A/N: This is my first attempt at SOA fan fiction so any reviews are welcome! I won't be following the plot of the series but borrowing certain events or elements to make them work in my story. For the purpose of this story, Happy is in his early thirties. Of course, the greatness that is SOA belongs to Kurt Sutter :) I own nothing.

Chapter 1

Christian Ortiz sighed as she crossed the California Nevada border. She was exhausted both physically and mentally. The drive from New York to California was no easy feat especially when undertaken alone but Baby, her 1972 Ford Mustang had gotten her there safely. Her car was her pride and joy; her brother had purchased it for a thousand dollars from an old chop shop when he was fourteen. He intended to build it a completely new engine for it but left before he could finish. The car, as well as the small rosary chain, was the only thing her brother left behind when he left New York in the dead of the night. She had worked on the car while she wasn't in class or working; it took her a few years but she finally rebuilt the engine on the classic.

She absentmindedly bit her bottom lip as she passed the 'Welcome to Charming' sign. She honestly didn't know what made her drive to California. She probably should've taken a flight but the drive gave her time to think away from the noisiness of New York.

Chris pulled into the lot at TM. She nervously brushed her curly hair back as she looked into her mirror. She looked tired. She attempted to look more alert by pinching her cheeks before she got of her car. She looked nervously around the lot; there were a few kids at the playground and a mechanic or two in the garage. One of them, a crazy looking man with sharp blue eyes and wild black hair, approached her. His eyes made her uneasy; she was hoping JC would be the first person she saw.

"Hola mamacita. Something wrong with the car?" Tig had his eyes trained on her tank top clad breasts; she rolled her eyes.

"No, she's fine. I'm looking for-" Chris said, pulling her black leather jacket to cover her chest.

"You gotta be looking for me sweetheart. I'm the only Latina lover around here." Tig said cockily, grabbing his crotch.

Christian looked him up and down, rolled her eyes again and tossed her long dark hair behind her shoulder. This guy gave her the creeps. "Definitely not. I'm looking for Juan Carlos."

"Juan Carlos? Juice?"

"Look do you know where he is or not?" she was already on edge, and this creep was not making it any better.

"Yea sweetheart, I'm just wondering what a sweet piece of ass like you wants with the retard." He said as he gently slapped her ass. Christian immediately reacted, kneeing him in the nuts and punching him in the eye. She was busy swearing at him in Spanish when Juice, Jax, Happy and Chibs rumbled on the lot.

"Don't ever touch me again shithead or I'll break your hand asshole!" She said as she bent his fingers back, eliciting a schoolgirl like scream from the man.

"Woah woah woah what's going on here darlin'?" said Jax. He pulled Tig up from the floor as the man stumbled away, clutching his crotch. Chibs and Happy chuckled as they sat on their bikes, curiously watching the scene in front of them.

"I was politely asking where the hell my brother-" Juice heard a voice he hadn't heard in years. "Chrissy?" He asked disbelievingly. He couldn't believe his eyes. It had been ten years since he had last seen his baby sister. He appeared from behind Jax, but stopped in his tracks when his eyes confirmed what he thought he'd heard. The siblings awkwardly stared at each other for a few seconds before Chibs cleared his throat.

"Let's give Juicy boy a little privacy brothers." The men strode into the clubhouse, curiously peering over their shoulders at the uncomfortable exchange currently taking place in the lot.

"Hi." Christian answered dryly, tiddling with the hem of her tank top. She was excited to see her brother, yes, but seeing him in the flesh bought back a lot of painful memories. It had been ten years since they had been this close to each other.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he said as he pulled her to a picnic table.

"Nice to see you too big brother."

"Don't give me that shit. Why aren't you in New York with grandma Letty?" he towered over her petite frame, just as he had when they were younger. Although she was only 5'2, she was not intimidated. She stood up, looking straight into his identical brown eyes.

"You should answer your phone sometimes. That's why I came here. She's not doing good JC." Juice sighed deeply before taking a seat at the table.

"What do you mean? Isn't she getting the treatments?"

"She's refusing to take any more treatments. She's in pain JC, I think she wants it to be over. She's on life support now. Look, I didn't mean to come here and intrude on the nice little life you have here in Charming. I just thought you'd like to… to say goodbye. The hospital is only keeping her on life support for another two weeks. Insurance bullshit" She sighed, sitting back down at the picnic table. He sat next to her, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Shit!" he swore under his breath. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Yea I tried. You seem to have a lot going on here." She replied sarcastically. Juice avoided her gaze. It's true, he hadn't really made himself available for the past couple of years. Truthfully, he just couldn't deal with the life he left in New York. After the death of his mother, it had never been the same. Sure his grandmother kept them afloat but Juice couldn't shake the suffocating feeling he felt in that city. He felt guilty leaving the two most important women in his life in the middle of the night but he couldn't take it anymore.

"Why didn't you answer my calls Juan Carlos? I…. I've been dealing with this by myself." She questioned, the sarcasm in her voice replaced with sadness.

"I…. I don't have an excuse. I just couldn't… I'm sorry Chrissy." He apologized.

"Hmph... So that's it? I'm sorry? I haven't heard from you in five years… I wouldn't have known if you were dead or alive had it not been for the random stacks of cash in the mailbox every few months." To cope with the guilt, Juice had sent money every time they had completed a run to help with his grandmother's medical bills.

"I hear NOTHING from you. Absolutely fucking NOTHING. And that's all you have to say? I'm sorry?" She stood up from the table again. She was obviously upset at this point, fighting to keep her voice down. A few hang arounds and croweaters by the ring were starting to look curiously at the scene unfolding in front of them.

"Christian, I'm sorry you had to deal with by yourself. I just couldn't-" he took a step towards her, intending to comfort her somehow. It pained him to see his little sister, who had been so strong in his absence, struggling to control her emotions. Avoiding his concerned look, she took a step back and took a moment to catch her breath. Looking back up at him, the sadness and anger in her eyes was replaced by a cold look, her brown eyes almost black.

"I didn't come here for this. I'm not interested in your apologies. I just thought you'd want to know about grandma Letty. She'd wanna see you before… before she goes. She's at Queens Hospital, room 812." With that, she turned away and began walking to her car. Juice watched her drive away, lost in his thoughts.

Jax exited the clubhouse before sitting next to Juice at the picnic table.

"Hey bro. Who the fuck was that?" He asked as they watched her taillights disappear down the street.

"That's... that's my sister."