So this is a bit of a filler chapter, but bear with me. I do have a direction for this story to go, it's just not quite all here yet. Feedback at this stage would be really appreciated!

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"Shit, are you OK sweetheart?" As Chibs approached Caroline's truck, he saw her sitting the edge of the front seat, the driver side door open, her head in her hands. Something was clearly wrong.

Caroline looked up quickly. In the dim light, Chibs could see the tear tracks on her face. She wiped at her eyes angrily with the back of her hand. "I'm fine," she said, swinging her legs in and reaching for the door handle. "I gotta go."

Chibs stepped forward quickly, blocking her from closing the door. He peered in at her. "You don't look fine. What happened?" Chibs' loyalty to his brother wouldn't let him think for a moment that Happy had actually hurt her, but clearly he'd upset her plenty. "Did Hap say somethin'?"

Caroline sighed. "No. It was my own fault."

"What was your own fault?"

Caroline shook her head. "Nothing. Forget it. I'm sure he can tell you all about it—you can all have a nice fuckin' laugh."

Watching her face as she said it, Chibs realized that her tears weren't the product of sadness, or even anger, but humiliation. "Hey," he said, reaching out towards her and pushing a stray stand of hair out of her face, "nobody's laughin' at you. What the hell happened with Hap?"

Caroline looked at him fully for the first time since he'd walked up. His face, despite the scary scars, seemed oddly kind. "It doesn't matter," she said, "I just…misunderstood. It's no big deal."

Chibs raised his eyebrows. "Then why are you cryin'?"

She shrugged. "Just feel stupid for not knowing what he wanted." She forced a smile. "Now y'all are gonna think I'm some kind of dumb kid."

It didn't take a genius to guess what had happened between Caroline and Happy, but Chibs thought it best to make sure his assumption was correct. "Hap tried to rub up on you and you turned 'im down? Don't see how that makes you dumb." He laughed. "Rejection'll be good for his ego." Internally, Chibs was more irritated than amused. He knew he had no claim on Caroline, but would it have killed Hap to steer clear of her? Caroline still looked unsure, and like she might push his ass out of the way and bolt at any minute, so Chibs continued. "Nobody'll think any less of you for it," he said, smiling. "I like you even more now!"

Caroline managed a weak smile in return. "He seemed awful pissed," she said.

Chibs laughed. "I bet. We're…not so used to bein' told no. Don't worry about it. He'll calm down as soon as the blue balls wear off."

Caroline looked curious. "You guys run things here, huh?" She reached out and lightly tapped the "Redwood Original" patch on his cut. "You just wear these vests and everybody does what you say?"

Chibs considered the question. "Sometimes," he said. "Not everybody, but yeah, we got some pull. Been around Charming a long time. Guess you could say we're kind of…an institution." He smiled again. "And it's not a vest, it's a cut." As he said it, he realized that he loved that she didn't already know. Her naïveté was strangely sexy.

Caroline sighed. "So not only have I pissed Happy off, but I've managed to alienate a Charming institution? Great. Somebody could have clued me in on who I'm supposed to give it up for around here."

Chibs chuckled. "Nobody's gonna be pissed," he said. "It ain't like that." She was quiet then, and he tried to read her face, but couldn't figure it out. Feeling uncomfortable in the silence, he continued. "What do you care, anyway? Girl like you, hardly have to impress a bunch of bikers, right?"

Caroline tilted her head to the side questioningly. "What do you mean, a girl like me? I'm stuck in this town for at least the summer, and you all are the only people I've met since I got here. I could do worse than impressing you." She thought, as she spoke, of how friendly they had all looked eating together—closest thing she'd seen to the way the ranch hands back home behaved since she'd been here. She didn't want to admit it, but she was lonely. She missed being part of something like that.

Listening to Caroline, Chibs realized that she had no idea what Sons of Anarchy really was. He could tell her they were nothing but mechanics and motorcycle enthusiasts, and she'd buy it without question. The thought was exhilarating. Caroline had no concept of the power SOA held, in Charming or anywhere else, or how they really paid their bills. Apparently, her uncle hadn't seen fit to share, and it wouldn't occur to her to ask. He was emboldened by the thought. "What I mean," he said slowly, "is a young, rich," he looked her right in the eye, "hot girl like you."

As expected, Caroline blushed deeply. Underneath her embarrassment, though, he could see a little concern, and he guessed what she was thinking. "Don't worry, sweet Caroline," he murmured, his voice intentionally low, leaning slightly towards her, "nobody else is gonna try to get in your pants tonight. Promise."

Caroline stuttered her response. "Uh…OK. You know, I really probably should go." She had no idea how to react to Chibs' words, or to the way he was looking at her. The evening had been weird enough already.

"Why? This beast can hang out in there for a while, right?" Chibs nodded towards the horse trailer. "Come out and watch the fireworks with us. Meet a few more people. Jax's Old Lady, Tara, you'd probably like to meet her."

"Oh, I don't think…" Caroline began to decline, but Chibs cut her off.

"Come on, you said you don't know anybody here, so fix that. What the hell else you gonna do tonight?"

He had a point there, Caroline thought. As awkward as taking in a fireworks show with the motley collection of bikers she'd seen earlier might be, it wasn't like she had a competing offer. Seeing she was thinking about it, Chibs continued. "Besides, you show up, act like nothin' happened, that lets Hap know he didn't get to you." Chibs knew it was bullshit, but thought it might help to convince her to stay, and he really didn't want to see her leave yet.

"Well…" Caroline knew she should just go back to her little stable apartment, but she really didn't want to. "Promise you won't abandon me in the middle of a crowd of bikers?"

Chibs grinned. Not bloody likely. "Won't stray more than six inches from your side," he said. "Promise."

By the time she and Chibs were approaching the congregated Sons and associated hangers-on who had commandeered the same picnic table as earlier, along with all the surrounding area, Caroline was already doubting the wisdom of her decision. They were definitely more intimidating en masse, and they all seemed to be there-all the men in their leather cuts, and a few women and kids as well. Caroline recognized Gemma from earlier, and the thin blonde woman who had been with her.

"Opie," Chibs clapped a tall man with a bushy red beard on the back. "This is Caroline."

"Hi," Caroline stuck out her hand, her deeply-ingrained friendliness winning out, for the present, over her nerves. "It's nice to meet you."

Opie smiled, showing a hint of gold teeth. "You're the horse girl! I gotta thank you. Ellie has been wanting to ride a horse since she first saw one."

Caroline's polite smile dropped instantly, replaced by her real, megawatt grin. "Ellie is your little girl? She's absolutely wonderful. I had a great time with her today."

The tiny blonde woman next to Opie spoke. "She did, too. She hasn't stopped talkin' about you." She extended her hand. "I'm Lyla."

Caroline shook her hand. "She wanted to go faster. Can't do that here, or with this horse, but you should bring her up to Uncle Elliot's some time, and I'll take her out."

"You'd do that?" Lyla seemed shocked.

"Sure, why not?" Caroline shrugged. "She'd enjoy it, and I'm exercising horses anyway. Would have liked to at least get her to a canter today, but my old boy just can't take it anymore."

"That was your horse?" Standing nearby, Juice still looked wary of the whole horse concept.

Caroline smiled fondly. "Yeah. My first horse, actually. I was way younger than Ellie when I got him. We ride before we can walk where I'm from."

Over Caroline's head, Chibs and Opie exchanged a look. It was amused on Ope's end, horrified on Chibs'. "So…he's a pretty old horse then, huh?" Juice asked, looking at Chibs with a smile in his eyes as well.

Caroline looked to be counting in her head for a moment. "He's getting up there. He was five or six when I got him, I guess. So he's…over twenty, anyway." If she was at all aware of the significance of her words to the men, she didn't let on.

Standing within earshot, Tig decided to go for the kill. "And that makes you," he raised an eyebrow, "barely legal?"

"Leave 'er alone." Seeing the distress begin to creep into Caroline's face, Chibs moved a bit closer to her.

"It's OK," Caroline said, drawing herself up to her full height, though there wasn't much of it. She looked straight at Tig and smiled. "I'm quite legal, thanks. Just not particularly interested."

"Oh, harsh, bro" Opie laughed. If Caroline hadn't already endeared herself to him by making Ellie smile, she'd have done it by having the nerve to stand up to Tig.

Tig snorted. "Hey Hap," he called to Happy, who was standing at the other end of the table, talking to Bobby. "This bitch have anything to get uppity with me about? She looks awful green to me."

Happy looked up and met Caroline's gaze. He could see her preparing herself for humiliation, that big smile turning into a hard line. There was no point in that. He raised his eyebrows. "Wouldn't know, but she looks pretty good to me," he said. "Maybe she just doesn't like you." Then he returned to Bobby.

Listening to the laughter coming at Tig's expense, rather than at her own, Caroline felt herself begin to relax. Maybe this was going to be OK after all.

As the evening wore on, Caroline grew more comfortable. Though they looked intimidating, most of the Sons were pretty friendly, and Chibs' word was good—he never left her side. By the time the fireworks show began, Caroline was sitting on a table top next to Chibs, a beer bottle between her legs, enjoying herself for the first time in ages.

In the light Opie's explosions made over their heads, Chibs observed Caroline. She wasn't paying any attention to him, her eyes turned upwards towards the show. She's too young, he thought, noting the smoothness of her skin, the complete lack of any makeup he could see. She was so small, too, making her appear only younger. Her hand, wrapped loosely around the neck of the bottle, was almost doll-like, but capable looking, the nails cut short and unpainted. Only the outline of her chest, covered mostly by her mane of tangled red hair, gave evidence for her being a full grown woman. Jesus, he groaned inwardly, what the hell am I thinkin'? Gawkin' at a goddamn teenager. But he didn't turn his eyes away.

After the show was over, Caroline rose as if to leave, but stayed for a few minutes, chatting with Chibs. She was easy to talk to, and he'd always had a knack for making conversation with women. Her back towards the dispersing crowd, he saw her aunt and uncle approach before she did.

"Caroline," Karen Oswald's voice was tight, her displeasure obvious. "I thought you'd gone home."

Caroline turned. "Headed out now, actually," she said.

"Didn't realize you knew Sam Crow." Elliot's voice was friendlier than Karen's, but it, too, sounded displeased.

"Well," Caroline said, smiling at her uncle in a way Chibs thought she must know was disarming, "I met Chibs and Juice when they rescued me after my truck broke down, and Chibs was sweet enough to introduce me to everybody else."

Elliot's eyes moved from Caroline to Chibs. "Nice of you to be so friendly to my niece," he said, his voice making it clear now that he didn't think it was all that nice at all.

Chibs grinned. He knew Elliot was a friend to the Club, so he had to tread lightly, but he'd never liked the rich bastard all that much. "My pleasure," he said. "Hate to see a girl so pretty sit by herself." He grinned even wider when he saw how his words twisted Karen's mouth.

"Shit." A few feet away, Jax nudged Tara, who was cradling a sleeping Thomas while Jax carried an also sleeping Abel. "That look good to you?"

Tara glanced over and grimaced. "Doubt it," she said. "Can't imagine the Oswalds are keen on their niece's choice in company."

"Christ," Jax sighed. "Hang on, lemme check it out." Still carrying Abel, he sauntered towards the group. "Hey," he said, nodding towards Elliot. "Hello again, Mrs. Oswald."

"Jax," Elliot smiled, glancing towards Abel. "Your boy has gotten big."

"Yeah, he changed a lot while we were away." He jerked his head towards Caroline. "Your niece here was every kid's hero today. Opie's little girl can't stop talking about Caroline and her horse."

Caroline smiled, her eyes seeking out Jax's and silently thanking him for the rescue. "It was really no big deal," she said. "It was fun."

Looking uncomfortable, as if bugs might be biting her, Karen Oswald grabbed her husband's elbow. "We should really be going," she said. Then, to Caroline, "you're going now too, right? Shouldn't leave that horse in the trailer for too long."

Caroline barely kept from rolling her eyes, but forced a smile. "I'll be right behind you," she said.

Elliot nodded his goodbyes to Jax and Chibs as Karen all-but dragged him off. With the Oswalds barely out of ear-shot, Chibs began to laugh. "Darlin'," he said, "I don't think they want you to miss curfew."

Caroline shook her head. "I know I ought to be grateful that they worry about me, but I'm not their goddamn kid." Her face darkened temporarily, making it clear she knew why the Oswalds were so over-protective. "Anyway," she smiled again, "thanks, Jax. I think the third degree was on its way."

"No problem." Jax winked at her before he strolled back to where Tara was waiting.

"Thanks to you, too," Caroline said, looking at Chibs. "You rescued my night. This was fun."

"Anytime," he answered, struck again by how very sweet she was with that big smile. "Sorry if I got ya into trouble with Mom and Dad Oswald."

Now Caroline did roll her eyes. "They have to learn to give me a little bit of space," she said. "This was probably good for them—show them I'm not doing anything wrong." She didn't say it, but Chibs knew she was picturing what would have happened if they'd come upon her earlier, with Happy. She looked around, gesturing at Jax and Tara with the boys and Opie and Lyla with their kids. "This is a pretty family friendly scene."

Unable to help himself, Chibs raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't have to be," he said, running his eyes down her body.

Caroline shook her head, but she was smiling. "I distinctly remember a promise not to try to get in my pants."

"Fair enough." Feeling himself smile, Chibs wondered for a moment if this girl had some sort of superpower—she'd drawn so many smiles from him his cheeks were going to ache. "Gotta give you a warnin', though—I only promised not to try to get in your pants tonight. Not forever."

Caroline met his eyes, and he saw she was unsure, but not wholly unconvinced. "I'll remember that," she said softly. Then she stood on reached her head up, standing almost on tiptoe, and kissed his cheek. It was over in an instant, just the soft pressure of her lips and the sun and hay smell of her hair, and then done. "Goodnight.