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.

A/N at the end.

Chapter Four

"Well, Miss Winston, there's only one more thing that I need to discuss with you before we get started on the paperwork." Principal Warren smiled over at Charlie, who was nervously tapping her high-heeled foot. "Your association with the Sons of Anarchy… I need to make sure that nothing will flow over into my school."

Charlie clenched her teeth momentarily before plastering a smile on her face and looking up at the principal. "Mrs. Warren, my brother and father are members of the motorcycle enthusiast club, not me. There would be no reason for trouble to follow me to work."

Principal Warren looked down at her desk and hands, clearly weighting her need for a new Social Studies teacher against her clear dislike for the club. She nodded shortly and then said, "Okay then. Well, we should get started on the paperwork. As you know, to work in the school system, you must be drug tested and fingerprinted, and have a background check. Charming Police Department handles that for the schools in this area, so you'll need to set up an appointment with them. I technically cannot give you the position until the start of term in August, that's when the teacher will retire, so I apologize for the wait."

Charlie kept her smile plastered on her face and resisted the urge to slap the woman. Great, so that means I have to find some way to make money for the next two months, Charlie grumbled in her head. Maybe she would be begging Gemma for a position at TM.

The paperwork didn't take too long, and Charlie was an official member of the Thompson High School faculty, pending her drug test and background check, which she knew would come back clean. Throughout the years, Charlie had made sure to not be arrested, even though she cut the wire close a few times in the past couple of years. As she made her way out to her truck, Charlie noticed that an older model green and white suburban was sitting across from the school. As she drove past it, the man inside made eye contact with her. It was AJ Weston, the driver from the night before. Before she had left, and after Bobby had made it home, Juice had started to give out the information on their visitors. He made no attempt to hide, and pulled out behind her as she passed him by. He followed her halfway to TM before he turned off onto another street, but it made Charlie uneasy. She continued down the road and pulled into the lot at TM. She parked the truck and got out, slinging her purse across her shoulder and heading towards the office beside the garage, aiming to speak with Gemma about her lack of income for two months.

Someone wolf whistled and Charlie turned to glare in Jax's direction. "Look at you! Dressed all professional, and nothing like the degenerate you really are." Jax said as he put an arm around her shoulder, messing up her hair with his hand in the process. He had grease all over him from fixing cars, and she pulled away.

"This is my one good pantsuit. Try not to ruin it with your greasy ways." Charlie replied, sticking her nose up in the air before dissolving into giggles. "I had forgotten that heels sucked, honestly." She pulled them off as she reached the doorway of the office, waving at Gemma who was sitting at the desk with paperwork piled all around her.

"You got a minute, Gemma?" She asked, shooing Jax away as Gemma nodded her in. "Of course, baby girl. What's up?"

Charlie sat down on the couch with a huff, and told Gemma about her predicament. "I mean, I've got some money saved up, but I was going to try and use that on a deposit for an apartment or a house to rent. It's already almost the end of May, so it would only be for two months or so, but I don't want to put Chibs out for that long. He's been so great these past few days."

"Why don't you just stay with Chibs, you know, rent out the room?" Gemma asked, looking over at Charlie. "He enjoys your company, I know it. Plus, you wouldn't have to pay a deposit or anything, and he probably wouldn't gouge you on rent. He'd just need enough to help cover expenses, maybe chip at his monthly payment a little."

Charlie considered this for a moment, realizing that it was a plausible plan. "I don't know. I don't want to intrude on someone who's used to being alone, and really needs that time to decompress… Then again, he is a great roommate. At least, for the three days I've been there." Charlie laughed, thinking of them sitting on the couch, drinking and watching television like old buddies.

"See, it's not a big deal. Why don't you bring it up to him tonight, see what he says?" Gemma nodded and smiled, glad that she could help. "Now, as for work the next few months… We really don't have enough business at TM to warrant hiring another person. I'm sorry, sweetie. But, I heard Clay talking to T.O. on the phone the other day about him losing one of the bartenders at a bar that they own. He could use someone with experience bartending, and he could use someone trustworthy. You should talk to Clay."

Charlie balled her hands into fists and looked down at her feet, willing herself not to overact. She didn't want to speak with Clay; she'd prefer to watch him smother to death under the weight of his lies. Gemma noticed Charlie tense up, and she asked, "Is everything okay?"

Charlie nodded and slid her heels on. "Yeah, of course." She said tensely. "Thanks Gemma, I appreciate the help." She threw her a smile as she exited the office and made her way over to the clubhouse. When she walked in, she saw that there were a few crow eaters hanging around, and that Half-Sack was busy trying to restock the bar. Juice was at a table with his laptop out, and he didn't even notice her come in. Charlie saw Clay sitting in the chapel smoking a cigar, with paperwork laid out on the table before him. She took a deep, calming breath and headed into the room.

Clay looked up and smiled at her. "Hey, sweetheart. How'd the job interview go?" He took off his glasses and laid them on the table, simultaneously motioning for her to take a seat beside him. As she walked up to the chair, she touched the back and asked, "Sergeant at Arms? Tig?"

Clay nodded and replied, "Yep. I don't think he'd mind."

Charlie sat down and dug in her purse for her cigarettes. She pulled one out of the box, lit it with the lighter than Clay had left on the table, and stared down at the box, avoiding his gaze. "I got the job, but it doesn't start until August. I need a job for the next two months… Gemma said something about the Grim Bastards needing a bartender?"

Clay watched her stare at her cigarettes, and realized that she was clearly avoiding looking at him. He shifted in his chair and bit lightly on his cigar. "Yeah, T.O. mentioned it. It'd be in Lodi, though, and that's a drive. Don't know what he'd pay you."

Charlie took a deep drag off her cigarette and grinned. "He'd pay me what you'd expect for my level of expertise in bartending and MC secret keeping." She flicked her eyes up at Clay to see him smiling at her. She hated that he had changed while she was gone. She had loved Clay like a father when she was little.

He leaned forward and wrote something on a piece of paper, sliding it in front of her. "That's the address. I'll give him a call, tell him who you are and let him know that you're dropping by. I doubt he'd say no to you, princess."

Charlie started at his use of her old nickname. He and Bobby had called her that when she was a kid, and it made her throat clench up at the thought of how much things had changed. Charlie cleared her throat, grabbed the paper, and stood up, swinging her purse over her shoulder and knocking some ashes from her cigarette into his ashtray. "Right, well, thanks for this. I have to call the police department and get everything set up for the last bit of paperwork for the school, and then I have to land myself a job."

Charlie left the room and dialed the Charming Police Department. She was glad that she had left the number in her phone after calling so many times over the years to check on members, club and family, that had been arrested.

"Charming Police Department, this is Officer Pamela Rhodes. How may I help you?" Office Rhodes asked as she answered the phone.

"Hi, my name is Charlotte Winston. I've been hired at Thompson High School, and I need to come in for the drug test and fingerprinting." Charlie said as she walked to her truck.

Charlie heard paper rustling on the other end of the phone and then the officer said, "Alright, Miss Winston, the school faxed over your information just a few minutes ago. Can you come in on Monday?"

"Absolutely." Charlie said as she dropped her cigarette on the ground and stepped on it. "Thank you so much."

The officer wished her a good day and hung up, and Charlie climbed into her truck. She put the piece of paper with the bar's address on it in the ashtray and started the truck. First, she was going to Chibs' house to change clothes, and then she was going to get another job. What a productive day it was turning out to be.

As Charlie pulled into the gravel parking lot of the bar in Lodi, she couldn't help but admire the tricked out and flashy Harley's that were parked in front. Sure, they weren't in the style that she was used to, but they were still beautiful. She slid down out of the truck and closed the door behind her, then headed towards the front door. Charlie took a deep breath and made sure that her tank top was situated just right, showing enough cleavage to not be considered too trashy, and then she opened the door. The bar was pretty full for it to be early afternoon on a Tuesday, and there was not another white person in the room. Charlie swallowed hard as the majority of the people looked up at her confused, and she waited for the music to come to a screeching halt like it usually does at this point in the movies.

Charlie straightened her shoulders and headed towards the bar where a young man was cleaning glasses. "I'm looking for T.O." Charlie said, fully aware that everyone was still staring at her.

The man grinned and looked her up and down. "Really? Hm, I don't think that I know a T.O…. In fact, I think that you might be a little lost."

"She isn't." A deep voice said from behind Charlie. She turned around slowly, but made sure not to turn her back completely to the man at the bar. "This is Charlie Winston, our new bartender." The man behind the bar snorted loudly, and the other man, who Charlie assumed was T.O., glared at him. "She's a friend of SAMCRO. A daughter of one of the members, actually, which means that she will be treated with the same respect you'd give one of my daughters, we clear, Dantarieus?"

Dantarieus nodded quickly, going back to cleaning the glasses. T.O. reached out his hand and Charlie took it, shaking it. "Sorry about that, Charlie. I'm T.O."

Charlie smiled at him, liking him instantly. She knew that SAMCRO had a good relationship with the Bastards, and T.O. clearly took Clay's word on things. T.O. motioned her to follow him outside and he held the door open for her as she stepped through the threshold. T.O. lit a cigarette as he turned to her and said, "I'm glad that Clay called. I need someone that I can trust here. The previous employee… well, he wasn't truthful."

"He was a thief, you mean. And I assume that he left the state to go visit a suddenly ill family member, right?" Charlie let out a laugh, shaking her head.

T.O. smiled at her. "Exactly. Now, I paid the previous employee nine dollars an hour, plus whatever tips he made. Given your experience, I'm willing to offer you eleven, plus your tips." He looked her up and down. "And I wouldn't underestimate the amount of your tips. It might take the regulars a while to… adjust, but it should be fine. I'd need you from six in the evening until about two in the morning, Thursday through Monday. Dantarieus has to be home most nights for his kid."

Charlie nodded. "I can handle that. My biggest concern is the adjustment period. Your establishment clearly doesn't favor diversity."

T.O. let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah, right. Well, now that I've got a white girl on my payroll, I can sleep good at night knowing that I've met my white person quota. And as long as you're a good bartender, the guys will get over your pasty white skin pretty quickly. I mean, they're here for liquor and they're going to be happy that the new bartender has boobs."

Charlie laughed and nodded her head. "Alright, why not." She put out her hand and T.O. shook it. "I'll be here tomorrow night, boss."

"See you then, employee." He replied. T.O. watched her get in her truck and leave, giving her a short wave as she pulled out of the parking lot. He furrowed his brow when he realized that an older model green and white suburban followed behind her a few minutes later, with a white man with a shaved head driving. The two men made eye contact and T.O. watched as the man pointedly looked at him and then spit out his window. T.O. shook his head and went back inside the bar, shrugging it off.

A/N: So, clearly Gemma did not suffer the same fate in this story as she did in the show... yet? As of right now, though, she has not. I just wanted to let you guys know that.