Disclaimer: I don't own Sons of Anarchy or any of the characters in the show. It's the property of Kurt Sutter, Sutter Ink and FX.

The enormous support on this story continues to baffle me, thank you! I know I'm being somewhat of a nag, but thank you to Simone Santos and MuckyShroom as well. I'm sure you know why by now.

Also, since some of those self appointed ff-sheriffs have started to lurk around in this fandom (and boy, are they going to be kept busy) if my stories are taken down here, I'll have them up at Archive Of Our Own as soon as possible. Obviously also try to put them back up here as well. I have the same writer name at that site. Let me know if you have any questions.


7. Old and New

Thou hast made me known to friends whom I knew not.
Thou hast given me seats in homes not my own.
Thou hast brought the distant near and made a brother of the stranger.

-o0o-

School was starting in four weeks and she'd been back home from Charming for two weeks. At the moment she was at work and so far it had been a really, really bad night. Some nights were just shit and when those nights coincided with when she was having a bad night as well, it was bad. Catherine knew she shouldn't have gone to work, but now she was stuck for at least three more hours.

When a customer told her she was an ugly fucking bitch she looked over at Mick, the manager, and he came up to her.

"Take fifteen," he said to her. He wasn't the most perceptive guy, so if he noticed that she was off her game, it was worse than she had thought.

He usually didn't notice since it wasn't his problem if they weren't making money. They paid a floor fee to dance there which included a deal to do at least two dances on the stage. He made money from the entrance fee and any drinks sold, so he needed the girls on stage now and then.

This also meant that the girls weren't hired by the club and also that if you had a really fucking bad night, you lost money. Catherine had never lost money when working, but she'd had her fair share of low income nights.

The girls were allowed keep everything they made on private dances and tips. It wasn't a top class club, but still pretty high up in the chain, so the customers had money; it was just a question of making sure they spent their on her rather than one of the other girls. She had a few friends among the others, but not many, they were all there for the same reason, making money, so it was wise to not trust any of them. The only one she really trusted was Jenny. Besides her she made sure to keep on the bouncers, bartenders and the House Mom's good side. That was done with the help of tipping.

She went outside for a smoke to calm down and to try to pick herself up. Jenny came out just after her.

"Slow night?" Jenny asked and sat down next to her.

"Yeah. You?"

"It's okay," she shrugged.

"Haven't seen a single one of my regulars."

Catherine had quite a few regulars and she had a prepay phone to keep in contact with them. Sometimes she even made appointments to make sure she could take care of all of them and that they didn't come in at the same time. She didn't usually work on Tuesdays though so none of them would come to look for her. On the other hand it was good to work some odd days too since it gave her the opportunity to pick up new regulars.

When she felt calmer she emptied her coke and walked out on the floor again. She took another round and spotted some young guys around a table. 'Fresh meat', she thought with a smile and walked over there, hoping that this would save her earnings and allow her to go home.

"Hello, boys. Having a good night?"

They looked like college boys, judging by their clothes, watches and shoes, they weren't working class. Daddy's money was paying for the night, she assumed. She decided to give them five minutes, if no-one offered her a drink she'd move on. Guys like that could be a hit or a miss, it wouldn't take her long to figure out if they were prepared to spend a lot of money or if this was the kind of group who'd get pissed when she walked off. It never ceased to amaze her that some guys thought she came over to relax and have some fun rather than make money. It was a damn strip club, not a lonely hearts club.

They smiled when she came up and made room for her, one of them leaned over.

"Can I get you a drink?"

Catherine smiled, if they bought her a drink she got a share of the price and she had a deal with the bartender so he'd make sure there wasn't much alcohol in it. He'd offered her the drink before she'd even sat her ass down. This could be the money maker of the night. Not even mentioning they were all decent looking and smelled nice. Stuff like that made it a little easier.

"Yes, please." She looked around the table, trying to not look like a cat who swallowed the canary. "Don't think I've seen you guys here before."

"No, we're celebrating, it's my birthday," the guy closest to her said eagerly and leaned even closer to her.

Daddy's boys that were new to this meant she could make a lot of money if she played her cards right. When she saw Jenny she gave her their sign that this could be a proper earning and Jenny strode over.

The birthday boy gave her a shy smile. "I've never been to a strip club, not one like this."

Catherine gave him a big smile and could basically feel the dollar signs flash in her eyes. "So it's your birthday and your first time at a proper strip club?" He smiled back and nodded eagerly. "Then we should take this to the VIP-room so we can celebrate properly."

-o0o-

It had ended up as a very good night. The daddies' credit cards had been glowing from proper use towards the end of the night and it had just been regular dances, nothing freaky and no one had gotten too handsy with her, Jenny or the girl called Sandy, who joined them later on. All three girls had taken a celebratory drink once the night was over.

As she walked out she tipped the bartender, the DJ and finally Rodney and the other bouncer. It wasn't obligatory but she always did, it was always good to have those guys at her side since it wasn't uncommon that customers asked them for advice on which girl to ask for. Sometimes they gave her hints on what cars the guys arrived in too, that was a sure way to find the money bags. She found the House Mom Clarice at the bar and gave her a tip as well.

"Good night?" Clarice said with a smile.

"Really slow at first," Catherine said and sat down next to her for a short chat while she waited for Rodney who was taking her home. "Then I found the golden ticket."

"Daddy's boys?" Clarice laughed.

She was an old stripper and now she was kind of the UN at the strip club, took care of the girls and made sure that any arguments were sorted as quickly and painlessly as possible. Clarice was a good house mom and that's why Catherine tipped her as well. She'd been at places with shit House Moms and they were the kind of clubs where you really had to watch your back. The fact that this club had a good House Mom, decent bartender and good bouncers was the main reason why she kept this as her 'home' club. It had some of the shit heads too, of course, but it was still one of her favorite places.

"Yup," Catherine smiled as an answer to Clarice's question. "Totally wallet raped them."

"Good girl," she said and raised her glass. "To young boys with daddy's credit card."

"Daddy's credit card," Catherine held up her glass as well.

-o0o-

The phone woke her up the next morning.

"Hey, sis!" Matt said when she answered. "Sleeping?"

"I was working last night."

"Sorry." He didn't sound too sorry though. "Just called to hear if you're still planning on coming here before school starts."

"Yeah." She got out of the bed and walked into the kitchen. "Me and Jenny are going on a tour next week and she's dropping me off in Charming on our way back."

"Tour?"

"Not really a tour, just going to some clubs we visit sometimes. San Fran, a couple in Vegas, some other cities as well." She lit a smoke. "Sort of a 'work and vacation at the same time'-kinda thing."

"If you talk to someone else here, keep really fucking quiet about dancing close to here."

"I'm not talking to anyone else there, so if you keep your mouth shut, no one will know."

"Oh, I'm gonna keep my mouth shut," he laughed. "Do you know the clubs?"

"I know the clubs. Don't worry, Matt. I've done this before, I'll be fine."

"How does that work, you just walk in?"

"Pretty much. We pay a floor fee, some tips to the others if they're doing a good job. They don't mind a new face now and then so it's all good." The kettle had finally boiled so she poured some water and put instant coffee in it. "I'll call you now and then."

"Good." Matt said a couple of words to someone on the other end. "Gotta go, Sis. Call me."

"Sure. Take care."

"You too. Love you."

"Love you. Bye."

Catherine hung up and looked around her apartment. They were leaving in less than a week and she needed to start packing soon.

She and Jenny had done these tours now and then, both summers and usually at least once more during the year, most often twice. It was a change of scenery and also kind of a vacation. She liked working with Jenny, they had the same rules and boundaries at work. Catherine didn't like to work with people who tried to push her into doing stuff she wasn't comfortable with, but that was never a problem with Jenny.

With a sigh she looked around once more and then took her coffee out on the balcony, she still hadn't had time to buy a TV, not that she missed it all that much.

-o0o-

Three weeks later, Jenny dropped her off outside Matt's place. She didn't follow her inside since she just wanted to get home to her boyfriend. They had made a lot of money and had a lot of fun, but now they were both tired and kind of tired of each other as well. The good thing with Jenny was that you could say that to her and in this case the response had been 'Know what you mean, I'm at that point where your hair color is starting to annoy me'.

So without any tears, they said goodbye. Jenny was gonna keep her stripper stuff at her place and all Catherine had now was a suitcase of regular clothes and her handbag. She walked up the stairs and knocked on Matt's door. He opened the door and immediately pulled her in for a hug.

"Good to see you, Legs!" He took her suitcase and held the door open. "All good?"

"Yeah, made a lot of money, had a lot of fun. Tired as hell though."

"Hungry?"

"No. Just want a shower and a sleep." She carried her stuff into the guest room. "Got any good massage places in this town?"

"No idea. I'll ask around."

"Just massage, no 'happy ending' place."

"Wouldn't have to ask around for those. I know them," he laughed, even more so when she shook her head with a disgusted face. "I'll ask Gemma. Are you hurt?"

"Not really. Just like to keep my back in good condition, all that time on those heels can give me a lot of trouble if I don't."

He nodded. "Take a shower and get some sleep. Gemma wanted to see you tomorrow."

"Just Gemma?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"No. The others wanted to get you drunk tonight though. They hoped you brought your gear."

"You told them I was on tour?"

"Just this morning. They're really pissed that I held out on them." He had a grim smile. "And I'm kind of hoping you didn't bring anything. And if you did, you're gonna tell them you didn't."

"I didn't. Jenny took it all."

He kissed her cheek, "Good. See you tomorrow."

-o0o-

When Catherine woke up it was from the doorbell again. She was starting to hate that fucking doorbell, it seemed to be her constant wake up call when she was here. That or Matt pulling off her cover. She'd contemplated sleeping naked to make sure he stopped doing that, but had resisted the urge so far.

She dragged her ass out of bed and went to the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, hon'," Gemma said and Catherine opened the door. "Welcome back, darlin'. Need your help."

"Excel?" Catherine took the coffee she was offered.

"Yeah, I think I messed something up."

"Whatta surprise."

"Watch it!"

"Let me get dressed and tell Matt I'm leaving."

"He's already at the garage. It's Thursday, normal people work on Thursday's." Gemma held out the key. "Told me to give you this."

When she got out of the car at the clubhouse, Matt met her.

"Hey, how's the back?"

"Like I said; it's fine, just want to keep it that way." She turned to Gemma. "Did he ask you about that?"

"Got some numbers for you. All without 'happy ending'."

"Cathyyy!" she heard a yell and Chibs came up and gave her a hug. "Yer brother says you didn't bring any of the good stuff."

"I didn't. Sent it all home with my friend."

Tig and Jax were the next to give her hugs and suddenly they were all surrounding her. It was a strange but nice feeling and sure as shit helped her to feel welcome.

"Did you get any breakfast?" Matt asked.

"Gemma got me coffee."

Matt looked at Bobby. "Anything in the kitchen?"

"I'll get her something," he said and walked off.

"I need to help Gemma in the office. She did something with the... stuff. I'm gonna head over there."

She walked into the office and turned on the computer and Gemma came inside just after her.

"What's with the back?"

"It's nothing," Catherine said and started to work on the computer. "Just like to keep it that way. All those hours dancing in heels can really fuck it up."

She took all her grooming very seriously, regular massages, waxing, pedicures, manicures, facials, hair. The works; both because her appearance was what made her money, but also because she absolutely loved to spoil herself.

There was a quick knock on the door and Jax walked inside with a plate.

"Some breakfast from Bobby," he said and sat down in a chair on the other side of the table. He lit a smoke and she looked at him.

"Got any more smokes?"

With a nod he tossed her a pack.

"When does school start?" he asked.

"Monday after next, so I need to leave next Saturday."

He nodded. "What was it you studied?"

"Theoretical physics."

"Shit," he laughed. "I'm glad I managed to get through math in school."

"I'm sure you really worked hard too," Catherine said and Gemma snorted.

"My ass, he did."

"Wasn't that interested, I guess." He shrugged.

"I liked school," Catherine said and turned to Gemma. "You've messed up some of the formulas, it's not that hard to fix. I'll mail them to myself when I've fixed them. So next time you can just call me and I'll mail them to you too. That way you'll have them in your mail as well."

"Don't bother mailing them to me," she said. "I'm gonna call you anyway."

"She's thrilled," Jax smiled. "Should worry about giving her your number though. She's gonna call and ask for your help all the time, she hates that computer."

"I'm not gonna do that, you little shit," Gemma protested.

"Why aren't you asking Juice for help? I thought he was the computer wiz." From what Catherine had understood, Juice was the computer guy in the club.

"He keeps fixing shit that doesn't need to be fixed. Adding stuff. I could hardly turn the damn thing on last time he 'helped' me."

"She was really pissed," Jax had a big smile on his lips.

"Stop avoiding work," Gemma was obviously fed up with Jax hanging there. "Get the hell out of here."

"Fine!" He stood up and tossed his smokes to Catherine again. "You can keep those. If you're stuck in here with her, you're gonna need them."

"Out!" Gemma said again and he left. "He's a shithead."

"Seems like a normal son to me."

"Yeah. Like I said; a shithead." She took the pack of cigarettes and took one. "What's your plan once you're done?"

"With what?"

"School."

"I'm not planning on being done for quite some time."

"All the way?" Gemma took another drag and kept a firm eye on Catherine. It was starting to stress her a bit. "Gonna be on top of the school food chain?"

"As far as I can get."

"That's your dream?" She looked... confused. Or more like she didn't understand why anyone would want to do that.

"No. When I was a kid, my dream was the Nobel Prize," Catherine laughed. "I used to practice my speech in the bathroom mirror."

"Big dreams."

"I know. I'm settling for smaller these days."

"Shouldn't do that. Dream big, darlin' and don't let anything stop you." She smiled. "I bet you'd be the first former stripper who won the Nobel Prize. Probably the hottest one."

"I don't know, Marie Curie was hot in a wholesome kind of way."

"No one is hot in a 'wholesome kind of way'."

"Well, the only other female who's won for physics is Maria Goeppert Mayer. She wasn't that hot at all."

"Hard to be hot with that fucking name."

"I'm done," Catherine said and turned to face Gemma. "If that was it?"

"That was it." Gemma stood up. "Thank you."

"No problem." She took the plate and the coffee. "I'll leave my number before I leave."

"I'm gonna need it." Gemma pointed at the plate Jax had brought her. "Take this shit with you or I'll eat it. Fucking Bobby and his butter bombs."

"Sure," she said with a laugh and took the plate.

She watched Gemma sit down in front of the computer and walked outside. She had a feeling she'd be spending more time in that office before the week was over.