Most of this story is written while listening to Shinedown, to which I feel most of their lyrics can be and should be applied to SoA. Having said that, this chapter leans more toward "Lady So Divine" by them (Totally one of my favorites, but any way...). Also, when Chibs is nearly blown up in season (two?) the ambulance is reporting that the victim was a 36 year old male. I feel, however, that Chibs would be closer to around 38-40 at that time. So that's the age that I have written him.
Sorry for the delay. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 4: "Sunrise"
Inspired by: "Lady So Divine" - Shinedown
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own SoA.
xxxx

Following Sunny's directions back into town and out the other side, the two rode through the black night, only the bikes headlights and the occasional street lamp as their guide. The cool night air filling their lungs and giving a full sense of freedom. Chibs pulled his Dyna into a short gravel driveway, the house at the end of it was completely dark.

By the time the two of them pulled themselves from the moonlight bathed pasture and made it to their next destination it was already after two in the morning.

After Sunny had delved into her travels she had inquired about the Scotsman's life in Charming, the MC and the personalities of his brothers, and to what his life had been like living with the Belfast charter. Chibs and Sunny seemed to have hit it off pretty quick in their meeting. Both were intrigued by the other.

Chibs had divulged some information about himself, but kept the answers about the MC short. He also hadn't felt comfortable talking about Fiona and Kerrianne just yet.

Sunny had led Chibs around the house to a sizable porch that extended roughly fifteen feet along the back of the moderate home.

Chibs had recognized the house. It had been one that he had looked into buying several years back, when he had been patched into SAMCRO from the Belfast charter. It had all been so new to him, and he didn't know how he felt about staying in the dorms as a new member. It made him feel like he would be imposing on the club. Brothers or not, he had been the new guy, and he felt he still had a long ways to go about earning all of their trust.

The house had been a perfect fit for him. Big enough that he could fit all of his shit in it comfortably, and he could have company without being cramped. But not so big that he would rattle around like a stone in a tin can. A second bedroom for all of his books and anything extra he found himself collecting; Chibs secretly had hoped that he could one day turn it into Kerriannes bedroom, and have her stay with him. However, he knew the dream was far-fetched, and his hope for it dwindled. The house even included a small garage, however raggedy it had been, for him to house his Dyna and his tools. It was also fairly secluded. Far enough away from any neighbors that he wouldn't have to deal with people, and if he had a party, no one to bitch about the noise. Chibs had been ready to pay for the house, almost outright; He had made a fairly big run two weeks prior to patching over, and the money was burning a hole in his pocket. However the owner, a friend of the club, was only looking to rent it out at the time.

The outside had been repaired and the deck added since. The house, once an ugly shade of yellow now boasted a warm shade of firebrick red. However now, the garage was gone and a simple carport was now standing in its place. Chibs was happy to see that the house hadn't been left in disrepair, it was a sturdy building on a good foundation.

Sunny led him to the porch, neglecting to turn the overhead light on, for the moon still shown bright. She sat down on a padded bench seat and offered him the other half. Instead of taking her up on her offer, however, Chibs opted to sit on the porch in front of the open seat; So as to be able to see her without being on top of her.

"This where ya livin' at?" Chibs asked her, his voice seeming loud in the quiet of the night.

"Yeah." Sunny sighed, "Home sweet home." She said this almost ruefully.

Picking up on her tone of voice, Chibs asked her, "You unhappy about that?" She was lightly drumming her fingers on the armrest of her seat, focusing on her fingers.

"No." She was sincere, "Not at all." Sunny looked up through her lashes at him, wondering how lucky she had to be to meet someone like him. Of course, she would never say something so direct to someone she had just met, no matter how much information they had already shared with one another. "I'm just not used to calling anything in particular 'home'. I have a few places that are like home; Chicago, where most of my family is, Helen's Bay, where I grew up, those two stick out more than anything. But I have never really stuck around anywhere long enough for anything to be called home, and I'm confined to Charming for... A while. So..." She chuckled again, "Home sweet home."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Chibs laughed too, small but mirthful.

"No such thing!" Sunny burst out with a giant grin. "Just takes some getting used to. Never said it wasn't worth it!"

Chibs only hummed in agreement. After several moments of peaceful quiet, he spoke again, just above a whisper, "I felt the same way."

"What's that?" Sunny asked him curiously.

"I just said I felt the same when I got here. It took a long age to get used to it. And while Charming is home for me, it's not home." Chibs turned his head to look out at the expansive back yard, "But it was worth it." Chibs couldn't help but think of his wife and now teenage daughter back in Belfast. How much he loved his brothers and his new home didn't hold a candle to how much he missed Belfast and his girls. But the memory of his wee family and the man who stole them from him turned his thoughts sour, and Chibs had to refrain from wanting to hit something.

Trying hard not to ruin the good time he was having with the beautiful woman seated in front of him, Chibs turned back to Sunny and forced a smiled changing the subject, "So what was it that you were going to show me, love?" His forced smile turned to a genuine one when she smiled back at him.

"Well, that depends. What time is it?" She asked, pulling her feet onto the unoccupied seat that Chibs had declined.

"Almost quarter after three in the morning." He answered, glancing down at the watch on his left wrist.

"Well then it will be a little while longer. Our timing has to be just right." Sunny had been smiling up at the bright moon, but turned her eyes onto the Scotsman, "So you'll just have to suffer through my shitty excuse for company until then."

"So is this what you do when you settle somewhere, then?" Seeing her puzzled look he continued with a grin, "Invite strange men with mysterious scars, that you just met, to your home, and then make self depreciating jokes all night?" He touched on the subject of his facial scars lightly, remembering how she had touched them so tenderly. Chuckling, "I won't feel sorry for you. Also, your company isn't shite. If I hadn't come out with you, than I would most definitely be clobbered right now."

"Yep. You got me." Sunny's smile never faltered, "I routinely bring strange men home with me. Alone. Especially ones with mysterious scars." She rested her right hand across her stomach with the left bent behind her head. "OH! And them there boys with their motorbikes and leather jackets," She trilled in an exaggerated southern accent, "Them boys get me all hot and bothered." She fanned herself with the hand that had been laying across her belly. The two laughed in unison for a few moments before Chibs stopped and looked at her.

"You are so incredibly different from the women that I usually associate with" He had meant it as a compliment, but it didn't seem to sound that way.

"Oh, Mr. Telford, please don't inflate my ego by telling me you've never met another woman quite like myself before. Because I've been around the block a time or two, figuratively and literally, and I don't buy into that whole 'unique individual snowflake' bullshit. And quite frankly, I didn't think you would have either."

Chibs stared at her for a moment, her impetuous change of tone catching him off guard. "So you live your life thinking you are a carbon copy of every other gash in the world?" He huffed, surprising even himself with his harshness. "You've got to be fuckin' kiddin' me!"

When she scoffed at him, the air about her attitude still light compared to the outburst she just had, he shook his head, "Tell me something Miss...?" It was in that moment that Chibs realized she had only ever introduced herself with her first, middle, and nicknames.

"Moran." Sunny finished for him.

"Tell me something Miss Moran," He continued, "Who in the bloody hell told you you weren't unique? Just yesterday I was living my life like I normally would with a cold beer in one hand and a hot piece of ass in the other. Living the life, might I be so blunt about it. Good family meals at the end of the night, and a job that I didn't hate. But then I met you, someone with their own scars, who I'm sure has felt the pain of being seen only for the flaw on your skin." He nodded pointedly at Sunny's exposed shoulder. "Someone who I felt comfortable around, who I could talk to. Someone who didn't just want to fuck me because I wear a reaper on my back. You took me out of my comfort zone. Made me want to get to know ye.

"If you think that's not unique, and I'm casting a broad shadow here, cause I'm sure more than just I would agree, than you are blind Scarlet Rose Moran." Neither outburst was heated or loud, but Chibs hoped he had made her understand how much she truly stood out.

Sunny's face was passive. After the whole rant he had gone through, her face was not angry nor enlightened. Sunny swung her legs off of the bench and stood up. She leaned forward some and offered her hand to Chibs, "Let me make you some breakfast." She said after a moment more of silence.

Chibs took her hand and allowed her to help haul him up from his position on the porch. "What did you have in mind?" He asked as he followed her through the sliding glass door that lead directly into the kitchen.

"Oh, I'm not sure, probably just some eggs, toast, and coffee." She turned and smiled at him, "Although, I haven't had a good fry-up since Granda passed."

xxx

"So were you testing me or something?" Chibs asked around his mouthful of sausage and toast.

Sunny only smirked over her cup of coffee. She had succeeded in making a full Ulster breakfast for the first time in over ten years. The kitchen now smelled of bacon and sausage grease, coffee, and sauteed mushrooms and onions.

Chibs hummed as he took his final bite of toast dredged in egg yolk, "I haven't had a breakfast quite like that in years!" He looped his finger through the handle on his coffee mug, taking a sip, "How did you get the eggs so flavorful?"

"You fry them in the bacon fat... Not at all healthy, but oh-so delicious!" Sunny chuckled setting her oversized coffee mug onto the glass kitchen table.

Clearing his throat, Chibs set his mug down and pushed his now empty plate away. "So," He set his elbows onto the table, "What did you mean that you were testing me?"

Sunny mirrored his posture, looking directly at him, "I wasn't testing you, but it is nice to know how you would react on such an occasion." She took another sip of coffee, "You would have passed, had it been a test. Just so you know."

"Oh, joy. I passed a test I didn't know I was taking." He quipped, "Will it be a pop-quiz next, because I only just learned your surname." Statement dripping with sarcasm, Chibs continued more lightly still, "I am a very calm person, ye know." He ran his fingers through his salt and pepper hair, a smile playing at his lips.

"I've noticed." Sunny stated pointedly, finishing her coffee off with a big gulp. She nodded to the sliding glass door from which they had come in, "It's almost time," The yard was still dark but lightening just a sliver as the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon. Standing up, Sunny pulled a hoodie from the back of her kitchen chair and pulled it on, zipping it half way up. She crossed the kitchen to a small closet adjacent to the pantry and pulled out a quilt that looked like it could be fifty years old.

Chibs finished his coffee hurriedly, not wanting to miss this spectacle that Sunny had waited all night to show him.

"You showed me how peaceful the night can be, let me show you how peaceful the morning can be, too." She looped her right arm into the crook of his elbow and shoved the quilt under her left and lead him out into the back yard.

Sunny zipped her jacket up a bit more as the morning breeze tickled at her chest. They walked arm in arm for several minutes, straight back to the property line, if Chibs remembered correctly. Sunny stopped suddenly, and Chibs could see where the ground slopped sharply down into a sparse timber. Where they stood on the hilltop, they had a clear view to the trees, however it was so dark still, Chibs couldn't see past the treeline.

Sunny unfolded the quilt she had brought with them and spread it out onto the damp grass. She sat on it, crossing her legs and watched the treeline. Chibs watched for a few moments, looking between his companion and the view. Sunny reached up and took hold of the Scotsman's hand and tugged lightly, showing that she wanted him to sit with her. Complying, Chibs sat down next to her, keeping his boots off of the blanket and watched the same spot that she had her eyes on.

It had been almost ten minutes, and Chibs was starting to get antsy. Thinking maybe he was missing something he opened his mouth to ask what he was supposed to be looking for, but before he could speak he saw something move in the bottom, and held his tongue.

They watched for a moment more before he gasped with realization and awe. Sunny had sat on the ground facing not just the sunrise, but also the bottom of the hill where several deer had bedded down for the night with their fawns. They were watching the sunrise behind the trees, which were no longer as sparse as Chibs remembered them to be, and the does, about six of them with no less than eight fawns between them, start to wake with the sun, and wake their young. It was single-handedly the most beautiful moment he had beheld of nature since his move from the Green country.

In fact it reminded him so much of his old home that he was almost brought to tears. Sunny whispered to him, something about this was a part of her daily routine, but Chibs hadn't heard her, he was too entranced by the sight before him. Some of the fawns were up and frolicking in the tall grass, while some of the smaller, younger ones were still nestled up close to their mothers.

He turned to look at his companion, and she was still looking down at the spectacle, a small smile on her face. The glow of the morning light now highlighting her face, her green eyes gleamed and the small gems at the sides of her bottom lip glittered. Chibs couldn't help himself, he leaned forward towards her, and kissed the corner of her mouth just as she had done the night before to him.

All they could do was sit and watch the sunrise together, smiles stuck to both of their faces.

xxxx

So, I just keep imagining that Chibs has such a rough and tumble life with the Sons, and has to be gruff and stoic all the time. But I like the idea that Sunny can play the biker bitch well, but also be a soft and comforting place for him. Someone he can laugh and play around with. I think he needs that. So that's why in this chapter, more towards the end, he seems like a shy teenager, rather than an outgoing man who is used to bedding beautiful women all the time. Oh how the tables have turned, Mr. Telford.

Okay, I'm going to bed. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think! (: