AN: Hello again! We're making some progress now. I'm pretty sure the rating it going to change to M, but we haven't gotten there yet, so for now I'll leave it as T. As always, enjoy reading!
Mac was out on the front porch with a cup of coffee when Chibs drove up. Tara was till fast asleep, sleeping off the excesses of the night before. Chibs had decided that after their encounter last night, he wanted to talk to the girl.
What does he want? thought Mac.
"Good morning, darlin'." Chibs said as he walked up her front steps.
"Hey Chibs." Mac said, indicating that he should have a seat. "What can I do for you?"
"I wanted ta talk about las' night." he said. Mac had been pretty sure this was coming, but sighed nonetheless.
"I didn't come here to make those kinds of friends, Chibs." Mac said. "I know what this feels like, the weird electricity that we've got going, like if we ever hooked up the sheets would spontaneously combust. But the sex isn't my problem."
Chibs was grinning at her then, agreeing with her assessment of their chemistry.
"Stop grinning." Mac said. "I can't. I've got a past that's gonna catch up with me, and I'm not going to put that on anyone else's shoulders."
Chibs regarded her carefully. This was clearly going to take some work. She wasn't going to be persuaded so easily. He needed time. So when she stuck out her hand and said "Friends?" he shook it. Friends could get to know each other.
What is she hiding? Chibs wanted to know.
"Friends i'is, then, darlin'." he said, and sat back. Friends, my pale Scottish arse. he thought. As far as he was concerned, this was just time for him to break past her cool exterior. He gave it a couple weeks at most.
She favored him with a true smile, then, and he was just about blinded. It was a smirk or a grin, it was a full on smile. He needed to see that more often. They talked for a while about things of no consequence - favorite movies, colors, books - Mac told him about college and some funny stories about her and Tara, and Chibs returned the favor with stories of the guys. They avoided, with unspoken consent, too much detail about their pasts. Chibs mentioned briefly his time in Belfast, but gave no details.
They found each other easy to talk to, and this just confirmed in Chibs' mind that there was a good reason for him to get to know this girl. She was a bundle of contradictions. A contract killer who doubled as a teacher. A woman with a dark past and a deadly job who seemed to have such a capacity to love. One who wouldn't let herself get close to a man because of her past. She was well worth the trouble, Chibs decided. Now he just needed a way in.
—
They didn't see each other again until the family dinner that Gemma had invited her to. Tara was on shift at the hospital, and thus unable to come. Gemma had called earlier in the day, asking Mac to come over a few hours early to help with cooking, and so there she was, knocking on Gemma's front door around 5:45.
An unfamiliar blonde woman answered the door. She stuck out her hand immediately.
"Hi sweetie." she said. "I'm Luann Delaney, Otto's old lady. Gem said we were expecting you."
"Mac." Mac said, shaking her hand. They walked inside together, and Mac allowed herself to be shepherded into the kitchen, plied with a glass of wine, and put to work. There were a few crow eaters in the kitchen, and Mac tried her best to make small talk. She had nothing against them - most of them were porn stars working under Luann, and who was Mac to tell them how to make money, considering what she did for a living.
Gemma and Luann realized fairly quickly that Mac had few skills in the kitchen, and put her to work chopping. The crow eaters accepted her fast enough, and soon the kitchen was live with conversation. Mac was surprised to find that she was actually enjoying herself.
Soon, the house started to fill with guests. Mac met Donna, Opie's wife, and quickly picked up on some tension between her and the rest of the club members. She took an immediate liking to the woman, however, and her kids.
The guys showed up in twos and threes; Juice looking like he'd been in a fight. "Fuckin' street thugs." Mac heard Bobby mutter to Clay. Gemma just smiled gamely and took Juice into the kitchen for some quick first aid. The crow eaters plied everyone with drinks and they all sat around waiting for dinner.
Chibs showed up last, announcing himself with his distinctive brogue. He gave Mac a hug and a brush on the cheek, and left her to her tasks. The house was packed - it was loud, warm, and friendly. Mac was totally out of her element. Gemma picked up on her discomfort quickly.
"Come on sweetie." she said. "Let's go find some family."
Mac stayed by Gemma as the queen called for dinner, and allowed herself to be seated next to Tig.
"Mackie!" he called, patting the seat next to him. Tig and Gemma didn't miss the glare Chibs sent Tig. Chibs didn't miss the minute way Mac stiffened when Tig called out that particular nickname.
Mac groaned. "If you call me that again, Tiggy, I will have to take drastic measures." she said, setting a final dish down on the table and taking her seat. She had suppressed the shivers that came with the memories of that name. No one had called her that in a very long time.
Tig apologized as well as he could and offered her a beer in payment. Mac just rolled her eyes, accepting.
"Tiggy, why is it you want a blade pressed to your junk?" Bobby asked. Tig blanched, clearly the story of Mac's switchblade had spread. Mac fingered the steak knife beside her plate, catching the light. Tig shifted away from her slightly, and the table broke out in sniggers.
"Finally, someone who scares Tig." said Bobby. "Besides Happy, of course."
The man himself just looked at Bobby steadily. "Pass the peas." he deadpanned, but Mac didn't miss the small grin he sent her way.
—
Mac sat back, full to bursting. Family dinner, she had found, was a lovely experience. Around her, people argued good-naturedly, caught up on each others lives, or just chatted mindlessly. When the food was gone, the guys took the dishes into the kitchen and the kids ran off the play, supervised by the croweaters. Mac found herself sitting surrounded by the Sons and their old ladies, cigar smoke filling the air.
"So what'd you think?" Gemma asked her.
Mac sighed. "It was really lovely, Gemma." she said. "I didn't know I was missing so much." Her voice was tinged with sadness. Gemma made a sympathetic noise in the back of her throat as someone set a tumbler of something brown-colored in front of Mac.
"Jameson okay, luv?" Chibs asked her, and Mac nodded, giving him a smile. He returned with a wink, lightly brushing her cheek when he pulled his hand back. Mac's cheek broke out in tingles. Her decisions concerning Chibs didn't make him any easier to ignore. And now, he sat across from her, staring at her from over his beer, not every trying to be subtle. Mac did her best to ignore him.
Mac sat lazily next to Gemma while the guys played poker beside them, fighting weariness and drooping eyelids. The drinking and smoking had deepened Chibs' accent, and Mac felt it roll her, trying not to stare at him. She caught herself drifting off once or twice, before she fell too far…
"…can't escape." Peter was saying. He was talking to Mac, holding her in her chair by her wrists, standing in front of it and leaning into her face.
"It's done now, and they'll know it was you. You broke your promise, and you did it for me. Don't forget that." But Mac was twisting her head from side to side, trying to avoid the stale tobacco smoke smell of his breath and the twisted words on it.
"No one will want you, if they find out about this. You're mind now. There's no escape, Mackie."
Mac moaned. She kept twisted, trying to escape Peter's grasp…
Mac's own movements woke her up. Her eyes snapped open, heart pounding, following her instincts. She stood up, too fast, and gathered the attention of the room.
"I… um… Thank you for dinner, Gemma, Clay." she said. "It was lovely." She gave the woman a small kiss on the cheek before taking one last wild glance around and leaving quickly.
The room was quiet after Mac's abrupt departure.
"Was it something I said?" tig asked, not all-together jokingly.
"It's her past." It was Happy that responded, taking a drag on his cigar. "Ghosts."
Ghosts. thought Chibs. Another layer to her secrets.
—
As soon as Mac escaped the house, she'd gone to her truck. Still too keyed up to drive, she hoisted herself into the bed and then up on the cab, and laid down. Her truck was far enough from the driveway that, as the guys started to leave, she thought she'd be hidden well enough.
She could still hear Peter saying Mackie, Mackie, Mackie over and over again in hear head. Peter followed her around, like a talented stalker that she couldn't shake. She laid there, listening to a Harley or a car leave every now and then, taking deep breaths. Reminding herself that she was in a small town in the middle of nowhere, and Peter probably had no idea where she was.
Mac wasn't stupid, though. Peter could and would find her. It really was just a matter of time, and if she was honest with herself, part of the reason for settling down was to draw him to her. She wanted him gone. But if he found her, she wouldn't be the only one in danger.
Eventually, she climbed down and got in her truck to head home. She didn't see Gemma and Clay watching from an upstairs window, or Chibs watching her from the front porch.
—
The next morning, Tara was making pancakes. Mac groaned when she walked into the kitchen, following her nose.
"You, my friend, are the greatest roommate ever." Mac said, sitting down with a cup of coffee.
Tara grinned at her. "Consider it repayment for getting me safely home. I had a good time the other night." Mac grinned at her.
"That I know." she said.
"I heard you and Chibs caused a little bit of a disturbance." Tara said.
Mac grimaced. "It was nothing. Small loss of sanity." she said. Tara just laughed.
It was clear Tara had something on her mind, so Mac sat quietly until she came out with it.
"What do you think of Jax?" Tara asked.
Mac knew of their history, so she wondered if this was coming. She shrugged.
"Smart, funny, built." Mac leered at her. "Your type." Tara blushed.
"I know." she said. "I didn't tell him I was coming back, you know. He was as surprised as anyone when Clay told him about that night at the club. I'm told he's married now, not that that stopped him Friday night."
"Well, I didn't see any old ladies with him at family dinner." Mac said. "I'm sure Gemma would've introduced me to her son's wife."
"Either way, I didn't come here for him." Tara said, shaking it off. Mac was silent. She had an inkling that things weren't over between Tara and Jax, but she wasn't one to interfere. She'd let her friend figure it out.
—
A few days later, the guys were in church, discussing the Mayans.
"We gotta do somethin' about them." Clay was saying. The Redwood Chapter sat around the table, listening.
"They're scrapping with friends up north, in Oregon and Washington. I'm sick of dealing with them. If this keeps up they could hit something more vital. I wanna send a message." There were nods around the table.
"How do we know it won't kick back on us?" Opie asked.
Clay sighed. "We don't. But if we don't attach ourselves to the attack, they're not gonna know who to retaliate against. They've got plenty of other enemies."
"What're you thinking?" asked Jax, with narrowed eyes.
"That we ask our new friend for some help." Clay said.
Chibs shifted, trying not to let his emotions show. He knew, intellectually, that this was Mac's job, but that didn't mean he had to like the club using her for their dirty work.
"What's the ask?" asked Jax.
"She wears no colors, and they don't see her. She's alone, she's quiet. She causes some mayhem, and gets the hell out. No harm to her."
"She's just a girl." Piney said.
"She's a very talented girl, old man." Clay said. "She'll be fine."
The table was quiet for a few minutes.
"She takes care of our shit. As long as none of the Mayans get a good look at her face, they won't even be able to connect her to us, much less us to the hit. Do I have to take a vote?" Clay asked.
The table was silent. Chibs held his tongue.
Clay's gavel hit the table.
"Tig and I'll go give her the good news." Clay said, and the Sons filed out of church.
—
