[[A/N: Hey guys! Hope you've had a great weekend! I tried to finish this earlier in the week but the words just wouldn't come. Even now, I'm not really that happy with it but I was ready to move on with the next chapter. I haven't started that one yet. There may be some lags between posts from here on out because of work and because I'm writing this story in three different places in the timeline. I'm also working on my own original works so, it really just depends on what I want to work on each day. DISCLAIMER: This chapter gets graphic. It's not a lot of graphic material but, there are some elements of torture toward the end. You have been warned. (We all know Samcro wasn't made up of angels. ;)) Anyway, as always your reviews are like candy and I love each one I get. I hope you like this one, despite the graphic material. Please let me know your thoughts. All are welcome, except mean ones. Lol! Happy reading!]]

Ten-fold Retribution

—Charlie—

His kiss electrified me from the inside out, but it didn't last long. Gemma was walking out as he went inside and before I could say a word, I was wrapped in her arms. I froze at first and then allowed myself to relax and hug her back. She had such a strong mother's heart and I found myself in desperate need of a mother since my own couldn't be counted on. It was in her arms that I began to weep.

"It's all right, sweetheart. The club will take care of it."

"I know," I said, sniffling and hyperventilating, "but what does it say about me that I don't feel bad about what they're going to do to him?" I voiced my real fear in all of the bullshit and she didn't flinch or get angry with me. Her hand on my back steadied me as her other was running through my hair in a way that only a mother could.

"It says that the bastard deserves what's coming to him."

"Yeah but, does he deserve what torture my dad has in store? Or Opie and Jax? Jesus, what Tig could do to him?"

"Charlie," she said and pulled back to look me in the eye, her hands wiping my tears as they tucked my hair behind my ears. "If there is one thing I know, you're a healer. You have a heart for taking care of people. It's who you've always been. If you don't feel bad for what is going to happen to the asshole who raped you, that says a whole hell of a lot about what he deserves as far as I'm concerned. You don't have to feel bad for not feeling bad. No one would expect that of you. Least of all your family, baby."

I looked at her through blurry, watery eyes before my face crumbled and I continued crying. She held me for a time I had no way of knowing before I heard a voice behind me.

"What's wrong?" Jax asked and I heard the deep concern in his voice.

"Just coming to terms," Gemma said and the next thing I knew, I was in his arms and it was with him that I felt like I could breathe. I heard Gemma walk away and Jax squeezed me tighter.

"I love your mom," I said between sniffles. He laughed once.

"Yeah? You can borrow her through this shit if you need to. I know your mom isn't one who will show up."

"Thank you."

"Was talking to that sick bastard too much for you?"

"No. I just have a lot of conflicting emotions, I think. I'll be okay."

"What are you warring with inside your head?" he asked while running a hand through my hair. I closed my eyes and pressed my face closer to his chest, reveling in the comfort he offered. It was much easier to voice my fears to him.

"On whether or not it makes me a horrible person that I don't feel bad for what's about to happen to him."

"You're not the horrible person here, baby. He is. If he'd have left you alone, he wouldn't be chained in that shed. You don't have to feel bad for not feeling bad."

"But see, that's not even what it is. I feel bad for feeling happy about what Samcro will do to him. I feel bad that I'm happy my father will end him."

"Why do you feel bad for being happy about that? What he did to you was reprehensible."

"I know," I said and pulled out of his arms to look at his face, "but by being happy about Samcro's justice, doesn't that make Samcro deeper in my blood than I thought? I went to school to heal people, to take care of them. I shouldn't be happy about killing them."

"I was standing in there when he told you to your face that he didn't force himself on you when we all know that's a goddamn lie. By the time you might make it to court, all the bruises and scratches will have disappeared. After what the police said to you in the hospital after you fought for your life because of this fucker, it would have been a case of he said/she said…if they even let you file charges. He very likely would have walked away with barely a slap on the wrist and what if he came back to do more damage to you? What if he did it to someone else, Charlie?"

"I know, Jax! I know I shouldn't feel so torn up about it. And it's not even because I feel compassion for him. I don't. Not even a little bit. I'm torn up because I don't want it to change me anymore than it already has! Right now, I'm glad he's in Samcro's hands but, what if I wake up tomorrow and feel the weight of his death on my conscience, knowing I could have prevented it?"

He gently cupped my face between his hands, making sure I was looking at him, and shook his head. The expression on his face indicated he understood what I couldn't find the words to say.

"No. I told you, and I'll keep telling you over and over again if you need me to but, what happens to him is not on you. None of this, nothing, is on your hands. Not his blood, not his pain, not his life. You're not going to become some cold-blooded killer just because you're happy the man who raped you is dead."

"Are you sure it doesn't make me a killer?" My voice was small and warm tears leaked from my eyes again. He shook his head and kissed my forehead and he lowered his arms.

"No. This doesn't turn you into me."

"Jax, that's-"

"You know what that 'Men of Mayhem' patch means," he said, talking about 'Men of Mayhem' patch on the right side of his cut which, I noted, was absent from his person. "You know the patch means I've done some terrible things for this club."

"I know what it means," I whispered.

"Your brother has one as well. That is who we are, baby. Not you. You don't turn into what we are just because you're happy someone is dead, okay?"

After a beat, I nodded and said, "okay. You're right. I'm being ridiculous."

"No, you're not. You're being human. Trust me, I don't always feel good about what I have to do for the club. But today, what will happen is justified and I'm completely on board. My question is, are you going to be okay with what happens? Truly? Because I can't stop it now but I don't want you feeling like you're an awful person."

"I'm okay with it. I know it can't be stopped, Jax. I'm not asking for that. I'm just…I'm kind of a wreck."

"No, you're not. You're stronger than you realize. After today, I hope you can walk through life without fear because even though you can't be a member of Samcro, we are the wolves at your back, guarding you. We protect our own and you're part of the pack."

"JAX!" Clay yelled from behind the house. I knew they were all waiting for Jax to join them so they could take care of business.

"Shit," he muttered and pulled me into a tight embrace. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. I'll go inside and watch that old black and white. Maybe an episode of 'I love Lucy' will be on."

"Okay." He released me and began to head toward the shed.

"Jax!" I called and he stopped to face me. "Thank you. For everything you've done for me, for what you're about to do. It's because of you that I am not afraid."

He didn't say anything. He just smiled a sweet smile, one I'd never seen on his face before, and he touched his chest before he turned and continued walking. I wiped my face once more, unable to fight off the smile, and headed inside. I didn't know then but, soon I would come to realize that Jax would be the only person who could talk me down when nothing in my head made sense.

—Jax—

Reeling from her words, I rushed to the shed where Clay was waiting outside.

"She okay?"

"Yeah. She's struggling a little but, she'll be okay."

"Struggling with what we're about to do?"

"Not that. Struggling with feeling happy about what we're about to do."

Clay nodded, his eyes softening, and said, "she's always been good girl with a kind heart."

"Yeah. It's what makes her stronger than anyone else I know." He gave me a look I didn't understand and smirked.

"Come on. Piney's chomping at the bit as it is. We keep him too long, he's gonna blow a gasket."

"I think we're all chomping at the bit."

"Yes but this is the most sober he's been in years. He's ready to spill some blood."

We both walking inside the shed, a single bulb shining over the man who was our prisoner. He was still unconscious from the beating I gave him. There was blood around his mouth and one eye was swollen shut. Clay stopped and turned to me with a glare.

"This your doing?"

"He said some shit to her and I shut him up."

"She didn't need to be called a whore on top of everything else," Opie said, his eyes stone cold as he stared at Clay. "If he hadn't done it, I would have."

"Same here, Prez," Chibs said, his Scottish brogue shining through. "Our girl has been through enough. She doesn't deserve to be insulted as well."

Clay sighed and said, "All right. Fine. Someone wake up this prick so we can get started."

We all turned to face the asshole in question who hadn't even stirred as we were speaking. Tig, his face devoid of all emotion except for a predatory look in his eye, walked to him and poured a glass of water on his face.

"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bac-y," he said in a sing-song voice, a little grin on his face when Jeremy started sputtering and gasping. After about a minute, his eyes finally opened and focused on the room. He had the good sense to look terrified.

"You're finally awake," Clay said, his voice casual.

"Look, man, I don't know what she told you but, she's lyin' man! I didn't do anything she didn't want!"

"So," Piney said as he stepped up closer, a knife in his hand that he was using to casually pick dirt from under his fingernails, "you're calling my daughter a liar. Is that what you're saying?"

"With all due respect, you don't know your daughter as well as you think you do."

"You mean, she asked for the bruises around her neck, a broken wrist, and to almost die?" Opie said, still wearing the cold look on his face. I felt the anger growing in me at every word he spoke, and every lie spoken by Jeremy.

"C'mon, man! Don't do this! You don't have to do this!"

"That's where you're wrong," Clay said and took a few steps until he was standing before Jeremy, squatting until he was almost eye-level with him. "We both know the truth. You touched what didn't belong to you, took what wasn't yours to take. Charlie is Samcro family, boy. We take care of what's ours and you're gonna pay for what you did to her…and we're gonna make sure you never get to do it to someone else. Stand him up." Opie and I obliged him, lifting the piece of shit to his feet. Tig took out a jagged knife and stepped up to Jeremy, slicing the soiled shirt until it exposed the bruised chest beneath.

"Let's see what you look like with four nipples," he muttered. In a couple of quick movements, he'd cut each of Jeremy's nipples. Jeremy fought the hold Opie and I had on him, screaming as Tig took some extra liberties and cut a jagged smiley face along his stomach.

One by one, each of us had a piece of Jeremy, retribution for what he did to Charlie. When it came to Opie's turn, he really fucked Jeremy up by slipping a knife between each of his ribs, carving the signature A for the Sons of Anarchy on his cheek, and shoving ten inches of rebar up his asshole saying 'ribbed for your pleasure motherfucker.' When it was my turn, I made sure to twist his ankle and break both of his wrists so he felt some of the pain he put her through. When I stepped back after doing some extra handiwork on one of his kidneys and twisting his knee until it popped out of place, Piney was beside me. He placed a hand on my shoulder and the nodded to Tig.

"Got a job right up your alley, brother," he said and Tig stepped beside him.

"Anything you want, brother."

"I want you to cut off his dick and feed it to him."

I watched as Tig did just that. He took the mangled body, whimpering but unable to speak, and carved the man's dick off like he was carving a steak. Jeremy, what was left of him, screamed and screamed until Tig stuffed his mouth full of his own appendage. Even though I knew it was justified, it still turned my stomach to watch it. I vowed then that Charlie would never know what we did to the bastard. She had enough of her own shit to deal with, I wasn't going to let her live with a mental image of this shit.

Things didn't escalate much further. Soon after force feeding him his dick, Piney put a blade through his heart and we all breathed a collective sigh of relief. His torture wasn't something I would forget any time soon, nor was it something I ever wanted to repeat, but it was a necessary evil. We were 'Men of Mayhem' and honestly, a little brutality comes with the territory, especially when the whole charter wanted to carve him up for what was done to Charlie.

I opened the door of the shed and called the new prospect over. He was a small Puerto Rican kid who was really good at computers. He'd been standing guard outside the cabin to make sure my mom and Charlie were safe and occupied but, we needed him to start digging so we could bury the prick behind the shed. He was busy doing that as the others got the body wrapped in plastic, prepared for burial. Opie and I walked down to the river that ran behind the shed to rinse off all the blood on us. We'd had the foresight to leave our cuts in the cabin, knowing we'd all get bloody.

"You think she will be okay?" Opie asked me as we were sitting on the bank of the river, trying to dry a little in the evening sunlight before we went into the cabin. Thankfully, I had the foresight to put the duffel bag of clothes I'd been using at Charlie's in the car before she ever woke up. At least I could shower before she and I left.

"It will probable take some time. I don't think erasing this guy from existence will make everything magically better for her."

"I don't think so either. I think she's about to go through an uphill battle in her mind, you know?"

"I know. I can already see it happening. She was struggling earlier."

"Thanks for being there for her, brother. It means a lot to me and Pop. Just let me know when you're ready to stop and I'll-"

"Opie, I'm not babysitting her. I actually don't want to be anywhere else."

"There something going on with you two?" I didn't miss the suspicion and the hardness in his tone. I may be his best friend, but that was his sister and he would do anything to protect her even if it meant keeping her away from me.

"Man, I have no idea. I feel something but, I don't know if it's just protective and guilty feelings because of what happened to her…or if maybe there is something real building there."

"Do you really think it's guilt? You've always been protective of her like I've been so, maybe it's a brotherly?"

"Dude, I definitely don't feel like I'm her brother."

"Yeah," he said with a laugh, "I can tell just by the way you look at her."

"I don't know what's going on with me."

"For what it's worth, I think what you're feeling is real and you're second guessing it because it's Charlie and she just went through something extremely traumatic."

"Right."

"And it's the first time you've felt anything for anyone since Tara."

"Shit…you're right. But it's not the time to act on anything."

"Oh no, definitely not. You want to be sure she isn't just clinging to you because you've been walking with her through the bullshit."

"That won't change either. I'm trying to not dwell on anything I might be feeling because she doesn't need that right now. Not when she doesn't even know what she's feeling about anything."

"You're a good man, Jax. If you and Charlie ever go down that road, I'd be fine with it. You're about the only guy I trust would treat her right."

"If we ever go that road, your approval is appreciated. I'll let you know if there are any developments."

"Good. In the meantime, you know she's waiting for you right now. She loves me and Pop but, she's definitely attached to you."

"Yeah, I know. That feeling is at least mutual, whether it becomes anything else or not. I'm gonna jump in the shower and change. I don't want her to see any trace of blood if I can help it."

"She doesn't need to know any of what happened in that shed, Jax."

"One step ahead of you, brother. All she needs to know is he's dead. I will never tell her what we did in there. I don't want that to haunt her, too."

"All right. I'm not far behind. I'm going to talk to Pop and Clay and the rest to see if they don't mind rinsing blood off the before they go up to the cabin."

We both went our separate ways. I slipped quietly inside the cabin after I grabbed my duffel from Charlie's car and I heard the old black and white TV in the living room. I looked over and saw Charlie asleep, her head on my mom's shoulder. I met my mom's gaze and nodded once, indicating that it was done. One quick shower later, I was in fresh, dry clothes, all evidence that was on me of the slaughter in the shed sent down the drain. I put my duffel on the dining table and placed my cut on top of it. When I faced the couch again, I was met with Charlie's bright green eyes staring at me in question, my mom nowhere to be seen. Slowly, I made my way to her and sat in front of her on the coffee table. I held my hands out and she didn't hesitate to grab them. For a moment, I stared at our joined hands and squeezed hers in response to the gentle squeeze she gave mine. Then I met her eyes.

"Is he…"

"Yes. He is nothing you ever need to worry about again." I held my breath for a moment as she processed what I told her and when she sighed in relief, I felt the tension leave the air and I sighed with her.

"Thank you," she said quietly and I pulled her tight to me, feeling her hands on my back.

"Any time. For any threat. I will always protect you, Baby Girl. Always," I whispered, kissing her temple. She rested her head against my shoulder and we sat there for a few minutes. We pulled apart when loud laughter and heavy footsteps alerted us that we were about to have an audience. I moved to sit next to her on the couch and felt her arm wrap around mine as she moved closer to me. I refrained from putting my hand on her thigh just as all the guys walked inside. I was glad to note that they were all soaking wet from the river and not one had a speck of blood on them. I breathed a sigh of relief, again, that she would be spared that sight. Piney walked in, Opie behind him, and they both looked toward us. Opie hid a smile and Piney walked over, holding a hand out to her. She grasped it and he sat on the table I'd just vacated.

"It's done, Baby Doll. You don't have to fear him ever again."

"Thank you, Daddy. Thank you, everyone," she said louder so they all heard her. They all said something in response but I saw a shadow in her eyes. When Piney stood and went to the kitchen, all the rest following behind him, I knew they were searching for booze. Opie's eyes met mine before he went in after them and he nodded toward Charlie. I copied the action and he turned away, following after the rest of Samcro.

"You want to stay or do you want to go home?" I asked her. She buried her face into my shoulder and I knew what she would say.

"I want to go home. Is that okay?"

"Of course it is. They're all about to get drunk so I doubt you would want to stick around for that."

"I can drive myself if you want to stay," she said. I shook my head. The truth was, I didn't want to leave her alone.

"No. I'm going where you're going."

"Are you sure? I know this is kind of your thing."

"True but I'd be too worried about you to enjoy it. I don't have my bike so I wouldn't be able to leave when I wanted. Besides, I want to hang out with you anyway."

"If you're sure?"

"Of course I am. I'm tired too so, I'd really just rather be at your house."

"Okay…because I really don't want to be alone."

"You won't be. I'm not going anywhere you're not coming with me, okay?" She only nodded and we both stood at the same time. I grabbed my duffel, slinging the cut across my arm, and guided her outside. It was dusk and I caught sight if Clay and my mom standing on the porch, his arm around her shoulders, hers around his back.

"You kids heading out?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. I'm gonna take her home."

"You okay, baby?" My mom asked but she wasn't asking me. Charlie nodded.

"Yeah. I'm just ready to go. Thank you both. For everything."

"You're family, kiddo," Clay said to her, his voice soft and fatherly. "It's what we do." Charlie only nodded and we both made our way to the car. Once inside, her in the passenger seat and me behind the wheel, I looked in the rear-view mirror and in plain sight, although a distance away, was the cabin. I drove off without regret of what was done knowing the bastard deserved every single bit of the ten-fold retribution he received for what he did to her.