This is the final installment of Gabby's story. If you have not read the others please visit my profile and check out The Reluctant Lion Heart and Lion Heart.

This story is set up a little bit differently, instead of each chapter being a different year/age this will be a more flowing story. I will still post the year and Gabby's age at the beginning of each chapter so you know where we are in Gabby's life. I will be attempting to post every Wednesday as I have been, although the time at which I post will vary as I do not work a regular schedule.

A big thank you to everyone who has followed myself and Gabby along this journey, I never actually set out to write such a long drawn out story, but you, and the characters, have inspired me.

A special thank you to the freak circle, the best most supportive group of girls I have known in a long time.

And an extra special thank you to EmeraldJewelSparkle who read through a big chunk of this story and prevented me from deleting it and ending the Gabby storyline completely.

Check me out on twitter kiara8921 I post when I update, when I'm writing, as well as a bunch of other boring and sometimes entertaining stuff.

This chapter starts 1 year after the end of The Reluctant Lion Heart.

Disclaimer: I do not have the rights to SOA and make no profit off my writing. Anything you don't recognize from the show I have created.

Content Warning: This fanfiction is rated M. Please respect that warning and do not read this if you do not want to read M rated material.

2021

Age 29

"Hey Harry." Gabby kissed the old patch on the cheek as soon as she set Mathew's car seat down. "Any word on when they'll be here?" Harry had taken a role much like Piney's. At 68 he was still a voting member of Fresno but he didn't do much with them. His claim to fame was holding the fort these days.

"Should be hearing the thunder any minute now darling." He assured her and waved at Kristen who had made herself comfortable at the table her brother was on. Kristen smiled big and waved back.

"Go ahead and pull out your homework sweetie, you want an orange or a kiwi?" Gabby asked her daughter.

"Kiwi!" Kristen bounced in her seat and Gabby smiled before heading to get her daughter an after school snack.

She set a juice box and a sliced up kiwi on the table just as the room started to shake and both girls smiled.

"Daddy's home!" Kristen screamed and bounded out of her seat.

Gabby quickly unbuckled Mathew and followed her daughter and Harry out to the lot. "Let them park first Kristen!" She reminded the excited girl.

They waited together by the door until all the bikes, more than usual, came in and parked. Vivica's SUV pulled in shortly after and both old ladies walked into the crowd to greet their old men well behind Kristen.

"Hey baby." Gabby smiled and kissed Casper lightly, hindered by the 5 year old already in his arms.

"Hello Love." Casper smiled slightly at her and then bounced Kristen, "go say hi to Grandpa sweetie." Casper set her down and she ran to Happy as Casper took Mathew in his arms. "Would it be cliché to say look how big he's gotten?"

"You were gone a week baby." Gabby chuckled.

"I know, but I missed you fools." He spoke to the baby making him giggle. Casper looked back at his wife. "Tig and Jax came down; they're staying for the night."

"Club business?" Gabby asked eyeing the crowd.

Casper shrugged. "Jax and Chris are meeting the Mayan's tomorrow for a regular UN summit, and we both know Tig can't come down without some kind of excuse in his back pocket."

"Hey sweetheart." Happy came up next to Gabby and kissed her on the cheek.

"Hey dad." Gabby kissed him back.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to have my first born?" Casper eyed him. Happy chuckled and nodded over to Shark and Lenard, both fawning over the girl.

"Hey little man." Happy took Mathew from Casper and talked to him making him babble back. Gabby can only shake her head. She and Casper met eyes and grinned. Gabby and Casper were the only young couple in Fresno. Most of the men here either never got married or had a few divorces under their belt. As a result Kristen and Mathew were the only club kids around and got every patch's full attention. To say they were spoiled would be an understatement.

"You want him for the night?" Casper grinned at his father in law. Happy was well aware that the young couple used his babysitting to screw like rabbits.

"Slick." Happy refused the offer and handed Mathew back to Gabby. "Party tonight. Stop in mix with the Charming guys."

"Yes dad." Gabby rolled her eyes and called for Kristen as she and Casper headed inside.

"You got school work sweetie?" Casper settled his daughter at the table she had obviously claimed.

"Just shapes and numbers daddy." Kristen looked up at him standing behind her and he kissed her forehead.

"Casper!" Lenard called to him and he headed across the room. He caught sight of Tig waiting patiently for Gabby and Vivica to finish a conversation and shook his head. In his opinion Tig's attempts at bonding this past year were half assed at best. He'd made three trips down, all under the guise of club business and spent maybe 10 minutes with Gabby and the kids before he made some sort of excuse and hurried away.

Gabby was convinced he was genuine in his newfound move towards family and tried to convince Casper Tig's odd behavior was from a place of guilt.

Shark sat down next to Kristen and grabbed a piece of Kiwi off her plate. "What you doing munchkin?"

"Drawing shapes." Kristen answered and carefully watched him take more kiwi.

"What's that?" Shark pointed to what she was drawing.

"It's a hexagon." Shark grinned as she rolled her eyes at him and grabbed more kiwi.

"Uncle Shark!"

"What?" He asked around a mouthful of green fruit.

"Mommy Uncle Shark is eating my kiwi." Kristen wined to her mother.

"Share sweetie." Gabby chastised her and switched Mathew to her other hip.

Kristen looked back at her worksheet and pouted slightly.

"Good job sweetie." Casper came back and kissed his daughter on the head.

"Daddy Uncle Shark is eating my kiwi." Kristen strained her neck to look at her father.

"Dude you are literally taking food out of my child's mouth." Casper shook his head at his brother.

"No, I'm taking it off her plate." Shark defended himself although he knew he wasn't really in trouble.

"Share with Shark sweetie, boys are hungry from the road. Mommy can get you more if he finishes it." Casper swatted the back of Sharks head as he took more fruit off the plate.

"What's that one?" Shark pointed to the worksheet again to distract the 5 year old.

"It's an octagon." Kristen continued to draw the amount specified in the directions.

"Nah, that's not a real shape." Shark shook his head and slipped the last of the kiwi off the plate.

"Yes it is. Octagons have eight sides." Kristen answered not looking up.

"Never seen one in my life." Shark teased the girl before eating the fruit he had hidden in his hand.

"Stop signs are octagons." Kristen lectured the grown man and reached for her snack. "Uncle Shark!" She wailed and Shark laughed.

"Okay fine! Stop signs have 8 sides I believe you."

Kristen gave Shark a death glare she only could have learned from Happy and got up from the table going over to her mother. She started tugging her mother's shirt but didn't interrupt the adults' conversation.

"Yes sweetie?" Gabby asked after Vivica stopped talking and smiled down at the young girl.

"Mommy, Shark ate all my kiwi." She said with a small pout.

"Shark!" Vivica yelled at him from her place at the bar.

"What? It's good and healthy and it's like some exotic hard to find treasure." Shark sat back in his chair with a smirk. "I mean, where do you find such an exquisite specimen?"

"2 for $1 at the grocery store smart alec." Gabby answered and bent down to her daughter. "Are you still hungry?"

"Yes, can I have more kiwi?"

"No honey, that was the last one, do you want an orange?" Kristen turned her head and glared at Shark before nodding her head to her mother. "Okay, go sit down and I'll bring it to you."

Gabby stood back up and grinned at Vivica who chuckled at Shark's antics. Gabby turned to Tig whom she knew was close by waiting for an opening.

"Can you hold him for a sec?" Gabby asked indicating Mathew.

Tig's eyebrows shot up. "Yeah yeah sure." He sounded genuinely shocked and gently and carefully reached out and took Mathew. "Hey little man." He spoke to the barely one year old as he got him in a comfortable spot.

Gabby turned back to Vivica and subtly nodded her head in Tig's direction. She knew Tig was trying, and she was too, but the unsettled feeling in her gut had yet to dissipate whenever Tig came around. He had always set off the flight in Gabby's fight or flight response since she was a child and she wasn't sure it would ever completely go away.

Vivica nodded and moved to sit on the stool next to Tig to assure the young mother she wouldn't leave Tig alone with the baby.

Gabby made quick work of slicing up an orange for her daughter and made her way back out of the kitchen and set the plate down in front of her daughter and out of Sharks reach.

"Thank you mommy." Kristen happily took a slice and started to eat it.

"You're welcome sweetie. If Uncle Shark Asks you for a slice you have to share, okay?" Gabby spoke to her daughter while looking over her head at Shark. Trying to teach her daughter manners while she was surrounded by outlaw bikers was difficult enough without them purposely being bad examples.

"Yes."

"Alright. We're gonna go in a little bit. We're having dinner with Aunt Charlene and then you're spending the night with her."

"Okay mommy, can Betsey sleep with me tonight?" Kristen asked excited.

Betsey was Charlene's three year old pug that Kristen loved to pieces.

"You have to ask Charlene that, but she usually lets you, doesn't she?" Kristen nodded her head and grabbed another slice of orange before going back to her shapes.

Gabby returned to the bar and resisted the urge to immediately take her son back. Tig was adamantly talking to Mathew who was babbling back to him. Vivica looked at Gabby in a 'see everything's okay' way and excused herself to go find her old man.

"I think he likes you." Gabby said to Tig. He looked up at her and gave her a genuine smile.

"I like him too. You think, maybe I could take you all out for dinner, maybe get a chance to talk to you?" He asked hesitantly.

"Can't this time." Gabby tried to hide her relief but the disappointment in Tig's eyes made her feel a bit guilty. "I'm taking the kids to a friends' for dinner and then to spend the night so I can come to the party." She continued.

"Oh, well maybe we can talk a little at the party then."

"Yeah, maybe." She gave him half a smile and was saved from having to make small talk by Jax.

"Give him over Tig." Jax snatched Mathew out of Tig's hands and held him up high bouncing him. "God they're so cute at this age! Last night Abel heard I was coming here and went on and on about when he could see his cousins." Jax brought him back down and handed him back to Gabby with a kiss to her cheek.

"CHURCH!" He yelled and headed away to quickly grab a huge hug from Kristen on his way to the chapel.

"See you tonight?" Gabby asked of Tig as a way to say goodbye. She hated how awkward things always were with him.

"I look forward to it." Tig smiled and rubbed Mathews head before he walked away.

Gabby walked up to Casper as he was telling Kristen to have fun at her sleepover. "Bye my little man." Casper kissed his son and then his wife. "Drive safe, come back soon."

"I will, love you." She kissed him again before he left for the chapel and she sat down to wait for Kristen to finish her homework before they got on the road.

Gabby got back to the clubhouse just as the party got into full swing. She shook her head at Bull and Tom Tom in the ring and quickly tracked down her old man greeting him with a sound kiss.

"Hey baby."

"Hey Love." He smiled at her and pulled her down into his lap on the crowded picnic table bench. "How's Charlene?"

"Back with Ryan." Both Casper and Gabby rolled their eyes.

"She took that douche back again?"

"Her life, her cheating boyfriend. Don't worry, he's not there. He hates kids, remember?" She snagged her old man's beer and took a sip.

"No comment on that one." Casper took his beer back and finished it. "Tig was looking for you."

"He wanted to spend some time with me tonight." Gabby started to pick at the label of the empty beer bottle Casper was holding.

"You want me with you?" He rubbed his wife's back to calm her.

"Nah, it's a big party, he might not even find me." She averted her gaze to the bottle she was still picking at.

"Right, sure, big party." He mocked her avoidance and she playfully elbowed him in the side. She wrinkled her nose at Frankie getting his tongue sucked out of his mouth by a new sweet butt.

"I'm gonna grab us more drinks." She kissed him and climbed off his lap to head back into the clubhouse.

Friday night parties were vastly different for Gabby in Fresno than they were in Charming. She didn't attend every one but she at least made an appearance at more than half. She wasn't afraid to walk around unescorted here and got no problems from the men or the sweet butts. She wasn't sure if it was because Fresno knew her as Happy's daughter or Casper's old lady, but either way she was no longer just the illegitimate daughter of a croweater, and she loved it.

She finally got the appeal of spending a few hours with family and friends, drinking and blowing off steam. She had run off any drug using sweet butts with the full support of Vivica and Chris. She still avoided the fights, and left before people started fucking and or passing out virtually everywhere.

She made it to the bar after a few stops to greet patches and cut in front of three sweet butts to grab her and Casper beers. The women didn't dare complain or glare at her.

She was about to leave again when she spotted Tig talking to Shark and quickly turned back around and went back to the bar. She was 29 years old and couldn't believe she was being so immature about having a conversation with her estranged biological father. She rolled her eyes at her own ridiculous inner dialogue.

Her eyes fell on a young looking girl sitting at the bar staring at her cell phone. "Hey." Gabby greeted her and sat down next to her. "Everything okay?"

"Umm, yeah. Hi." She turned her phone upside down on the bar and swept her hair out of her face.

"I don't recognize you, I'm Gabby."

"I'm Becky. I've never been here before." She looked around at the chaos of the clubhouse and Gabby smiled and gave her one of the beers she was carrying.

"Not what you were expecting?"

"Thank you." Becky took the beer. "I didn't really know what to expect. A friend convinced me to come with her."

Gabby tapped Becky's phone. "She abandoned you, didn't she?"

"Like, the second she parked the car." Becky shook her head.

"What's she wearing? Actually, I can guess that, what does she look like?"

"Umm, black mini skirt and sparkly blue halter top. Tall, skinny, she has a pink streak in her hair." Becky tried to recall the stand out features of her friend.

Gabby took a sip of her beer. This girls friend was probably working her way a little lower than Frankie's mouth right now in the lot. "She probably just hooked up with someone. Just try to relax, have a good time." Gabby clanked her bottle against Becky's and got up. "She'll turn up, maybe try outside. I gotta get back to my old man, supposed to be grabbing us beers." Gabby held hers up.

"Old man… oh, oh my god you're one of the like head…big… I'm sorry. I'm not supposed to bug you." Becky looked like she had just broken a thousand dollar vase in a stranger's house.

"Hey it's okay. I don't know who you got your information from but I'm not untouchable. You looked distressed, I came over. It's not like you pushed up on my husband."

Gabby squeezed her hand and headed around the bar to grab Casper another beer. "You want something Vin?" Gabby looked up and saw him staring at her.

"Beer." Gabby handed him a fresh one and made her way out from behind the bar. "Thanks hun, how you doing?" Vin swung an arm around her and walked her outside into the fresh air.

Gabby glanced back when she realized Vin had blocked Tig's view of her leaving. "Everything's good. Glad to have you back Vin." Gabby was equally close to Vin and Shark more than she was with the rest of the Fresno patches. Vin had stepped up to look out for her before Happy had transferred here and hadn't backed off since.

"So which old man sent you to get me out of Tig's eye line, my husband or my father?"

"Shark actually. Nodded me over when he saw you do an about face before Tig saw you."

Gabby laughed and shook her head. She had grown closer to Shark when Kristen was born. Tom Tom had quickly backed off when the seriousness of his best friend becoming a father had cut into his x box time. Shark on the other hand still showed up for at least a bi-weekly meal and his increased presence had insured Kristen was as attached to him as she was to her grandfather, and Shark loved it.

Shark was an anomaly. He loved his outlaw lifestyle and went through women faster than gasoline. But he was also an eternal family man, he wanted to settle down and have kids desperately but the kind of women attracted to him weren't what he considered mother material.

"You guys don't have to protect me from Tig. Might be better if you didn't. Gotta talk things through at some point."

"You know….I don't know the full story between you two, but I do know he makes you uncomfortable, and that's all that matters to me." Vin whistled at Frankie who currently had a very enthusiastic sweet butt between his legs.

"Yeah, it's about that time." Gabby sighed and handed a beer to her husband. "Think we can switch seats?" Gabby asked still standing as Vin left.

"I could be persuaded." He grabbed her hand and stood up pulling her close. "You were gone a long time."

"I met someone." Gabby teased him.

"Hmmm, should I be jealous?"

"You should, she's gorgeous." Gabby slipped a hand under her husband's belt and pulled him close.

"Oooo now we're talking. We have no kids tonight; you should bring her over so I can meet her." He flashed her a grin and raised his eyebrows.

"Casper!" Gabby took her hand out of his pants and slapped his chest hard.

"Alright, teasing Love, just teasing!" He took a step back to exaggerate the power of her hit and rubbed his chest. "I would like to take you home though." He stepped back up to her and kissed her. "You find Tig yet?"

"Yeah but…he was busy so…no talking tonight."

"You are so transparent." Casper shook his head.

"It would have been rude to interrupt his conversation." Gabby said innocently. "This place is quickly going from R to XXX, you ready to go?"

"Hmmm." Casper kissed his old lady deeply, pulling her close. "I wish, promised Lenard a pool game."

"Pool?" Gabby asked skeptically.

"Might be a rough game." Casper smiled, his wife knew he was lying but it was their game. There was no way he was telling Gabby he had been challenged and was going in the ring. "Could get brutal, Lenard can be downright cruel with a pool cue."

Gabby pulled his head down to her level and kissed him till he grabbed her ass and lifted her off the ground. "Good luck, I love you. Come home so I can kiss everything and make it better."

"Everything?" Casper asked before kissing her again.

"Everything that hurts." Casper gave her a cocky grin and set her down on her feet.

"Bye Love."

"Bye Baby."

Gabby smiled to herself as she made her way across the lot to her car.

"Becky?" Gabby saw the younger woman on her way out of the gate on foot. "Becky!" Gabby jogged a few steps to get to her.

"Gabby…hi…"

"You can't walk home Becky." Gabby lightly grabbed her arm.

"Look, I know you told me to relax and all that, but I have to get home, I have to let the baby sitter go and Angie never showed up." Becky shook her head. "I knew I should have driven."

"No, I meant you shouldn't walk home. I'll drive you, I was about to leave too."

"No, that's okay, really. I don't want to put you out."

"It's okay, really. I get the whole babysitter thing, I've got two kids, they're at a friend's tonight. How old is yours?" Gabby put the woman at ease as she walked them back to her car.

"She's three, Susan. I call her Suzie." Becky was a bit relieved by the booster seat and car seat base in the backseat of Gabby's car. "How old are yours?"

"Kristen is five and Mathew just turned one." Gabby subconsciously smiled. "Where do you live?"

"Oh, ah… Summercrest Apartments. On Church Ave."

"Yeah, I know it. Actually nearly moved in there."

"You did?" Summercrest was one of, if not the cheapest apartment complex in the city. It was also the crappiest and in a pretty bad neighborhood.

"I was looking online before I moved here and I was moving out of a small ass studio above a barber shop, it was dirt cheap though. Anyway when I saw how much true apartments cost in this city I decided to just go for the cheapest. I came down to take a look and Casper, that's my husband…now, boyfriend then, freaked and wouldn't even take me there." Gabby laughed as she continued to drive. "I went anyway while he was at work. The apartment was bigger and believe it or not nicer than where I was moving from."

"Really? Cause I mean, I know how bad it is." Becky assumed the woman was just trying to make her feel better.

"Like I said, lived above a barber shop. On really hot days I could smell the permanent subtle odor of human hair." Gabby glanced at her passenger and let out an exaggerated shutter and Becky laughed. "Which door?" Gabby asked as she waited to make the left into Summercrest.

Becky pointed to a far door and Gabby pulled in and parked close to it. "Thanks, I really appreciate it. The ride and just…you being nice to me."

"You're welcome. Can I ask a favor in return?"

"Of course!"

"Can I use your bathroom? I've been crossing my legs for an hour. I don't go in the clubhouse bathrooms during parties.

Becky laughed. "Oh, I did and I certainly regret it. Come on up." The women made their way up to Becky's second story apartment.

Becky pulled out her keys and unlocked the dead bolt and then the door knob before kicking the bottom of the door to get it open. "Oh my God!"

"Oh Shit!" Gabby started to laugh as the babysitter scrambled to pull her skirt down and her apparent boyfriend used a toss pillow to cover his crotch as he hopped back into his jeans.

"AMBER!" Becky screamed in shock.

"Miss Chambers!" The babysitter, apparently named Amber, screeched as she twisted her shirt into the right position and snatched her bra off the floor.

"Oh my god!" Becky put a hand on her head and rummaged through her purse with the other. "Just go home Amber, here 5 hours…"

"Oh no Miss Chambers, my treat, she never even woke up." Amber grabbed her purse and pushed her boyfriend out the door in front of her.

Gabby closed the door behind them and leaned against it. "Well that's one way to get out of paying the babysitter." She started laughed again and Becky joined her. "Okay, okay." Gabby fanned her face and wiped tears from her eyes. "Bathroom now or I will truly pee my pants."

"Down the hall on the left." Becky pointed as she wiped tears from under her own eyes.

Gabby caught her reflection in the mirror as she washed her hands and smiled wide. She had seen a lot of things at the clubhouse over the years but that teenage boys pale white ass bouncing up and down on the couch had to be one of the funniest.

She slipped out of the bathroom and saw Becky peaking in a bedroom. Becky closed the door and turned around. "She actually slept through all that, amazing."

"Ah to be a kid again." Gabby smiled. "Sleep through anything really. I should get going, old man will be home soon, night without the kids." She hinted.

"I don't think I've ever had a whole night without Suzie. Not that it really matters." Becky spoke while walking Gabby to the door.

"Not much of a love life?"

"Her dad left us high and dry. He's in the Navy, got me knocked up, acted like he was thrilled when I told him but then he got deployed and it was like he fell off the planet. He mine as well have faked his death. I know he came home, wonders of Facebook, but…" Becky trailed off.

Gabby shook her head. "No child support I'm sure. My father did the same. You'll find someone; I ended up with a great dad."

"I just don't want her to suffer because of me, you know?"

"That makes a huge difference. The fact that you care I mean. You can make up for money with love and attention, especially at this age. She doesn't care about name brand clothes or vacations, just spend time with her."

"Is that what your mother did?"

"No. It's what I wish she would have done. Looking back at the crap I wore to school, going to bed hungry, it doesn't matter to me. I just wish my mother had spent time with me." And loved me, Gabby added silently but wasn't prepared to open up so completely to a stranger.

"Thanks, that… that makes me feel better." Becky gave her a shy smile and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. "Well umm, thanks for the ride, and the talk."

"No problem, you gonna be around the clubhouse again?"

"Oh, I don't know. I don't get a sitter that often and that party wasn't really… I mean, no offense, it just wasn't…"

"I understand." Gabby nodded her head and grabbed a pen and a scrap of paper out of her purse. "Here, this is my cell number. Call me; we can get the kids together, no clubhouse."

"Okay, yeah totally." Becky took the paper and Gabby opened the door.

"I mean it; call me, free day out. We can do lunch or dinner at my place, the kids have a swing set. If we get lucky we can pawn them off on my old man and empty a bottle of wine."

Becky laughed. "Okay, yeah sure. I'll call you when I get next week's schedule."

"Alright, bye Becky."

"Bye."

Gabby quickly got back to her car and headed home. She wanted to beat Casper home and she had no way of knowing how long he would be gone.