Disclaimer: FX own SOA. I own Allie, Katie, and Father Blackburn.

Chapter 1

(Allie POV)

The flight was long and uncomfortable. After fifteen hours of being kicked in the back by an over-excited toddler, I landed in Oakland airport. Walking out of the plane, I was greeted by the dry crisp heat of northern California. I turned my face to the sun and took a deep breath. I made it. I smiled as I walked into the airport to collect my suitcase. I was excited for the future.

Securing a work placement overseas wasn't easily accomplished, even if you did hold a postgraduate qualification. After 4 years at university studying religious studies, followed by 6 months of unemployment, I was accepted on a two-year placement working as an assistant spiritual chaplain in Northern california. A small town called Charming, in fact.

After waiting in baggage for half an hour, I grabbed my bag and headed for the exit. I spotted a small sign with her name clearly printed, being held up by a man of the cloth. I walked over and introduced myself quietly.

"Good Morning, Father, I'm Allie Collins." He was an older man, probably in his mid-fifties, with a bald head and a nice smile.

"Ah Miss Collins, how lovely to meet you," He replied, smiling and grasping my hand in his. "Welcome to California. How was your journey?" He asked, as they made their way towards a black SUV.

"It was good thank you," I responded, placing my bag into the boot and hopping into the passenger seat. It was strange to be sitting in the wrong side of the car. We pulled out of the airport and began our journey to Charming in a companionable silence. I looked out of the window at the huge buildings and the hustle of the people walking by. It was just like a cleaner, prettier London, but with a blue sky and sunshine instead of endless rain.

"I'm very pleased you are joining our team here, Allie," Father Blackburn spoke as we began breezing along the highway. I nodded and smiled.

"I'm very pleased to be here. This work is very exciting to me. I want to help people," I explained, pulling my long hair to one side and beginning to plait it.

"Oh there are plenty of people that could use our help these days, that's for sure," He nodded. "There's a lot of people that have lost their way in Charming." I looked over at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked quietly.

"You'll see. We have a bit of a biker situation in our town, one that caused a lot of trouble a few months ago. It seems to be dying down with the new sheriff in town though… either that, or the fact that half of the bikers are locked up at the moment," My eyes widened at that. I knew from the job description that I might be working with criminals, but it didn't occur to me that there might be a gang living in the town I was staying in.

"Bikers?" I asked, wanting to know more. "Why are they in jail?"

" The club is known as the Sons of Anarchy. They claim to be a motorcycle enthusiast group, all for peace in Charming, and yet a few months ago they shot up one of our family gatherings not too far from here. They're inside for the gun charges, with their sentence somehow reduced from 15 years to parole in 14 months if they behave." Father Blackburn shook his head in dismay. "They should be out in the next 6 months."

"How do you know so much about their sentencing, Father?" I didn't think that kind of information was public knowledge, even in the U.S.

"Please call me Tom," He responded. "And I know because they've recently been added on our list of chaplaincy rounds. Apparently someone in the prison thinks it's a good idea to give them spiritual counselling whilst inside, to help them make better choices in the future." He seemed to find the idea amusing.

"You don't think it will help? That we should try?" I enquired. I didn't believe in lost causes.

" Honestly, I think you could try until you're blue in the face and it won't make a difference. They're in far too deep, and it would take a miracle to get them on the straight and narrow," he sighed, as if he was disappointed in himself for believing the worse.

"Then we should pray for them," I replied, and we fell into silence. I thought about the mysterious bikers for the rest of the journey, wondering what it must be like to live in a town with a gang. Growing up in South East England, I had never seen a gun or a gang. It was one of the reasons I wanted to come to the U.S. Not to be amongst gangs, of course; but to see more of the world. I wanted to make a difference.

Hopefully charming would be the place.

It took about an hour to reach Charming. It seemed a nice town, with a big community feel to it. I noticed there were no large chains; all businesses seemed small and local.

Tom dropped me off at my new apartment, telling me he would pick me up in a couple of hours so I could attend evening service. I planned to spend the next couple of hours unpacking my tiny suitcase, and then going for a walk around town. Apparently this apartment (that came with the job), was only a 5 minute walk into the centre of town, which was great as my sense of direction was non existent. Looking around the apartment, I could see that it would need a few homing touches, something I could focus on in the next couple of weeks once I had settled.

I heard a soft knock on my apartment door, and looked through the peephole to see who it was. I could see a blonde girl, about my age, standing outside smiling at the peephole. I opened the door.

"Hi!" The girl grinned enthusiastically and held out her hand in greeting. "I'm Katie, I live next door. Welcome to Charming!" I smiled at her and welcomed her inside.

"Hi Katie, I'm Allie," I replied and she nodded as if she already knew.

"Father Tom said you would be arriving today. I'm the Buddhist chaplain here in Northern Cali. Here, I bought you this as a welcoming gift," She explained, handing me a small cactus in a cute vase. "I thought you might want a homing touch. I know these apartments don't come with much."

"Thank you, you read my mind. Have you lived in Charming long?" I asked, placing the Cactus on the desk in the corner.

"A couple of years. I was born in Lodi, but transferred here when Father Blackburn took over the running of the chaplaincy services in Northern Cali. Normally there is a chaplain for each religion in each town, but there isn't a large demand for Buddhism around here, so I travel around when needed. " She sat on the small sofa and accepted the soda I offered her with a smile. "You're from much further away though? All the way across the pond?" I nodded and she grinned. "That's so awesome. Heard you're here to cover spiritual?"

"Yep, that's me," I laughed, finding her really easy to talk to.

" Sweet, looking forward to working with you. You got any plans right now?" She asked and I shrugged.

"I was gonna go into town and pick up some groceries, then Father Blackburn is coming to take me to evening service," I explained and she grimaced.

"Oh god, good luck with that, they go on forever," She laughed. "I love Tom and I love my job, but those Catholic services just never seem to end!"

"I don't mind listening, I find them quite interesting. As long as he doesn't try to convert me!" I laughed and she shook her head.

"He wouldn't do that. Come on then, I'll show you around town. Let's get you some food!" I locked my apartment and we walked into town together.

(Jax POV)

"Teller. Infirmary!" The guard yelled across the yard. For Fuck Sake. I hated these pointless trips to the infirmary. My wounds were pretty much healed. Separating me from my brothers just made us all vulnerable, which was something we could do without. Just 6 months to go, I told myself inwardly.

"Now, Teller!" The guard was getting impatient. I stood up and walked over to the door, being clapped on the shoulder by Chibbs in the process. The guard led the way through the halls to the infirmary, where he gestured me to sit and cuffed me to the desk. "Doc will be here in a minute," He spoke and shut the door, leaving me by myself.

I sighed and slumped lower into the seat. I couldn't wait to get out of this shit hole and back to my life. To Tara. My Tara who, by some miracle, was still waiting for me after all the shit we've been through. Just 6 months to go.

The doctor came in without a word, closing the door and walking over to me. I stood and lifted my shirt, so he could remove the bandage and take a look. He nodded approvingly, removing the bandage completely and not replacing it. He came over to the desk, shuffled some papers around, before finally looking at me. I took the hint and sat back down. Obviously I was all healed.

"You're all fixed Mr. Teller. I don't suppose you're going to tell me who did this to you?" I just stared at him. He sighed and shook his head. The guard came back in moments later and uncuffed me from the desk, slapping the cuff back over my wrist.

"Let's go Teller." He didn't lead me back to the yard, instead taking a turn that led to the interview rooms. He opened one of the doors and nodded me inside, locking the door behind me.

Lowen was waiting at the table. "Mr. Teller," She greeted me and shook my hand, despite the fact I was cuffed.

"What's going on?" I asked, surprised to see the lawyer. I knew we were nowhere near getting our parole date yet.

"There's a new condition being added to your case, Mr. Teller. The courts think it's a good idea for all criminals to receive chaplaincy before the offer of parole, in an attempt to… reform their characters." She smiled like she knew this was a pointless endeavour. I just stared at her blankly.

"What the fuck is chaplaincy?" I asked. "Sounds like some faith shit." She smiled again.

"It is in a way. It's basically a form of counselling. Someone comes and visits you, and you talk. They listen. Or you don't talk. I guess it's all up to you," She explained. I shook my head. She should know by now we would never talk about club business with anybody.

"And if we say no?" I asked, though I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

"Then you won't be eligible for parole. You'll be inside for the next 15 years." I clenched my jaw in anger. Fucking feds.

"Guess we don't have a choice then. Sign us up." I sighed and she nodded, getting to her feet.

"The chaplain should visit from next week. You'll be informed when the visits will be. As you signed your forms as "no religious belief", you'll likely be seeing the spiritual chaplain. I have no idea who it'll be. Good day Mr. Teller." She smiled and left.

Well fuck. Clay was going to love this.

Please let me know what you think. I promise after the first couple of chapters the religious/ chaplaincy element of this story will lessen, I just want to set the scene properly.

Also, it's still undecided whether this will be a juice/OC or a happy/OC, so please let me know what you would prefer to read.

Kisses!