A/N: I do not own anything about Sons of Anarchy. It belongs completely to Kurt Sutter, and I am just so glad to be allowed to play in the wonderful world he created.
Takes place right after Donna's death in Season One, but I probably won't follow the series exactly. I just think that this is a good place for Charlie to come in. Charlie left before Chibs and Juice became part of SAMCRO. Let me know if you think I've got a good enough story to keep going!
Chapter One
Charlotte Elizabeth Winston loved Charming. She loved growing up in Charming, where the MC was a daily part of her and her brother's life, and where her father, Piney, was a founding member of the Redwood charter. Her mother never loved the MC, though, and it was a constant fixture in every fight between her parents during her childhood, until it eventually broke the marriage apart when Charlie was seven and her brother was fifteen. Charlie loved the sound of a motorcycle roaring down the road, and she missed riding behind her brother, or her dad, or her friend Jax Teller. She hadn't been on the back of a motorcycle in almost six years. But that was her own fault, as her brother continually told her, because she was the one that, in his words, abandoned the family and SAMCRO to take a scholarship at the University of Washington at Seattle. It was her fault that she was good at basketball and got the attention of a scout. It was her fault that they offered her a free ride for an undergraduate degree, and that she did so well in her classes that they offered her scholarships for graduate school. Opie laid the guilt on her constantly, and she did feel bad for missing out on her family's life, but it was only six years. And she was doing this to better herself. A teaching degree wouldn't make her millions, but it would keep her from a minimum wage job at the local convenience store, or as a receptionist at Teller-Morrow, as if Gemma really needed help at the garage. Charlie was a twenty-five year old young woman with a Master's degree and almost no college debt, and that was something to be proud of.
Her brother had married Donna before she left for college, and Charlie hadn't returned to Charming since. Now she was back for her sister-in-law's funeral. This wasn't just a visit, though. She was moving back home after graduating with her Master's, and she had an interview at Thompson High School. Her brother was going to need help with the kids and she knew that her father wasn't getting any younger and that his emphysema was getting worse. Not to mention the fact that she missed the MC and all of its members. Sure, Kozik rode over from Tacoma once a month to check in on her, but he wasn't one the people who had shaped her childhood. She wanted to see Clay, Jax, Opie, Bobby, her dad, and now Tig all sitting around outside the clubhouse, drinking beer, smoking, and laughing at something stupid that they were putting a new prospect through. She wanted Gemma to give her one of those hugs that just made everything okay, that wiped out everything that could possibly bother her.
Charlie took a deep breath as she pulled into the lot at TM and parked beside Gemma's Cadillac. She put her truck in park and cut the engine, then opened the door and stepped out. The sweet California sunshine hit her face and a smile slowly spread across her face. How wonderful it was to be home, in the sunshine, and away from all that rain. She looked around at the familiar sight, taking in her surroundings and feeling so happy to be home.
"Can I help ye wit' sumthin, lass?" A deep Scottish brogue interrupted her reunion with the sun, the smell of oil, and the clamor of the garage. Charlie looked around to see an older man coming towards her.
"I'm just glad to be home, actually, even if it is a sad occasion. Taking in the sights." Charlie replied, turning her smile on him. "I'm Charlie."
Charlie watched as he furrowed his eyebrows, clearly trying to place her. "Are ye a friend of Donna? Opie's in the clubhouse, but the funeral isn't until tomorrow."
The man had barely finished his sentence when Charlie heard her name ring out from the garage. "Charlie!" Jax Teller came from doorway of the small office that was attached to the garage, not quite running but moving very quickly. "Get Ope! His sister's here!" He called to a Hispanic young man with a patch who stood by the door to the clubhouse. Charlie didn't know him, so he must have patched in after she had left Charming.
Recognition now dawned on the man's face as he watch Jax pick Charlie up in a bone-crushing hug, twirling her around once before setting her back down on the ground. "Damn I missed you, Charlie." He told her as he put his hands on her shoulders and stepped back to look at her. "Look at you, all grown up and college educated now."
Charlie laughed and punched him in the shoulder. "Just because I have a degree now doesn't mean I can't still kick your ass."
Jax was about to reply when Opie came out of the clubhouse and stood there, looking at his sister. Charlie took off running and slammed into him, wrapping her arms around his middle in a tight hug as he tried to steady himself with the impact. "Opie." She said, her voice cracking as she held back tears. She felt her brother's arms come around her and return the hug as he lowered his chin onto the top of her head. "I'm okay." He replied, but his voice shook. Charlie squeezed her arms harder, trying her best to make his pain go away. She hated that such a terrible and sad occasion was mixed with a happy homecoming. She wished that Donna were here so that her brother wasn't so sad.
Opie took a deep, shuddering breath before he pulled away from his little sister and looked down at her. "You changed your hair." He stated, looking down at her. Charlie let out a little laugh. She knew that her brother was going to comment on her new pixie cut, particularly because her hair used to her most defining feature, coming just above her butt. "Yep. Less to wash, and it doesn't get in my way when I'm playing." Charlie replied, running her fingers self-consciously through her short, dark auburn hair.
"Dad's gonna say you've turned lesbian." Opie said, looking over at Jax. "You think Charlie's gone lesbian on us?"
"She always wanted to be one of the guys. Maybe they'd let her patch in if she's butch." Jax chuckled good naturedly as Charlie glared at him and pushed on Opie's chest.
"I have not gone lesbian. God, I've been here five minutes and you make me want a fucking cigarette." Charlie growled, stomping towards her truck. She passed the man that had greeted her when she had first arrived, and realized that she still didn't know his name. "You got a name, Scottie?" She asked as she opened the door to her truck and found her pack of Marlboro Menthols. She grabbed a cigarette, put it between her lips, and started digging around for al lighter.
"Name's Chibs." The Scot responded as she found her lighter and turned towards him. Charlie lit her cigarette and dropped the lighter into the driver's seat, slamming the door as she headed towards the clubhouse. "Nice to meet you, Chibs. Clearly, I'm Ope's sister, Charlotte, but everyone calls me Charlie." She shook his hand as she passed him on her way to the clubhouse. "Now, where's my dad? He needs to know his favorite child is back in the state."
Charlie followed Opie, Jax, and Chibs into the clubhouse, and goosebumps rose on her arms as she crossed into the familiar space, both because of the memories and because of the air conditioning that was roaring full blast, chilling her exposed shoulders in her tank top. Her cowboy boots made a dull thud every time she set her heel down on the dirty laminated floor.
"Charlotte?"
Charlie looked around at the sound of her father's voice, finding him sitting at the bar. Her throat closed up as she looked at her father, the strongest man in her life. He pulled himself to his feet, pushing the oxygen tube into his nostrils and taking a deep breath.
"Daddy." Charlie whispered as her dad enveloped her in a hard hug. The tears that had threatened to spill out when she had hugged Opie finally came pouring out, and she buried her face in her father's jean kutte as she let out a sob. "I'm sorry I didn't visit more."
Piney's laugh reverberated through Charlie, and he pulled back from her. "You were busy working and going to class. Kozik kept us up to date. Me or Clay heard from him every month." He wiped a tear from his youngest child's face, showing a kind of tenderness that he reserved solely for his children, particularly Charlie.
"You still could've visited more." Gemma's voice rang out through the din of voices in the clubhouse. She and Clay had just came in from the garage and she made her way over to Charlie for a hug. "You know, Seattle really isn't so far away that you couldn't make the drive every month or so."
Charlie let out a small laugh as she hugged Gemma and then Clay. "Glad for you to be home, kid." He said quietly, chucking her under her chin, before looking up at Piney and heading towards the room where the club held chapel meetings. Charlie wasn't blind to the tension in the room, but she put it off as club problems. Right now, she needed to focus on Opie and his kids, not club drama. She'd dig into the rift later… after she helped her brother put his wife in the ground.
"You can stay at my house. I'll sleep on the couch; you can stay in mine and… in my room." Opie said, looking at his sister over the bed of her truck. She was being stubborn again, and it irritated the hell out of him.
"Opie, you and the kids are going to want to lay down in your own beds and rest tonight. Plus, mom is staying with you while she's in town. It's going to be a hard day tomorrow, and I won't put you out. I'll stay in a hotel for the next few nights until I can nail down an apartment. It won't be a big deal. I promise." Charlie responded to her brother, pleading for him to realize how hard this was going to be.
"You're not staying in a hotel. Look, I know that you don't want to stay with dad because you'll have to sleep on the couch, he only has one room, but you don't have to stay at a hotel. I can-" a voice cut Opie off mid-sentence.
"You two 'ave been out here arguing for fifteen minutes. I 'ave an extra room at my house, the bed's already made up." Chibs turned and looked at Charlie. "Ye'll stay wit' me until ye can find a place." Charlie opened her mouth to begin an argument, but Chibs continued with, "That's the end of this conversation. Now, Opie, ye go home and spend time with the kids. Charlotte, ye can follow me to my house and stay there this evening."
Charlie watched as Chibs walked over to his bike and started putting on his gloves and his helmet. She turned to Opie, raised an eyebrow, and gave him a half smile. "Well hell, who knew the Scot could make our lives easier? I like him already."
"Just get in the damn truck before he leaves without you." Opie smiled at his sister. "I'll see you tomorrow." He started to walk towards his bike but turned at the last minute and said, "I'm glad you're home, sis. For good."
Charlie smiled at him and shooed him away. She climbed into her truck and started the engine, backing out as Chibs' motorcycle passed behind the tailgate. As she pulled out of the lot of TM and started to follow Chibs, she lit herself a cigarette and rolled down the window, letting the late afternoon breeze drift through the cab. She was glad to be home too.
