a stray strand of hair behind her hair. She was surprised to again find the Scotsman she'd recently encountered.
Chibs recovered his lighter from his pocket, lit it and held it alit towards her. She wrapped her hands around his to block the wind. Taking a deep drag she coughed violently.
"Are you alright, Sweetheart?" Chibs asked with genuine concern in his voice. He set a comforting hand on her back.
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I don't smoke much. But I've had a shit day, it seemed like a good idea." Dorothy admitted eyeballing the offending stick in her hand half tempted to throw it to the ground. She noticed the gentle hand on her back and felt a warm rush of embarrassment and something else. She took a step back. As the man across from her took a drag from his cigarette and maintained eye contact with a concerned look, she decided that maybe she should finish having the smoke.
Chibs flicked a bit of ash from his cigarette and sat atop the bollard asking "Want to talk about it?" He smiled widely. "I'm a good listener."
As ladylike as she could manage, she positioned herself on the bollard across from Filip Telford and for a reason unbeknownst to her began to recount her frustrating day.
A/N:I decided to go with a new OC story, but don't worry, when I'm done with this I think I will go back to writing about Chibs and Lynn.