A/N: I'm alive! Huzzah! I bet everyone thought I forgot about this, but fear not, I haven't. I just been really busy so I haven't updated in a while. I was bumming around today so I read the other chapters (which proved I'm a horrible proof-reader, that's for sure) and decided to write a short one to get the ideas flowing again. Besides, season 3 will one day be upon us and I'm excited for it. Really, this chapter has no point to it and it's on the really short side but it's getting me back into the groove of writing this.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sons of Anarchy, just Kelly. And the song this time is The Call by Regina Spektor, which I know due to the Chronicles of Narnia. Thank you, Prince Caspian.


SONS OF ANARCHY

100 theme challenge

77. Memories

Pick a star on the dark horizon
And follow the light
You'll come back when it's over
No need to say goodbye

- "The Call", Regina Spektor

I thundered down the stairs, hoping I didn't drop the old box I clutched in my hands. Tig waited at the bottom of the staircase, smoking. I shoved the box into his hands.

"Here ya go," I said, cheerfully. He grumbled before heading into the living room with it. I ran back up the stairs to wait at the bottom of the ladder to my parents' attic.

Yesterday, Mom had come into the clubhouse and airily told everyone that she wanted the attic cleaned out. So, on this fine Saturday morning, I found myself helping out without a choice. Half-Sack and Opie were up in the attic, grabbing boxes and passing them down to me. I ran them down the hall and stairs to Tig who carried them into the living room where Mom and Tara rooted through them. Anything Mom decided she didn't want was left by the back door for Jax and Chibs to take out to the large dumpster down the street. Everything else was left in a ever-growing pile for us to move back into the attic that Juice tried to keep from falling over.

Somehow, my dad had wiggled out of this; curse him. Bobby had called in sick even though he was perfectly fine the other day. And Piney had mysteriously disappeared to the cabin like he did every now and then.

Half-Sack appeared in the opening and carefully lowered a box to me. He made sure I had a good grip on it before letting go and disappearing again. I jogged down the hallway and down the stairs, but unlike my previous trips, Tig wasn't here. I stared blankly at the spot on the wall he had spent most of his time leaning against as if he'd magically appear if I stared hard enough. But he didn't.

Tig's voice drifted in from the living room and I sighed, stuffing the box under one arm and going in. He leaned over the back of the couch Mom and Tara sat on, looking at something. I deposited my box on the floor with the others and came to stand beside him.

"Ahem."

He looked at me, completely unapologetic. "Sorry."

I leaned against the couch to see what had caught his attention. In my mom's hands was an old photo album. The dates scribbled in the side were from before I was born but I was able to recognize the people in the pictures.

"Is that Jax?" I asked with a grin, leaning forward and pointing at the picture in question. My mom grinned as well. It was Jax as a baby.

"Yeah, it is," she answered even though I already figured that answer out on my own.

"He was so cute. What happened to him?"

Something flew out from the kitchen and nailed me in the knee, almost knocking me down. I scowled at that direction, Jax came in, smirking, with Chibs close behind. The thing he had thrown at me was an old soccer ball.

"I bet you regret those five years of soccer as a kid, huh?" he commented. I eyed the old soccer ball suspiciously. That must have been my soccer ball from when I was a kid; I used to play on an elementary soccer team. Then I decided I wasn't much of one for sports and quit when I was eleven.

"I hope your throwing that out," I said to my mom, who nodded. She was more preoccupied with the album.

"You guys can take a break, I guess," Tara said. She leaned towards Mom as she looked at the photos as well. Tig made a noise of approval before going upstairs to tell Half-Sack and Opie. Jax, Chibs and Juice disappeared into the kitchen for some lunch as I slid over the top of the couch to sit on my mother's other side.

More albums were piled up on the table. I took the one off the top of the pile and started flipping through it as the guys made a lot of noise coming down the stairs. This one was more recent, from after I was already born. I couldn't help by smile at my own baby pictures.

"Jax was protective of you even as a baby." Mom had put her album on the table with the rest and was now paying attention to me. She tugged the album gently out of my hands so she could hold it and Tara could also see. We leaned in on either side of her. I rested my head on her shoulder as she flipped.

"Yeah. Stupid bugger wouldn't leave me alone." I remembered all the things Dad used to say about Jax always poking at me when I was little.

"Yeah. You bit him once." Mom chuckled as she remembered the incident. I couldn't remember it but it caused me to grin. Tara even let out a laugh, just picturing it.

"Is that you?"

All three of us looked up to see the guys had now come in and looked from over the couch.

"Yes," I said in answer to Opie's question.

"You were so cute, whatever happened?"

The guys laughed and I had the urge to grab that damn soccer ball and throw it as hard as I could at Opie's head. If he was lucky, his protective beard shield would protect him.

"Go back to work," Mom ordered. "Juice take Kelly's place. She's staying with us now." They grumbled in protest at having such a short break but did as they were told. Like any of them really argued with their president's queen. I smiled in triumph before resting back against Mom.

"You guys have a lot of photo albums," Tara commented as Mom put the one she held back on the table and picked up a new one.

"What can I say? I was a little camera happy around my babies," Mom answered as she took the new one and opened it.

This one was the most recent of the ones we had looked at since I was now a teenager in the photos. I smiled as we flipped through them, Mom explaining a couple of Tara as we went along. I started laughing at one particular photo that was taken when I was sixteen. I had to do a science project and being rather lazy when it came to school work, I stuck with the usual volcano. But I had decided it just couldn't be any volcano; it had to be Mount Vesuvius erupting all over Pompeii. This turned out to be more work and enough complaining at my parents and a refusal to do something different had caused Dad to order Jax and Opie to help me. My project had turned out fairly good, especially for a stereotypical science project, and my teacher put it in the science fair. My parents had come to see since I had talked so much about it and thus this picture of my science teacher covered in fake lava and ashes was born. Mount Vesuvius had decided to be a bitch that day and didn't work right, but Mom had thought it made a good photo op.

Many of the next pages had photos around the clubhouse of nothing in particular. That was probably me being bored and Mom got them developed anyway. A couple of pages had photos of the guys working in the garage. There were pictures of one of Bobby's weddings and the last few pages had photos of my graduation.

"Are we done yet?"

All three of us looked up to see Tig standing there, looking rather unimpressed.

"Yeah. Just take this shit out to the dump," Mom said, standing up and indicating the pile of stuff she meant to throw out. "The stuff we haven't gone through can stay here. And take the rest back up to the attic."

Tig groaned but nodded at the idea of some more work. Mom and Tara went to organizing the albums as I got up and grabbed two boxes, ready to help move them back up to the attic.

Unfortunately, I picked to bad boxes to carry. Not only did they start getting heavy as I reached the top of the stairs but they were high enough I couldn't see pass them. I almost stumbled into the wall when someone took the boxes out of my hands.

"Hey!" I protested, as if I wasn't relieved. Juice raised an eyebrow at me though a smile plastered his face as he took them to the attic and Half-Sack pulled them up.

"You're in the way." Tig had come up behind me with his arms burdened with three boxes. He pushed me to the side so I hit the wall, but not hard enough for it to hurt. I scowled at his back. Jax and Chibs came upstairs then, carrying boxes as well now that they were done moving junk out. It looked like the guys were working double time so they could finish and get the hell out of there.

"You're still in the way," Tig said to me as he passed by. I stucked my tongue out at him but he was probably right. With all these big, strapping men doing the heavy lifting, a weak little girl like me would just slow down progress. Looked like it was time for lunch.

I headed downstairs and into the kitchen. Mom and Tara were still in the living room but talking now that they were done working. I began making myself a sandwich as the guys made a few more trips the living room to move boxes. I sat myself at the dining room table and watched them work. Once the boxes were all back in the attic, Tig, Chibs and Half-Sack rushed out the front door without goodbyes. That made me laugh inwardly; they were afraid of being put to more work by my mother.

Opie stopped to say bye to me and, evilly, stole half my sandwich. He disappeared out the door to wait for Jax before I could protest. Jax went into the living room to speak with Mom and Tara, Juice settled down into a chair next to me.

"You wanna do something?" he asked boredly as he picked at the edge of a place mat. I looked sidelong at him but something in the living room caught my attention. My old soccer ball still sat where it had rolled away from me; apparently Jax and Chibs had forgot to throw it out.

"You wanna play some one-on-one soccer?" I asked. He gave me a strange look. I grinned at him innocently. "You beat me, I'll blow you."

A grin broke out on his face. "Deal." I knew that would get him to do it. I didn't know how good he was at the sport but a little of my elementary training still stuck in my mind. I supposed I was good enough to beat him, though I may had to distract him with some flashing if he ever got a break away on me.

I stood up, taking my plate to the sink before going into the living room and picking the ball up. Juice followed me in. Jax stopped mid conversation once he saw it.

"Shit. I forgot that."

"Nah, don't worry about it," I said, waving away his comment. "I found a use for it." I went for the door, tossing it repeatedly in the air as I did so. Juice followed behind me closely, whistling.

I turned, pushing the door open with my back.

"I hope you're ready to get your ass beat," I said, smirking. He returned my smirk.

"I hope you enjoy time on your knees," was his retort.

Yeah, he was good at comebacks. Now I had to make him eat those words.


END