Here is Chapter 14! Thanks so much for taking the time to read! Just wanted to let you guys know that updated might be a little bit slower over the next couple of weeks. With it being the holiday time, I am trying to spend as much time with family as I can. The chapters will keep coming, just with a few more days in between. The next chapter should be up in a few days!
I hope that everybody (who celebrates it) enjoys a very, very Merry Christmas.
Please take a few minutes to review if you can, I would really appreciate it! Thanks!
It was just after 5:30 in the morning, on a Monday, and Filip was sitting, wide awake, at his kitchen table. There was a cup of coffee on the table in front of him. It had once been piping hot, but that had long since faded, not that he minded much, as he was not exactly drinking it. He had been awake for a while. He had tried to stay in bed for as long as possible, but eventually, Fiona had told him to either stop moving around or get out of bed. He knew that staying still was pretty much out of the question, so he had kissed her and climbed out of bed.
Glancing at the clock and noticing it creeping closer to 6:00 AM, he figured he should get up and make something for breakfast. He pulled the ingredients for his super-secret oatmeal out of the pantry and busied himself at the stove. In just a few minutes, Kerrianne's alarm clock would be going off, and he wanted to make sure that she had something to eat. She would be starting school today, and that would probably be nerve wracking enough. He figured that making sure she had something to eat was probably the least he could do.
He knew that Kerrianne had not been very excited about this day. Hell, he wasn't very excited about this day either. Kerrianne's concerns had more to do with having to wear a "lame school uniform in unflattering colors", whereas his concerns stemmed from elsewhere. Charming had been his home for many years, and while he could honestly say that the vast majority of its citizens were good people, there were some who were just not. Thus far, Kerrianne and Fiona both had pretty much remained in the protective SAMCRO bubble. Today, however, he was sending Kerrianne outside of that bubble and he just couldn't help it; he was nervous about it.
Elliot had managed to get Kerrianne into Nativity Catholic School, where Tristen went. Due to her phenomenal grades and just all around awesomeness, Kerrianne had earned herself a scholarship to the ridiculously expensive school, which was a real relief to him. Based solely on her own merit, and her friendship with an influential family, his daughter would be attending the very best school in Charming, California.
No, it wasn't the quality of the school, nor the color of the uniforms that had him concerned. He had been in this town long enough, and had had enough interactions with the upper crusts of Charming, to know that it was full of rich little assholes. They were not exactly the most warm and welcoming group of people. He was going to have to work really, really hard to restrain himself, because he knew that the first time one of those little fuckers said or did something to his daughter, he would have to fight the urge to kill them.
It was this worry for her safety and happiness that had him up way, way before the sun. Really, it was an ungodly hour, and he really had no idea why school had to start so early. He wondered how he had done it all those years ago. However, he had made it through just fine, and in the end, Kerrianne would, too. His job right now was to feed her and do anything else he could do to make it easier.
As if on cue, Kerrianne walked into the kitchen, dressed smartly in her school uniform, and looking completely unsure of herself.
"Good morning, Baby," he said, managing a smile for her sake. "You look nice."
"Morning, Da," she replied. "No, I don't. Green isn't my color, and plaid is ugly. But thanks anyway."
"Hey now, you can't tell a Scottish man that plaid is ugly. He might get offended and not give you any oatmeal!" he joked.
"Sorry, Da. You got up early to make me breakfast?" she asked, looking happy despite the early hour and the impending school day.
He set down a bowl in front of her, before pouring himself a fresh cup of coffee and offering one to her, which she declined, opting for juice instead. He joined her at the table, urging her to eat with his eyes.
"Well, I couldn't let you go to school with an empty stomach. Your Ma told me how you liked to skip breakfast," he told her with a stern, father like look. "So yes, I woke up to feed you. That and I thought you might need a ride to school."
She stopped shifting her oatmeal around in the bowl for a moment, and looked at him uncertainly, biting her lips.
"Do you think it will make my first day better, or worse if my Da drops me off?" she asked, sounding like she really didn't know. Coming from most teenage girls, that would have sounded like an unbelievably smart assed question, but he knew she was being completely sincerely.
"Well, here is the thing, Kerri," he said, trying to be as gentle as he could, "Most people in this town are wonderful. Just normal, nice people who mind their business and wouldn't give anybody any trouble. But there are some who are…not. Some people just like to cause trouble."
"People like you?" she asked, with a small smirk.
"Exactly!" he replied, "But seriously, Kerrianne. We have some people in this town who won't like you because of how you look, or where you're from, or any of a variety of reasons. The name SAMCRO means something to most people in this town. For a very, very select few, it will be another reason to not like you, but to everybody else, it will mean that you are one of ours and you are protected. Those people will look after you, simply because you belong to me. That, my sweet little daughter, is why I will give you a ride to school this morning."
She didn't respond right away. Instead, he was amazed to see her actually eat a spoonful of the oatmeal, and then another. They were silent for a while, her eating and him drinking his coffee and tracing the wood grain pattern of the table with his finger.
"Da?" he looked up at the sound of her voice. "What if they just don't like me? Not because I am black or Irish or the child of a motorcycle enthusiast. What if they just…don't like me?"
He sighed. Leave it to his girl to not even be minorly concerned about dangerous people who wouldn't like her for her skin color or her affiliations, but instead be concerned with normal teenage stuff.
"They are going to like you, Kerrianne; I know they are. They won't be able to help themselves. You are so smart, and gorgeous, and hilarious, and friendly, and you have a heart of gold; you really are just like your Ma," he told her, taking her hand. "You are going to make wonderful friends, just like you already have with Tristen, and everything will be okay. And anybody who doesn't like you? They can go straight to hell. You don't need them anyway. You remember how I showed you to punch?"
"Short and quick, thumb outside of the fist, and connect with your knuckles?" she asked, her eyebrows slightly raised.
"Correct. Make friends with whoever you can, ignore those you can't, and hit anybody who fucks with you. You've got a thick skin my girl; you will be fine," he assured her, squeezing her hand.
She gave him a real smile this time. Getting up, she kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Da. For breakfast and for…everything. I'm going to go put makeup on and get my backpack. I'll be ready to go soon."
Kerrianne walked back toward her bedroom, but he stayed sitting for just a minute longer. He couldn't believe the amount of stress and worry that came with something as simple as a first day of school. He had never had this before. Kerrianne had had many first days of school, but this was his first with her. He supposed that he should get used to the constant worry again. Kerrianne had a few more years of school left, and by the time that was done, there would be this new one to worry over.
He was still thinking on that for a moment when he felt warm arms wrap around his shoulders from behind. He smiled, leaning his head back against Fiona and covering her hands with his own.
"You're such a good Da, you know it?" she asked him, fondly.
"You think so?" he asked, smiling up at her.
"I know so," she responded, squeezing him again and dropping a kiss on the top of his head. "She's lucky to have you. We both are."
A few minutes later, Fiona was kissing them both goodbye as Kerrianne climbed on the back of his bike, backpack and all. They both waved goodbye as they took off down the road to Nativity Catholic School. They didn't get more than a couple of miles awake when he heard a few more bike come up behind them. He check his mirror to see Opie, Kozik, Piney, and some of the Prospects following, escorting one of their own to her first day of school. Though he couldn't see it, he could practically feel Kerrianne roll her eyes.
It wasn't long before they rolled up in front of the school. Kerrianne hopped off, handing him her helmet and kissing his cheek.
"Remember what I said, Baby," he told her. "Have a good day. I'll be back to get you after school."
"I will, Da. I love you!" she said, as she walked towards Tristen who was standing near the door. He looked around at the faces of the other kids, and could tell his plan worked. They all knew exactly who she belonged to, and he was glad.
"I love you, Kerrianne," he whispered. He turned to the large Prospect, the most reliable and dependable of the lot. "Prospect, you stay here today. If anything happens, call me."
Ignoring Opie's mocking chuckle, he cranked his bike to life, riding off with the rest of the guys following in his wake.