Authors note: I'm trying my best to get the next chapters done but I'm afraid that I don't have as much free time as before to sit a down and write. Sorry for the long delays between updates. Hopefully you'll stick it out with me and keep reading. Also, I am not doing the show justice by trying to recap what happened in certain episodes. I apologize for that.
I only own Aubrey.
"Let's vote this shit," Aubrey overheard Clay say as she walked by him and Chibs the next morning on the Teller-Morrow lot. Clay looked angry and Aubrey could see Gemma standing in the office doorway watching after him. She looked concerned. Without a word, Chibs grabbed Aubrey's hand, giving it a small squeeze and quickly gave her a kiss before following Clay towards the clubhouse.
"What's going on?" Aubrey asked Gemma when she got to the office. Gemma had her arms crossed in front of her chest, and was pursing her lips together.
"Clubs having a vote. Clay might lose his spot as President," Gemma answered, sounding hurt. Aubrey looked surprised but didn't quite know what that meant.
"Oh. Well, what does that me..." she started but was cut off by Gemma.
"Don't want to talk about it," she spat out and stepped into the office. Aubrey dropped the subject and got to work.
Chibs sat in his chair in the chapel, watching how tense his brothers were. He couldn't guess how they would be voting and he was even unsure of what his own vote would be. As he heard Clay and Tig give their "nay" votes, he scanned the room and saw looks of anger and relief around him. What's going on with this family? he thought. Chibs sat quietly, hesitating before casting his own vote. He still didn't know how to answer. As he took a breath in to speak, the windows began to rain down into the room. Bodies instinctively ducked down when they heard shots being fired and the squeals of tires outside of the clubhouse. Everyone around him began to scatter, either heading for the gun cabinet or running out towards the clubhouse door. Chibs' first thought was whether or not Aubrey was okay.
After ducking more gun fire, Chibs made his way outside and fired at the red truck that was making its way to the lots exit. A few seconds earlier the truck had just spun around and someone quickly threw a duffel bag to the ground, getting shot in the process. He feel to the ground before the truck sped up and took off, leaving one of their own behind. Chibs jerked around to look at the office but couldn't see anyone. He ran for Aubrey, hoping that she was okay. He spotted Gemma first, emerging from the office, wiping her hair out of her face and when he got close enough to look in, Chibs spotted Aubrey lying on the floor, in the fetal position, with her head tucked into her arms. He ran inside and tried to help her up. She flinched when she felt someone touching her but allowed Chibs to help her when she looked up and saw who it was.
"Are ye okay? Are ye hurt?" he asked frantically.
Chibs could tell that Aubrey was in shock. She didn't make a sound and was not responsive to his questions. He noticed, though, that she couldn't stop shaking and that her hands were cold. Chibs led her outside for some fresh air and helped her down the steps onto the lot.
"Are ye okay?" he asked again, looking at her in the sunlight. Aubrey looked up at Chibs and her eyes grew wide. She made a strange noise in her throat and pushed Chibs away from her, before running towards the office. She turned left, and ended up beside the building where she put one hand on the wall and leaned over, throwing up all over the ground. She finished and stood up, with her back facing Chibs. She was shaking worse than before as she finally let what just happened sink in. Chibs walked over to Aubrey and put his hand on her lower back. She pulled away quickly and spun around. He saw it right away. Fear drowned in tears.
Moments ago, Aubrey had just picked up the phone and was running a finger across a work order, trying to find a customer's phone number. She heard a squealing sound then an unfamiliar, loud, horrible noise rapidly repeating over and over again. Gemma's voice told her to get down and she did, only then realizing that it was the sound of gunfire that had her heart pounding. She had never heard a gun being fired before, except on tv or in the movies so she was unable to identify it right away. But once she placed it, there was no denying it. Someone was shooting on the lot.
She stayed down for what seemed like hours, waiting for the noise to stop. Aubrey didn't dare move because she had no idea where the shots were being aimed at or when they would stop. She heard shouting and more gun fire then the noises stopped.
"Oh Bray, are ye alright?" Chibs asked a little louder, giving her shoulders a squeeze. Aubrey took a second to answer then when she did she couldn't stop herself.
"No! I'm not okay! We were just shot at!" she yelled out between sobs. She tried to catch her breath but they were coming in ragged and she could feel her body trembling.
Chibs wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly until he could feel her body start to loosen a little. He repeated "It's okay" over and over again until the words no longer made sense. They were just sounds to Aubrey now.
"Chibs, come on!" Happy yelled from behind them. Aubrey looked back and saw that most of SAMCRO was on the lot and that they all had guns drawn. She had no idea that they all carried guns. Her hands began to shake again and she grabbed onto Chibs.
"I have to go, love," he said quietly to her, placing his hands on top of hers on his waist, trying to remove them. "Gemma, will ye keep an eye on her for me?" he added, looking at Gemma who was standing a few feet away with Clay.
"Of course, sweetheart," she answered, then gave Clay a kiss before making her way to Aubrey.
"I gotta deal with some club stuff. Don't know if I'll get to see ye. I'll give ye a call though," Chibs told Aubrey, as he gabbed her face to look at him.
So much was running through Aubrey's mind at that point. Where's he going? What's he doing? Is he going to be safe? Am I ever going to see him again?
Chibs gave her a firm kiss on the lips then pulled away, looking at her for a few seconds.
"I love ye," he said, looking sorry for what just happened. "I'm not goin' to let anythin' happen to ye." Aubrey looked into his deep brown eyes and saw how worried her was. Her heart sank when she realized that he couldn't keep that promise.
"I love you, too," she repeated to him and watched as he made his way into a van with Juice and Happy. Gemma came over and put her arm around Aubrey's shoulder.
"Everything okay?" Juice asked Chibs when he got into the van.
"Let's go," Chibs said, ignoring the question.
Juice looked out at Aubrey and saw the lost and terrified look on her face. It mirrored his own. She shouldn't have to deal with this shit, he thought, feeling bad for her. He was happy that her and Chibs were finally together, knowing that's what they both wanted, but he couldn't help but worry about her. He knew that Aubrey was a great person and shouldn't get herself caught up in the outlaw world, but it wasn't his place to say anything. It was her decision to make. He worried though, that if her relationship with Chibs continued, she would become hard and lose the innocence that he admired in her. It had happened easily enough to himself.
"Everything'll be fine," Gemma said. Aubrey turned her head to Gemma.
"Yeah," she said sharply, then turned away from Gemma and headed to the office.
Minutes after Chibs left, Aubrey heard the wail of sirens coming onto the lot. There were several police vehicles that showed up, no doubt to investigate the shooting. Normally, Aubrey had no issues with talking to the police, but at that moment she just wanted to stay clear of them. She didn't know if SAMCRO was in trouble and she didn't want to make anything worse.
She watched as Sheriff Roosevelt spoke to Jax, Clay and Gemma, who informed them that shots could be heard from their lot. He told them that his men would have to look around. Aubrey watched as officers scattered around the lot, talking to everyone there and looking at the damage caused by the shooting. Gemma was making her way to the office. What now? Aubrey thought.
"They're going to come talk to you about what happened. You didn't see anything right?" she told Aubrey more than asked her.
"No, I just saw the guys coming out with guns," she answered. Gemma exhaled sharply.
"No, you didn't," she corrected with raised eyebrows. "The guys weren't carrying."
Aubrey squinted at Gemma, wondering what she was getting at. I saw them with guns, she told herself. Why is she trying to get me to lie? What the hell is going on here?
"Fine," Aubrey finally said, then walked out on the lot to get away from Gemma.
One of the officers finally came to speak to Aubrey and she told him what she remembered. She told him that she heard the shots and got down on the floor, and by the time she got up the shooters were gone and SAMCRO were scattered on the lot trying to figure out what had happened. The officer thanked her and went on his way. She felt horrible for not admitting to everything that she saw. It was the first time she lied to a police officer and she felt sick about it. She stood on the lot with her arms crossed in front of her when Gemma came up to her side.
"Did you say anything about the guns?" she asked.
"No," Aubrey answered shortly.
"Good girl," Gemma praised her then walked away. Aubrey could feel her muscles tense and she felt angry with Gemma and the whole situation she was in.
Aubrey left for home shortly after the police finished taking statements and looking around the clubhouse. Gemma was reluctant at first since the clubhouse had just been attacked, but she eventually agreed to let Aubrey leave. She could tell that Aubrey needed some time alone. As she left the office and walked by the clubhouse, Aubrey spotted Tara sitting outside.
"Heard it was a crazy day. You okay?" Tara asked.
"Not really," Aubrey answered, not really wanting to talk about it. Tara noticed how scared Aubrey looked.
"It gets easier," she offered, with a small smile. Aubrey looked at her, confused. "All this chaos get easier to deal with after a while. You'll see."
Aubrey wasn't so sure. She didn't think she was as strong as Tara or Gemma.
"Is your car fixed yet? You need a ride home?" Tara asked, filling the silence.
"No, thank you. My car is at the apartment," she answered, rubbing her forehead. "I just feel like walking right now, actually. But thanks for the offer," she finished with a smile.
"Anytime," Tara nodded and watched as Aubrey walked away with a slumped posture. She remembered feeling that same way when she first got involved with Jax.
Aubrey got home around dinner time but she had no interest in eating. She sat quietly, curled up on her couch, thinking over everything that happened that day. She was worrying about what Chibs might be doing at that very moment, which made her feel sick to her stomach. Aubrey thought back to when she first met Chibs and how she thought that he was just part of a motorcycle club, oblivious to the fact that they often got themselves into trouble and danger. She tried to figure out what the club could possibly be involved in that would provoke a shooting. She thought about how crazy her life had become in the last few days and wondered if there was a way to get it back on track. She didn't recognize her life anymore, or herself, and it scared her.
Juice loaded up the van while secretly panicking. They had just watched a member of the Mayans, who they feared to be a traitor, get killed. It made Roosevelt's threat even more real an terrifying. He didn't want to know what SAMCRO would do to him if they found out what he was up to. His fear consumed him and all he could focus on was trying to hide what he started the night before.
Chibs feared that Juice was pulling further away from the club. While waiting for the Lobo Sonara in the barn, Chibs looked over and saw Juice standing behind them looking completely detached. He had to go over to him and snap him out of his trance, making him more worried than ever.
He went over to the van to see what Juice was up to.
"Going back to the warehouse. Won't be able to sleep," Juice explained when Chibs approached him. He closed the back door of the van and got on his way. Chibs watched after him as he drove off, determined to figure out what was going on with Juice. He gave him a few minutes head start and made his way to the warehouse. Chibs couldn't find Juice anywhere inside so decided to look around in the bushes. He heard twigs snapping and leaves rustling and knew he was on the right track. He came upon Juice untying a chain link from a branch. Juice jumped up in shock when he saw Chibs come into the clearing.
"Jesus, you scared me," he said, breathing heavily.
Chibs stood across from Juice, looking down at the chain wrapped around the branch. He took a few steps forward and picked it up. He slowly looked up and saw the guilty look in Juice's eyes and knew the truth. He didn't run into a chain, he tried to hang himself. Chibs lost it. He lunged at Juice and grabbed him by his cut, pushing him back and wrestling him to the ground. Juice had no fight in him and let Chibs push him down.
"Jesus! What the hell are ye doing? You coward!" Chibs screamed in a guttural voice. He eventually let go and stepped back from Juice, then collapsed at the base of a tree, trying to compose himself. He knew that Juice was caught up in something but he never thought that he'd resort taking his own life. Chibs felt angry and horrified at the thought of losing Juice as he looked over at him lying on the ground. He could see the look of pure defeat and helplessness in Juice's eyes and knew that he needed to be strong for Juice in that moment. Chibs stood up and walked over to Juice, pulling him up and embracing him in a hug. He could feel Juice's body deflate as he began to sob and grasp onto Chibs for support.
She sat on her couch taking shallow breaths. Her hands were shaking and she felt hot tears running down her face, but she didn't make a sound. The last two days had seemed so surreal to Aubrey and she didn't know how to handle it all. How did it get to his? she asked herself.
She stared at the phone in her hand and finally forced yourself to turn it on. She dialed the number and wasn't sure if she wanted the other end to pick up.
"Hello?" she heard on the other end.
"Sarah?" Aubrey asked through a shaky voice. She cleared her throat.
"Aubrey? Are you okay?" her cousin asked, noticing the awkwardness in Aubrey's voice.
"No," Aubrey answered, then took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I'm coming home."
I fear that a lot of you will hate me for that last part but I am willing to accept it. It was a hard decision but I had to do it for the next chapters.