Chapter Two

..

He was everything she remembered him to be, except for the orange jumpsuit that he was now wearing. His face was covered in a beard that she didn't remember him having the last time she had seen him, and his hair was long and scraped back. His eyes were just as intense as she remembered; but he was different now. His facial expressions were sterner, harsher. His bright smile that always reached his eyes was merely a memory for her now, as he stared at her from the doorway of the interview room in the jail.

The prison guard pushed him into the room, or at least tried to with his solid body that seemed to be made from stone. "Move it," the guard ordered, and Opie stepped forward with ease, much to the surprise of the guard who stumbled slightly.

Millie stood to her full height, her fingertips resting against the table surface. She watched as the guard uncuffed his hands from behind his back and went to chain him to the table. "Is that really necessary?"

The guard simply looked at her with a raised brow. "Yes. He's a dangerous man."

Opie scoffed at his comment. He wasn't dangerous, not with her. But the guard didn't know that; he only saw him as a criminal who he 'cared' for during the day. But to her, he was a gentle soul.

The guard attached his handcuffs to a chain attached to the table. "I'll be right outside," he told her. "If you need anything, let me know. If he starts playing up, we'll escort him back."

Millie gave him a nod, waiting for him to leave. Once the heavy door clicked behind him, Millie motioned for Opie to take a seat. He obeyed, and she sat down as well. She fumbled with her paperwork, her hands nervous and clumsy. Her heart was beating violently against her chest and she feared it was noticeable that he would be able to see it; she knew it was ridiculous, but he was always able to see things about her that others were unable to.

"So… I'm here to help you escape from this place lawfully," she said, slight humour in her voice. She raised her gaze to Opie but noticed he was simply staring at her, no emotion on his face. Millie coughed. "I've read your case and it says that you were given a ten-year prison sentence here at Chino State Penitentiary, is that correct?"

"Yes ma'am," Opie said with a nod.

She noted that. "And you've currently served five, is that correct?"

Opie was growing frustrated. He leaned forward in his chair, his cuffed hands clasped together and resting on the table. "Shouldn't this all be in my case file?"

"It is," Millie said, her eyes moving to Opie. "I just need to confirm bits of information."

"Yes," Opie said, leaning back. "I was given ten years, and I've served five."

Millie nodded, moving a few documents around. "I'm obviously not your usual lawyer, but I'm here after a…" she furrowed her brow as she read the familiar name. "… Jackson Teller requested my assistance deeming the way you were being treated by your previous lawyer was untoward and not in your best interest."

Opie grazed his teeth against his top lip and shrugged. "I have no idea. I don't get to speak to him all that often."

"It does seem as though you have a case to resolve your sentence," Millie told him, neatly placing the documents together. She looked at him, feeling the same butterflies bounce around her stomach that she did all those years ago. "With your good behaviour during your time here, as well as numerous accounts from prison guards and managers here that all seem to back that, you are able to appeal your sentence."

Opie's eyes grew brighter and wider as he tried to allow her words to sink in. He leaned forward and searched her eyes. "You mean, I can…"

"Yes," Millie offered a smile, knowing what he meant. "There was a fault in your case, and after reading through it, it seems as though your previous lawyer didn't fully disclose that you had the chance to appeal your sentence or even give your side of the events to the court of law."

Opie released a sigh. "Son of a bitch."

"It seems he was being paid off to ensure you were in prison," Millie disclosed to him, moving a document in front of him as well as a pen. "I just need you to sign this for me to accelerate your case, as well as agreeing to the charges set against your previous lawyer for what he did."

His eyes scanned the page, then to the pen that laid beside it. With one signature, he could potentially be free. And he could resume or restart his life and be the husband and father his family needed him to be. He would put everything right, and work hard to make his family proud of him. He lifted the pen and signed his name on the dotted line without hesitation.

Millie slid it back to her and placed it securely in the folder. She clicked the pen and dropped it into her bag. She closed the folder and clasped her hands together. "So, you'll…"

"So, you're a lawyer, huh?"

"Yes," she whispered with a nod, her eyes searching his. She suddenly felt as though all eyes were on her even though only his seemed to be burning a hole into her soul.

Opie scoffed. "You know… I never thought this would be the place I would see you again. You really like being the hero, don't you?"

Millie furrowed her brow and shook her head. "It's not like that at all."

"You never came back after you promised you would," Opie lowered his voice, settling his back hard against the chair. "And now you're here to see how my life has gone to shit before you swan back off to god knows where leaving me in the dust like before."

"It… isn't like that," Millie urged. "I just… it… you know it isn't like that."

His eyes searched hers for a moment longer before he swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew he was acting like an idiot, picking a fight with the wrong person. "Guard," he hollered. "I'm ready."

The buzzer to the door sounded and the guard entered the room.

"Opie…"

He sneered. "What?!"

"You…" Millie faltered, seeing his eyes burn with hatred for her. "You'll be released tomorrow. You'll longer be an inmate here. You'll be a free man, Opie."

..

Charming was everything she remembered and more. It had been her home for the first eighteen years of her life, and though it was shrouded in some bitter memories, most of them were happy. She had been happy living in Charming, she just seemed to outgrow it quicker than most. Her life since leaving Charming had been drastically different: she was able to go to college with a scholarship where she studied Law; she picked up shifts wherever she could to save some money for when she finished her studies, which helped with the money she saved from learning to fix bikes and cars when she was an apprentice mechanic; she studied hard and it paid off, and she was finally able to be proud of herself and all that she achieved when she and her mother Leanne had decided to leave the town.

And life had carried on for everyone; as she sat outside of the SAMCRO club, she saw people adorning the familiar leather jackets emblazoned with Sons of Anarchy on the back mill around her, their brows furrowed as to why a woman in a suit was parked outside. Millie didn't seem to recognise any of them, so she opened her car door, grabbing her bag and making her way towards the club. Her legs grew heavy with nerves, her heart racing aggressively in her chest. The last time she was standing here, she was saying goodbye to everyone as they wished her well on her next adventure.

Millie took a deep breath in and pushed open the doors. The aroma of the bar hit her almost immediately as the loud chatter of its inhabitants died down to nothing but silence at her arrival. As every face turned to her, some she remembered and some who were mere strangers to her, she searched for the one she had come to see.

Clay Morrow exited the room to the left, having been notified of her presence. His eyes narrowed at her as if trying to figure out if he recognised her before a wide smile etched across his face once he was able to place her face. He whistled before clapping his hands once. "Well, if it isn't Little Miss Millie Thornton. What brings you back here, girl?"

Millie offered him a smile before stepping closer to them. "I'm here to see Piney."

At his name, Piney stood to his full height, albeit a little unsteady. "It's good to see you, girl."

"I have some information that I would like to discuss with you," Millie told him. "Is there any place we could chat that's quiet?"

"You can use the church," Clay offered with a nod.

Millie smiled and nodded. "Thank you."

Millie followed behind Piney as he led the way. As she closed the door behind them, she was aware of the stares she was receiving from the brothers. Piney settled himself in a chair, breathless despite the short walk into the room.

"I wanted to give you this information first," Millie told him, taking a seat next to him. She pulled out the relevant folders and placed them on the table. "I was called in by Jax to help Opie with his case, were you aware of that?"

Piney nodded his head. "Yes. We… had to try everything."

Millie understood completely, having to watch his son be sent to jail due to someone else's mistake wasn't always an easy thing to witness. Even though Opie wasn't technically innocent, there had been many technicalities regarding his case that deemed it to be faulty. Mistakes had been made when dealing with him, and his lawyer had been paid off to do nothing to help him, telling him things to say when it would only cause his case to worsen.

"Opie is being released tomorrow," Millie told him with a smile.

Tears sprung to his eyes and he struggled with his composure; his only weakness being his son. Everything that had happened to him was wrong; he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the person he trusted most had let him down and had thrown him in front of the wolves. And his son had gladly let them rip him apart to protect the others. His son was always kind-hearted, a trait he wasn't sure where he got it from if he was being truthfully honest. She saw the relief on his face after exhausting every other avenue.

Piney reached for her, taking her hand in his and placed a kiss upon it. "I told Jax… I told him that you would help him… that you would do everything you could to read his case. But I never imagined this… thank you… from the bottom of my heart…"

"It was nothing," Millie squeezed his hand gently. "It was riddled with just… they did everything to keep him in there for a long time. Anyone would've seen the same as me."

"Not everyone sees him as a good man, but you know him," Piney told her. "Is he well?"

"Yes," she smiled. "He's looking forward to a bit of normality."

"Donna and the kids are going to be so happy," Piney told her. His reassured smile faded when he saw her falter. "You didn't know?"

Millie shook her head but regained her composure as quickly as it slipped away from her. "Before I go… he will be able to sue the state for handling his case wrong. It might not be much, but it will give him some money for his family to live on whilst he looks for work."

"Thank you," Piney whispered gratefully. "Has Jax paid you?"

Millie dismissed him immediately. "Think of it as a gift."

..

The motel had served her well for the night, and as she worked until the early hours to finalise the details for Opie's release from jail, she couldn't shake the nerves that washed over her whenever her mind would wander to him. She tried not to allow his words to pierce her emotions, but it was hard when it came from someone she still cared about despite the distance between them. It was hard hearing them from Opie.

His words confirmed every feeling she had over the last few years. She struggled with coming back to Charming; it brought up a lot of emotions that she had tried to push down and forget about it. It stirred memories that she had tried to deal with and heal from. It wasn't that she didn't ever want to come back to Charming, it was just that it was tough.

When she had gotten the call from Jax telling her about Opie, she couldn't believe it. She knew of the Sons of Anarchy, but she wasn't in the know with everything they did. But his case was riddled with loopholes, almost enough to keep him inside until he was old. It was as if everyone who was dealing with his case was trying to cover their backs and the only one who would go down for it was Opie.

And now Opie would be freed, and he would be able to start his life over again.

Sleep evaded Millie as much as it could, and after only being able to settle for a couple of hours and the first signs of daybreak was creeping through the thick blanket of night, she decided to jump in the shower and get ready for the day. With Opie being released in just a few hours, she needed to make sure she was ready to greet him from the prison in order to finish the exchange. The paperwork had gone through the previous evening and as soon as it reached eight a.m., Opie was a free man.

She allowed her auburn hair to dry into her natural curls as she quickly applied her usual make-up. She dressed slowly whilst making sure she had everything she needed for the jail, before checking the time. It was only an hour before she needed to head out, but she decided to go for a drive in her rental.

The coffee shop was stark of all life, except for the two baristas who had gotten the shop ready for the day. She ordered a latte whilst checking and sorting through her email, responding to a few and making notes to respond to the others later. She was due into the office the next morning, and anything else could wait until she returned.

Once she noted the time, she drank the last few sips of coffee before she headed out, thanking the baristas as she left.

The prison was a short drive from the coffee shop. As her vehicle weaved through the streets, lost amongst the other vehicles heading to work, she was aware of how tightly she was holding onto the steering wheel, as if her whole life depended on getting herself there in one piece. She had flicked on the radio in an attempt to calm her nerves but the voices that filled her car all seemed to fall on deaf ears, her mind wandering elsewhere.

Once she parked up, she exited her vehicle and headed towards the prison. A whistle caught her attention and she looked up, her eyes settling on the line of motorcycles awaiting the return of their brother. A smile etched across her face as she nodded towards them; and received nods in return. Jax offered her a thumbs up as he chewed his lip, and she offered him a wink as she disappeared into the prison. She could sense the worry in the air; she felt it in her chest too.

The paperwork she had in her possession all deemed Opie as innocent, and all she truly needed was a signature from the Governor to confirm his release. Once she had that, her time in Charming was over.