Hello dear readers! Soooo...here is my new story! This story will focus on the fourteen month stretch between season 3 and 4. The focus will be Opie and Chibs and what life was like for them during that time. This is a follow up in the same universe as Da, but will have a much broader focus. It is not necessary to read that one first, but I wouldn't complain if you wanted to will shift between Opie, Chibs, Kerrianne, Fiona, Lila, and possibly some other characters like Kozik as well. And fair warning, updates might be slow going on this one, at least for awhile. School starts soon, and I will have a class full of children to educate, therefore less time to write. I am thinking once per week, but that may change.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, and PLEASE let me know what you think! I am definitely open to feedback. Thanks again, and I hope that you enjoy!
"I don't know you. I want the blonde man; the one with the blue eyes. He can fix the transmission. He's the one who always fixes my car. Go get him," the aged woman stubbornly insisted, tucking her golden dyed locks behind her ear, blowing out her cigarette smoke in an impatient huff.
Opie sighed heavily. It didn't seem to matter how many times he told the senile old bat that Jax was not here to fix her car and he wouldn't be back any time soon. She just didn't seem to want to hear that Jax wasn't around. Opie could relate. His best friend had been inside for just over a week now, and Opie missed the asshole. Not as much as Edna Vaughn did, apparently, but still. The old woman continued to stare at him from behind her giant sunglasses, waiting for something he just couldn't deliver. Or could he?
"You want a blonde man? With blue eyes?" he asked, somewhat impressed by his own stroke of genius. "Tell you what; wait right here, and I will go get you one."
He smiled tightly and headed back through the garage, towards the office, making a stop at the picnic table where a blonde haired, blue eyed man lounged easily, beer in hand. "Kozik, you've got a customer."
"I do?" the man asked, startled. He hadn't been around long enough to have customers looking for him, so this was a surprise.
"Yeah, she asked for the one with the blonde hair and blue eyes, and you are the closest thing we've got right now. She needs her transmission rebuilt. It's good money, and we need it," Opie explained.
Kozik nodded, not minding the work. Besides, if she was one of Jax's regular girls, maybe this would work out well for him. He stood and stretched, finishing the last swig of his beer as he did. "Is she at least hot?"
"Yeah, she's smoking," Opie told him with a completely straight face. "Go handle it, and then lock the gate. We're done for today."
He watched the man scamper off like a puppy, and finally cracked a smile, shaking his head at the other man's dumb luck. He looked around the shop, pleased to see that there was not a soul out here. It was nearing 8:00, and they had some things to attend to inside. He had ignored the cars that still waited to be serviced and sent the mechanics home a bit early. They had all been working insane overtime lately to make up for the lack of able bodies, and they deserved a night off. Besides, Opie knew that they could make up the work tomorrow.
Opie wiped his hands down and stripped his dirty TM shirt off before heading to the office to dump his paperwork. He was surprised to see that the office was already occupied. Chibs was at the desk, leaned back in the chair, feet on the desk, and telephone to his ear. He looked remarkably tired, but that was nothing outside the norm for the Scotsman as of late. He and Chibs both had been running themselves ragged trying to get everything in order and establish a new routine for how things would be with the guys inside. Chibs took notice of him and continued to softly speak into the phone. Opie tried not to listen in as Chibs ended the phone call.
"I love you too, I'll call you tomorrow. Stay safe," Chibs spoke softly, and then Opie heard the click of the phone before Chibs turned to him. "Hey Op. Things shut down out there?"
"Yeah, Kozik is dealing with a blue hair and then we're set," Opie replied, helping himself to one of Chibs's cigarettes and sitting down. "That Fi and Kerrianne?"
"Aye," Chibs replied simply. He didn't offer up many details, and Opie considered, not for the first time, just how tough things must be for his friend.
"They doing okay?" Op asked. He knew that Chibs worried about 'his girls' more than he worried about anything else in the world.
"I don't know, Op," Chibs replied with a heavy sigh. "Things are still kind of insane over there. Kerrianne is having issues with some kids at school and asks me every single day when I am coming back. Fi doesn't sleep because she is still worried that Jimmy is coming for her. She also asks me every single say when I am coming back. They are both having a rough time of it, and there isn't a damned thing I can do about it."
"You didn't tell Fi about Jimmy?" Opie asked, truly surprised.
"Not exactly something you say over the phone, brother," Chibs said, lighting his own cigarette. "I wanted to tell her face to face."
"Yeah, I get it," Opie agreed. "You miss them pretty bad, huh?"
Chibs didn't answer with words, just a nod. He didn't need words, and Opie could understand perfectly. He had been locked up for five years while his kids were growing up and had missed them each and every day. Hell, he was out of prison, and he still missed his kids each and every day but that was a different issue all together. He knew what his brother was dealing with. "A couple more weeks. Once we get things settled here, you can go and see them."
"Yeah?" Chibs asked, his brow raised skeptically, as if he almost couldn't believe that he might be allowed to escape Charming for a while.
"Yeah. Things should be stable here by then. We will hire somebody to work in the office since Gemma can't be here. We have four new Prospects coming in, and some Nomads too, so Club numbers will be strong enough. There's no reason for you to be here," Opie said firmly. "Besides, we will need somebody to work with the Irish from that end to settle the gun business. Might as well be you."
"You're serious," Chibs said, still a disbelieving tone to his voice.
"Why not?" Opie asked, knowing that his friend needed this. "Go spend a few weeks with your family. Get to know your kid. Come clean with your wife. You've got a second chance with your family. Don't waste it like I did."
He hadn't intended for this conversation to become so serious, so quickly, but Opie knew that he was right about this. When he got out of prison, he had a chance to change and to live his life with Donna and his kids. He had wasted that chance, and now it was too late. Donna was gone, killed because of him, and he would never get a chance to make up for all the shit he had done wrong. His kids were still around, but he felt farther away from them than ever before. The life he had planned was gone. He would marry Lila and she would raise their kids, but he knew, even she knew, that it wasn't supposed to be this way. Opie would do whatever it took to make sure his brother took better advantage of the second chance he had been given.
Chibs was still kind of looking like he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. "I think they would like that," he spoke up. "I think I would like that. Like I said, they have been asking when I'll come visit, so I doubt that they would mind having to do a bit of business while I'm here."
That made Opie smile, "Well next time they ask, you can tell them," he replied. "Speaking of telling people things, did you happen to mention to Fiona that we are about to go confront a room full of women that you have fucked?"
The question was rhetorical, but the look on Chibs face still made Opie laugh. The crow eaters and hang arounds were all gathered inside the Club house, just waiting for them. Opie was definitely off the market, and to his surprise, Chibs had been brushing off each and every woman who so much as looked at him. Pop liked to look, but Kozik was the only one left who liked to touch. With most of the guys either on the inside or not partaking, the women were growing restless and bored, even starting fights and creating drama that they just didn't need right now. It was better that this situation was dealt with now rather than later.
"Jesus Christ," Chibs muttered. "Don't even joke."
Opie laughed; a real, genuine laugh. "Come on. Let's get this done and start drinking."
The two men put out their smokes and headed towards the Clubhouse, where they met a somewhat disgruntled Kozik. Opie and Chibs ignored his protests and headed inside. The place was packed full of scantily clad women and Prospects. The air hung heavy with cigarette smoke and hairspray. Somewhere in the corner, a speaker blasted CCR, but all it took was one nod from Opie and one of the Prospects went and cut it off. Leaning against the bar, Opie took his cue to speak.
"Alright, we asked you guys here for a reason tonight, and it wasn't to party," he said, ignoring the groans from some. "As you all know, most of the guys are on the inside and will be for a while. There are about thirty of you here, and there are four of us. Even if we were looking for company, those odds aren't good. What I am really saying is that we won't be needing your services for a while," he gave them a moment to allow that to settle in before he continued, "For those of you who are interested, there are other charters who would welcome you. For those of you who want to stay in town, that is fine. If you are in Charming, you are still protected, and you can still serve the Club, just not how you usually do. We have six guys sitting in prison cells right now, and most of them don't have Old Ladies. They would probably love some visitors and some care packages. If you are interested in that, see Gemma tomorrow and she will figure something out. If you are looking for another charter, talk to Piney. The rest of you…just go home."
He finished talking and turned to grab a beer from behind the bar, handing one to Chibs as well. The music cranked back on, but the party atmosphere was gone. After his little speech, some of the women had stormed out in tears, while some of them gathered in small groups to discuss what had just been said. He could practically smell the anger in the room. A few women were gathered near Pops, and Kozik already had three women glued to him. Some of the more brazen ones were eyes Chibs up and down, completely oblivious to his disinterest. Opie knew that he would have to make this speech again at some point. Everybody around here knew that he was with Lila, and that still didn't stop some of them from trying. He doubted that they would go easy on Chibs.
Chuckie pulled a couple more beers for them, and Opie pulled Chibs into the chapel. It was pretty much the only space in the entire building that he knew for sure they wouldn't be glared at or hit on. They weren't yet done for the evening. Both Piney and Kozik followed them in after a few moments, arms full of liqour.
"I suppose you thought you were going to leave me with that shit storm out there, while you hid in here," Piney said, sinking into a chair and pulling a joint out of his pocket. "I say to hell with that. Let the Prospects handle it."
"You think many of them will stick around Charming?" Kozik asked, a desperate look in his eye. The idea of the Clubhouse without Crow eaters was not a very appealing one for him.
"Some of them will," Opie answered with a shrug. "Some of them have been here for long enough and have kids and jobs in town. They will hang around. The rest will go to other charters. Don't worry, Kozik. Just get their numbers, and I'm sure they will be accommodating. You're dick won't be dry for long."
They all had a laugh at Kozik's expense, while the blonde man gave them the finger. He was playing it cool, but Opie could tell that Kozik had been more concerned about the lack of available pussy than he let on. Once the laughter had died down, Opie spoke up again.
"Pop, you and Kozik have the garage tomorrow," Opie said, getting business out of the way before anybody was too drunk or high to comprehend. "Chibs and I are riding out to Stockton early tomorrow," Chibs groan was ignored, "and we are meeting with LeRoy on the way back. Things have been smooth with the Niners and we want to keep it that way. The garage shouldn't be too busy tomorrow, and besides you two, we have six guys on. Just make sure you finish the shit that didn't get done today."
"What should we do with the invoices?" Kozik asked, which was a very valid question. "Shit in that office has been piling up without Gemma."
"A week without her is one thing, but we're looking at more than a week," Piney spoke up, taking a deep drag and then exhaling slowly before continuing. "We're going to need to hire somebody to fill those shoes."
"Like that's possible," Chibs muttered, causing another round of laughs.
"I know. I'll go by Gemma's tomorrow and take all of the paperwork," Opie said finally. "Maybe she can handle some of it from home until we can find someone. Shit, maybe I will let her deal with hiring somebody. Wayne said that she has been going out of her mind stuck in that house."
"Aye," Chibs nodded, as they all imagined what that would be like. Gemma was stuck in her house, with only birds for company. It was something none of them wanted to imagine.
"Alright, that's business for now," Opie told them, allowing the gavel to fall.
None of the men rushed to get up, not sure what would be waiting for them outside the door. Maybe the women had cleared out, but there was every possibility that they were still out there, waiting for the men to make an exit, either to plead their cases or try to lure them in to bed. It was Kozik who spoke up first.
"Anybody down for some poker?" he asked.
He heard Piney and Chibs agree almost immediately, eager for whatever would keep them in this room a little bit long. Kozik quickly volunteered to go get the cards, and probably a few phone numbers as well. Opie thought on it for a moment. He thought of Lila and their kids at home. They would be finishing dinner and doing dishes and taking baths. Then, they would probably settle in on the couch for some TV watching. Lila would probably be wonder whether or not to save him a plate and his kids would be wondering if he would be home before they went to bed. They would likely all fall asleep on the couch, huddled close together, like a real family.
Opie knew that he should go home. He knew that he should want to be there, with his family, more than anything. He glanced over at his father, who had been a constant in his life since he was born. He looked over at Chibs, who would give anything to be able to go home to his wife and his daughter right now. These men, hell, most men, would do whatever was best for their families. The difference was, Opie knew that deep, deep down, the very best thing for his family was for him to stay as far away as possible.
Kozik stumbled through the door, cards and chips and more alcohol in hand, and took his seat at the table.
"Fifty dollar buy in boys?" Chibs asked, taking the cards from Kozik. They all nodded in agreement. "Op, are you playing, brother?"
"Yeah," Opie nodded, taking out his phone to shoot a text to Lila. "Deal me in."