Getting this out Tuesday evening, I almost forgot to post with it being so close to Christmas. Hope you all have a great holiday season.

P.S. I graduated! I will most likely be going back next fall for a dual major, but for the moment I am done with school, yay! My hours have been slim at my internship, but I am told they will pick up significantly by February. So, until then, I write!


Disclaimer: I do not have the rights to SOA and make no profit from my writing. Anything you don't recognize from the show I have created.


Content Warning: This fanfiction is rated M. Please respect that warning and do not read this if you do not want to read M rated material.


I no longer have a beta, so all mistakes are my own.

2040

Age 48

Gabby sat at a table in the clubhouse with Becky and Lexi. A full party was under way, in her son's honor. He was officially a prospect. He had been doing the work of a prospect since he'd been about 16 to be honest, but now he had his black leather cut and his bottom rocker. She looked at him across the room, he was beaming with pride.

"Gabby?" Lexi reached over and squeezed her hand. "You don't look very happy for a party."

Gabby gave her a half smirk. "I am. And I'm not. I'm happy my son got what he's always wanted, but I'm scared to fucking death." She said honestly.

Becky wrapped her arm around Gabby. "Of course you are. We're all scared for our men. You've been through hell; you don't want to lose Matthew. You have a right to be scared."

"But he's so damn happy." Gabby answered.

Matthew caught his mother's eye and came over to their table. "You ladies alright? Looks like you could use some more wine." He teased.

"Wow, well trained on his first day." Lexi teased back, she held up her glass. "Another round of red."

"On it." He squeezed his mom's shoulder before he walked back to the bar.

"Remember when we used to do tequila shots at these parties?" Gabby asked Becky.

"Oh God, don't bring that up." Becky leaned her head down like she was already dizzy.

"I remember doing shots. And I don't remember what happened after those shots. I don't miss those days." Lexi added.

"All I can think of is the impending heart burn tequila would give me. Oh God, are we old?" Gabby asked the table.

"Wise, we're wiser." Becky assured her.

"Wisdom comes with age." Lexi added and smiled as she emptied her wine glass.

"Here we are ladies, new bottle or red." He refilled all the glasses on the table. "For the sake of my feet I'm just gonna leave the bottle here." He chuckled as his mother kicked his ankle. "Hey ah, Becky, Suzie is still coming, right?"

Gabby and Becky smiled at each other. "Yes Matthew, she wouldn't miss it. She gets off work at 10."

"Cool." Matthew said quietly as he nodded his head and walked away from the table.

Gabby turned to her friend. "He's been sniffing after her since he broke up with the bimbo."

"Suzie is blind to it. Matthew is just like a little brother to her." Becky shook her head.

"Well, it sounds cruel, but I'd rather my boy be love struck and experience heart break then go through the rounds with all these girls."

"There are a lot of girls here tonight. They really come out of the woodwork for parties, don't they?" Lexi observed.

"The girls are nothing like they used to be. Lot and clubhouse used to be full of them. There were 3 or 4 floating around about 24 hours a day for a while." Becky informed her.

"Where did they go?"

"Everyone settled down. Tom Tom, and Mitch have you two. Frankie and Carol are an undeclared couple. Vin and Shark don't hang out with the sweet butts as a rule. Tony and Lance have casual girlfriends. The only one who fools around with the girls is Bull, and he's not the most popular among them." Gabby explained. "Hammer and Tig might take one home every once in a while, but they're pretty low key about it.

"The girls mostly come for the free booze and the hang arounds now. Carol takes care of the bar and the dorms; we do the cleaning and cooking. And Matthew has been helping out since he could walk." Becky added.

"I for one, am glad. I hated the half dressed women bouncing around the lot trying to hook up with anything in leather." Gabby sipped her wine.

"I guess I should count myself lucky for getting here after you two." Lexi smiled and sipped her wine as well.

Gabby's gaze found her son, he was checking his watch and glancing at the front door. He was waiting for Suzie. Gabby counted off in her head, and like clockwork Matthew headed through the door to the parking lot. She knew her son. He would wait for Suzie and escort her to the old lady's table. He wouldn't want to risk anyone hitting on her or feeling her up, even though she had been around all these men as long as Matthew practically.

"Well what do you know?" Becky chimed in as Matthew walked back in with Suzie. He had his hand on the small of her back and was whispering in her ear. He took her to the table and pulled out the 4th chair for her.

"Be right back." He said directly to Suzie, as if the other ladies had disappeared.

"Hey baby." Becky leaned over and kissed her daughter on the cheek. "How was work?"

Suzie shrugged. "Didn't get puked on, so I would say it was a good night." The table laughed and Matthew came back with a light beer for Suzie.

"Thanks, Matthew." She smiled at him.

"HEY! LITTLE MAN!" One of the members called to him from across the room.

Matthew looked directly at his mother. "Did it never occur to you they would NEVER stop calling me that?" He asked her.

Gabby smiled. "But…you were suck a cute little man when you were a baby." She shrugged and held in a laugh.

"HEY!"

"I'm coming!" Matthew turned around and yelled at the man. He sent his mother a scowl before stepping away from the table.


"Hey." Gabby greeted her son when he came home before 9. She was surprised to see him. The club kept him so busy most days he bunked in the dorms instead of coming home.

"Hey ma." Matthew sat down next to her on the couch.

"What's up?" Gabby sat up straight and studied his face.

"Talked to dad. His ah…his parole hearing got cancelled. Something about a fight."

"Oh." Gabby pulled her legs up under her and wrapped her arms around herself. "Is he okay?"

"He was in medical, but he's out in gen pop now."

"Okay." Gabby nodded her head, biting her lip to keep the tears at bay.

"Mom." Matthew wrapped his arms around her and held on tight. "I'm sorry, I know how much you want him home."

"Thanks Matthew. I know you want him home too."

Matthew pulled out of his mom's arms and looked at the floor. "Yeah, of course."

Gabby blew out a long breath. Matthew talked to his father every week, and visited him every month. But their relationship seemed to be getting more and more strained. Matthew never discussed what they talked about. He didn't like discussing his father at all.

"Matthew?" Gabby rubbed her hand in a circle on his back and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Is there food in the fridge?" Matthew changed the subject.

"Yeah, I made veggie burritos. I packed you up a container."

Matthew rubbed his palms on his jeans and got up. "Shark loves your burritos, was he over tonight?"

Gabby shook her head behind her sons back. "Of course." She answered and followed her son in the kitchen.

While he microwaved the veggies, she pulled out sour cream and salsa. She opened the pack of tortillas and threw one in a skillet to warm slightly.

"Becky and Suzie are coming over on Sunday. We're having a little wine celebration. The hospital Suzie was doing her clinicals at hired her on full time."

"Really?" Matthew turned around to his mother. "That's really great." He pulled his food out of the microwave and carried it to the table. "You want me to steer clear? Girl's night only?"

"No, of course not. You're always welcome here." She smiled as she slid a plate with the tortilla in front of him. "So, tell me what you have been up to. I haven't seen you in days."

"2 days mom. Just 2 days." He chastised as he arranged his food. "I'm still splitting time between the club house and the land scaping company. Nothing crazy going on, if that's what you're asking." He assured her as he took a large bite of food.

"You know I can't help but think back to all the prospects Charming lost over the years." She defended herself.

"Fresno isn't Charming mom." He reached over and squeezed her hand. "I murphy oiled the bar and scrubbed the floor on my hands and knees. I pick up lunch for the guys. I polish their bikes. No standing guard over old ladies or spying on the enemy."

"You're too young to remember Tony watching us." Gabby shook her head.

"Doesn't mean he doesn't talk about how damn cute and chubby I was when I was this big." Matthew held his hands up to show her.

"Maybe you should have prospected somewhere else." Gabby chuckled.

"And leave you?" Matthew eyed his mom over his food, "no way."


Matthew stood awkwardly in the corner of the kitchen as the women hugged and greeted each other and chatted. He gave Suzie a hug when he had a chance, holding on just a moment extra. He looked her up and down while his mother opened a bottle of wine. Suzie had grown up into a beautiful young woman. She wasn't some skinny bottle blond like the girls at the club. She was solid and strong, strong enough to lift patients into beds at the hospital. She had beautiful long hair she kept in a ponytail that he had been tugging on for the last 20 years of his life.

He reached out and did so again as Suzie reached out to take her wine glass. She turned her head and smiled at him.

"I'm really happy for you Suzie. I know how much you wanted this. I'm gonna get out of your way though, before I turn into a waiter."

"Thanks, Matthew." She gave him another side hug as the front door opened.

"I come bearing chocolate!" Shark announced as he came in the house with a store bought plastic container. "The most chocolatey fudgy brownies in the city." He bowed in front of Suzie and presented them with flourish.

Suzie giggled, music to Matthews ears. "Thank you Shark." She set the tray down on the counter and gave him a hug. He picked her up and swept her around.

"God you're so old. You make me feel old."

"Well…if the shoe fits." She teased.

"OHHH and I see the man bashing portion of the evening has started. I don't have to take this. Come on Matthew, let's get out of here before we drown in estrogen."

"Thanks for the chocolate!" Gabby yelled to his back as he walked back out the front door with Matthew.

"I'm really glad Suzie got that job; she needed some good news." Shark spoke as he walked to his car.

"What's wrong with Suzie?" Matthew asked, immediately concerned.

"You know, getting cheated on." Shark stopped at his door. "You weren't supposed to know that." He pointed at Matthew.

"I didn't even know she was serious with anyone." Matthew went a shade paler than usual.

"I mean…not really serious. And it's over now, so…umm. There's a movie I want to see. You want to see a movie with me?"

"Did she dump him?" Matthew wasn't ready to change the subject.

"Yeah, as soon as she found out. But it's not that big a deal."

"Why didn't she tell me?"

"Suzie?" Shark asked. He looked at Matthews face. "Your mom." He concluded. "She ah, she didn't want you to, you know, go after the guy. She ah, she knows how you feel about Suzie."

"How I feel about Suzie? I've known her my whole life, I'm not just gonna let some guy hurt her."

Shark leaned his head on the roof of his car. "She…we know how you really feel about Suzie. And your mom doesn't want you going out and starting fights."

"Like my dad." Matthew pulled his door open and sat in the passengers' seat. Shark got in next to him. "It doesn't matter anyway. Suzie just sees me as the annoying little brother that followed her and Kristen around everywhere."

Shark squeezed Matthew's shoulder. "You just gotta show her otherwise, little man."


Matthew got home late after the Friday night party. He snuck in through the garage and took his boots off to tip toe to the kitchen and get some water. He wasn't drunk. He wouldn't have ridden his bike home if he were, but he knew hydrating before bed would only lead to a better morning after all the shots he had had.

The light and tv in the living room were on and he peered in. Shark and Gabby were asleep on the couch. Gabby's head on Shark's chest, Shark's arm around Gabby's shoulders.

It was a position he had seen them in often. It was almost comforting. He remembered hearing his mom crying in her room when he was younger. Usually after a phone call or visit with Casper. She never cried when she was with Shark. He was her support system.

He picked up the tv remote and turned the tv off. He turned the lights off on them as well. He knew they would sleep like that all night. Shark would wake up first in the morning, lay Gabby down on the couch, shower, and start making pancakes. Saturday pancakes, a Shark tradition. Ever since Matthew could remember.

Matthew took his water up to bed with him and stripped down. He left his dirty clothes on the floor and then thought better, throwing them all in a twisted heap in his hamper. He laid in bed and stared at the ceiling.

He wondered what would happen when Casper got out of prison. Would he move back into the house? Stay in the dorms? And what would happen to Shark? Would he just back away and give the two room to get to know each other again? Who would his mom rather have in her life? A man who refused to speak to her, but that USED to love her more than life itself, or the man who had spent the last 18 years by her side, holding her up, being her best friend?

Things were going to get really complicated when Casper got out. And Matthew was already starting to resent him for it.


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