"Momma, I heard a car! Are they here?" Sophie's voice was muffled from behind her bedroom door. Tara had offered to help her, but Sophie was determined to get herself ready for their guests all on her own.
"Nope," Tara assured her from the hallway. "That was just the neighbors getting home. They're not here yet. Better hurry up though, or your big sister's gonna catch you in your undies!" She smiled as Sophie gasped in horror.
"Okay, okay, okay!" Sophie squealed. "Just another couple of minutes, okay?"
Tara chuckled. "Okay. I'm gonna go check on the brownies. You just holler if you need any help."
In the wake of Tara's emotional breakdown and disastrous night on the town with Gemma, Chibs made the decision to call in reinforcements. His oldest daughter, Kerrianne, had been talking about visiting for quite a while, so he finally made arrangements for her to spend a few months with him in Charming. She hadn't visited since right after Sophie was born, but the two sisters talked via video chat a couple times a week, at least. Sophie adored her big sister. And Tara welcomed the idea of shaking up the family dynamic. She hoped it would make Jax's absence a little less noticeable, at least to Sophie.
Her one fear was that Chibs' ex would change the game plan at the last minute and decide to join her daughter. Tara knew very little of Chibs' history with his ex-wife, just that she had been remarried for years to a man that had a vendetta against Chibs, and that their relationship was often hostile. Despite all of that, Fiona still felt as though she had some sort of claim on Chibs. She was livid when she found out he and Tara were having a child together, and didn't hesitate to let everyone know it. Tara hoped that, over time, she and Fiona could learn to get along, maybe even become friends, considering that their daughters were sisters. But Fiona's hatred only grew over the years, and just the thought of her made Tara uncomfortable. Fiona was a vile, spiteful woman. Even Gemma was intimidated by her, and that was unheard of.
Tara pulled the brownies out of the oven and set them on the kitchen counter. If Chibs and Kerrianne didn't arrive soon, she would have a hard time keeping Sophie out of them. Just as she was turning off the oven, a familiar car pulled into the driveway. She was so used to seeing Chibs on his bike, she sometimes forgot he had other vehicles. But he couldn't be a bad ass biker all the time. Sometimes he had to play daddy.
"Sophie," she called down the hall, "they're here!" In her excitement, Tara's daughter threw her fashion woes to the wayside and raced out of her bedroom in a hot pink tutu and an orange tank top, wearing only one lime green and purple leg warmer. Tara covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. She followed conservatively behind Sophie as the little girl burst through the front door and ran across the lawn. Tara was relieved to see only two people standing in her driveway. Fiona had stayed in Ireland. Thank God.
"My little bug!" Kerrianne shrieked as Sophie jumped into her arms. "You're huge, look at ya!" Chibs' daughter had always been a very shy, quiet girl, but Sophie brought out another side of her. Tara got the feeling that, maybe due to how she was raised and where she was raised, Kerrianne didn't much trust adults. But Sophie was still innocent. She was safe. Kerrianne didn't have to be guarded around her.
"Hi, sweetheart," Tara said, planting an awkward kiss on the teenager's forehead. She was taller than Tara remembered, and had lost the last of her baby fat. Her caramel skin was taut over her angled cheek bones, her chocolate eyes tired, but beautiful. Her long, curly black hair was pulled into a messy bun, and she looked like she was itching to get out of the ripped jeans and t-shirt she'd probably been wearing for far too long. "How was your flight?"
"Long," Kerrianne said with a laugh.
"Sissy, do you like my hair?" Sophie interrupted, wanting her big sister's attention back on her. "I did it myself."
"I do, very much," Kerrianne told her. "And I love your outfit. Very punk rock, bug!" Sophie looked down at her mismatched clothes and giggled, her little cheeks turning pink with embarrassment.
"What?" Tara asked, looking up at Chibs when she felt his eyes on her. He was standing near the trunk of his car, having just finished unloading Kerrianne's bags, looking at the three of them with the goofiest grin on his face.
He shook his head. "Nothin'. Just nice to see my girls together." Tara knew how difficult it was for him to have Kerrianne so far away all the time. It made her happy to see that burden lifted, even if just temporarily.
"Sissy, come see my room!" Sophie ordered. She took her sister's hand and pulled her toward the house. Tara grabbed a couple of Kerrianne's smaller bags while Chibs pulled the big ones behind him. Lucky for him, they had wheels.
"All my girls," he added, bumping into Tara with his shoulder, since his hands were too full to hug her.
She smiled. They might not be the family she dreamed of as a little girl, but they were a family. Her family. And she was lucky to have them.
Tara and Chibs sat at the dining room table as Sophie took over the living room. She and Kerrianne were seated on the couch, talking about all of the things they were going to do together. Every couple of minutes, Sophie would disappear to her room, then return with some new toy or outfit she needed to show her sister. Her stuff was everywhere. Chibs and Tara couldn't have joined them in the living room if they wanted to. They didn't mind. They were happy to give the girls their space.
"Are you sure it's okay if she stays here tonight? I've got her room ready at my place, I can…"
"Chibs," Tara interrupted, "it's fine. In fact, you're doing me a favor by letting her stay. Could you imagine the meltdown Sophie would have if she left right now? My God."
"Aye," Chibs agreed. "You have a point. Well, then, I'll be here before you have to leave for work in the morning. We'll drop Sophie off at school, and then I'll take Kerrianne to the clubhouse with me while I handle some business.
Tara scowled. "The clubhouse? Really? You think that's a good idea?"
"Tara," Chibs sighed, shaking his head. "She's been around worse than the likes of SAMCRO. Trust me."
"No, I know. It's just…you know the prospect likes 'em young, right? And Tig…I mean, are you really ready to throw her to the wolves like that? You'll be fighting them off with a stick." A wicked grin spread across Tara's face. "Or a baseball bat. Whichever."
"Those horny bastards," Chibs muttered, all too familiar with the way the guys reacted when a new piece came into the clubhouse for the first time, no matter who she was.
"Why don't you take her out to breakfast, spend a little time with her, and then bring her by the clinic? She can spend the day with me."
"Really?"
"Of course," Tara insisted. "We could use the extra hands. Krista's still out, the file room is a mess. She'd be helping me out big time. Seriously."
Tara could tell Chibs wasn't quite buying her story, but he knew she was right about taking Kerrianne to the clubhouse. It would be a disaster. With no other option, he reluctantly agreed. Tara knew he didn't want to burden her- Kerrianne was there to help, not make things harder. But she was excited to have some alone time with her pseudo-stepdaughter. The two of them had never really gotten to talk much. If Tara was going to start leaving Sophie alone with her big sister, which she knew was Chibs' plan, she wanted to get to know her.
Chibs kissed his daughters goodbye, then stood in the doorway and watched them talk and laugh together for a long moment before leaving. It made Tara happy to see his heart so full. She only hoped that someday she would be capable of that sort of genuine happiness again.
Tara was waiting for Kerrianne at the door when Chibs dropped her off at the clinic late the next morning. No doubt under pressure from Clay to hurry up and get to the clubhouse, Chibs waved to Tara from his car before tearing out of the parking lot. Kerrianne shook her head.
"Never take driving lessons from your father, alright?" Tara teased.
"Aye," Kerrianne agreed with a smile. "You guys drive on the wrong side of the road here anyway."
Kerrianne was a quick learner, and within an hour was filing and organizing charts in the back room. Tara checked on her every so often, and the two of them had lunch together at the Mexican restaurant down the street from the clinic. Kerrianne wasn't overly talkative, but she and Tara finally had an opportunity to feel one another out, which was something they both needed. They were family, after all.
After she finished filing charts, Kerrianne took to the task of rearranging the supply room. Dr. Shaw was impressed, and made more than one comment about hiring her to replace Krista. Tara was pretty sure he was only half joking.
"I've got one more patient, and then we'll get out of here, okay?" Tara said as she grabbed equipment for her last appointment of the day. Kerrianne was just about finished cleaning the supply room, and it was nearly immaculate. The young girl nodded, smiling shyly as she tucked a loose curl back into her ponytail. Tara patted her on the back, then left the room to tend to her final patient of the afternoon.
What should have been a routine well-puppy check began to go horribly wrong the moment Tara stepped into the room. They often joked at the clinic about how most of the pet owners were more high strung than their pets. In this case, the bichon frise Tara was trying to vaccinate and the well dressed elderly woman she belonged to were trying to outdo one another on the crazy scale. The woman was pacing and fidgeting, and the dog was yelping and scrambling to escape every time Tara tried to touch him. It definitely was not what she needed to end her day. When she finally got close enough to the wound up puppy to take his temperature, he expelled his nerves, in the form of vomit all over her shirt.
"Oh Jesus," she groaned, stepping out of the splash zone as best she could. Mercifully, Dr. Shaw happened to be passing by the door just in time to see Tara get splattered with regurgitated kibble.
"Uh oh," he said cheerfully as he entered the room. He was not one to break character in front of a patient, no matter what happened. As far as every pet owner in Charming knew, he was the happiest, nicest guy in town. And for the most part, it was true. Tara admired that about him. "What do we have here?" he asked, sounding more concerned than he probably was. "Somebody's a little nervous, huh?" He nodded to Tara, giving her silent permission to leave the room, as he took over.
She ran to the nearest sink, which was in the supply room. She kicked the door shut behind her, and pulled her shirt off as fast as she could, careful not to get anything wet or slimy on her skin. She tossed the shirt into the sink and turned the water on, then dumped soap on everything- her shirt, her hands, her arms. She scrubbed her skin under the faucet as the sink filled with suds.
"Fucking asshole dog," she grumbled.
"Everything alright?" asked a quiet voice. Tara spun around. She'd completely forgotten Kerrianne was in the room.
"Jesus Christ," she hissed, her heart racing.
Kerrianne looked down at the ground and blushed. "Sorry," she murmured.
"No, shit, I'm sorry," Tara stammered. "You just startled me, that's all. I'm…." her words trailed off as she came to a horrifying realization. "I'm…naked." After a brief awkward silence, they both began to laugh. For a moment, Kerrianne must have forgotten why she had her eyes fixed on the floor. She looked up at Tara, who was wearing only scrub pants and a bra, soapy water dripping from her hands.
"Sorry," she whispered again, quickly looking away. "There are extra scrubs in here," she offered, making her way to the newly organized cabinet by the window. She pulled open the doors and grabbed a fresh pair of scrubs, tossing them to Tara without making eye contact.
Even though Tara didn't see any dog vomit on her pants, they just felt dirty. She slipped them off, then breathed a sigh of relief as she put on the new scrubs, which were just a bit too big. "Much better," she said.
Kerrianne took a seat in the chair on the far wall as Tara cleaned up the mess she'd made in her panic.
"Everything okay?" Tara asked. Chibs' daughter was more quiet than usual. Tara was worried she'd scarred her for life.
Kerrianne waited a moment before answering. "Does my da know?"
Tara turned around, her brow furrowed. "Know what?"
Kerrianne's eyes settled exactly where Tara hoped they wouldn't, on her bulging stomach. With clothes on, it was barely noticeable. But Kerrianne had just seen her in all her exposed glory.
"That you're pregnant," the girl said plainly.
Tara shook her head. "Oh, I'm not…"
The look on Kerrianne's face made it clear that there was no use trying to deny it. She knew. "Three of my friends have had babies in the past year. I know a pregnant pooch when I see one, Tara."
"Jesus Christ," Tara breathed, taking a seat beside her. She tried to change the subject. "Three friends? Aren't you only sixteen?"
"Seventeen," Kerrianne corrected her. "And you didn't answer my question."
Tara slumped back in her chair, defeated. "It's not what you think," she said quietly.
"It's not my da's. Is it?"
"No," Tara confirmed. "No, no it's not. And he doesn't know. Nobody does. I don't even know what I'm going to do yet, I haven't…"
"What you're going to do?" Kerrianne's confusion quickly turned to disappointment. "Oh. You haven't decided if you're going to keep it."
Tara's silence answered the question for her. She'd been doing everything in her power to avoid even thinking about it, because she wasn't ready to deal with any of it. But she knew she was running out of time. Pretty soon she would be too far along, and she wouldn't have a choice in the matter, she would have to keep the baby. Jax's baby. For nearly half her life, she'd dreamt of having children with Jackson Teller. And no matter how things had ended, that baby was created out of love. But was she really ready to be a single mother to two children with different fathers? And what would the club do when they found out? Historically, Tellers hadn't fared well in Charming. Tears welled up in her eyes as her thoughts raced.
Kerrianne placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry," she said. "I won't tell anybody."