I do not own any characters from Sons of Anarchy. I own Sara and any other original characters.

November 2007

Much to Sara's disappointment the party that weekend had been uneventful. Happy had been up in Tacoma and therefore Sara had only stuck around for a short period of time. Of course now that she had put it in her mind to fuck him, he was suddenly scarce and she was frustrated. She knew that the guys should be making a solid decisions on retaliation any day now and she definitely wanted to fuck him before she was forced to go back home.

Sara was lying in the bed in the guest room at Gemma and Clay's house, having just woken up. She had been in Charming for almost two weeks now. She know it had been far longer than necessary to deal with the situation at hand however she wasn't sure what the holdup was. She had talked to her brother at least five times and while he had said everything was fine she could hear the tension in his voice. Any time she pushed the subject further, he snapped at her and hung up after making her feel guilty for being away from home.

Jason had learned a lot of things from their father and one of them was how to make her feel incredibly guilty any and every time she left town. It was why she never went to a real college; it was why even after getting a degree that she was now running an escort service for a bunch of bikers.

With a sigh she let herself wonder what Ryan was up to; if he was okay. He was a big guy—reminding her a little of Opie—so if any of them had a chance of surviving a long prison sentence, it was him but he wasn't likely to get gold stars for good behavior any time soon. He was a brawler by nature and was never one to back down from a fight. That being said, he was never anything but perfectly gentle with Sara. She had always found it hard to reconcile the two sides of the man she loved.

Pushing the thoughts of her former fiancé from her head she got up and walked out into the kitchen before briefly freezing in place, eyes widened in surprise. Clay, Tig, Chibs, and Happy were standing in the kitchen around the island talking quietly. They all looked up when she walked in. She felt naked dressed only in tight cotton spandex shorts and the sports bra that she had worn to bed.

"Uhm. Morning guys." She said trying to be casual as she went to the coffee pot which was hot and full. Perfection. The men all murmured greetings but didn't continue their conversation. She wasn't surprised. Despite the men all being very welcoming –with the exception of Happy—she knew that there were still a great many things they wouldn't discuss in front of her. She wasn't sure if it was because she wasn't a club member or because they just didn't trust her but she couldn't blame them much either way.

As she reached up into the cabinet for a mug, she felt the brush of rough fingertips on her midback. She jumped in response and nearly dropped her mug.

"What's this here, love?" Chibs murmured quietly, as if they wouldn't him in the silent kitchen and she realized immediately from their perplexed faces that they all surely seen it. Sara was torn between her desire to smack herself or to curl up and die.

She had gotten the tattoo when Ryan had proposed, about two months before being arrested; jeez, almost a year and a half ago at this point. It was small, only four inches tall at best, but it was clearly the iconic Sons of Anarchy reaper with his bloody scythe. Scrawled beneath it in cursive it said 'Ryan'.

She typically made an effort to cover it up with clothing but then again she wasn't expecting the kitchen to be full when she got up this morning. It wasn't that she was embarrassed of it, just that it was very personal. Something between herself and Ryan. It wasn't a secret now that they weren't together anymore so she felt a restless sort of discomfort knowing that these men had witnessed the now defunct symbol of their devotion. She cleared her throat and looked behind Chibs, seeing all three men looking back at her in surprise.

"Nothing. Doesn't matter anymore so, no need to make a big deal out of it now." She dismissed turning back to the coffee machine, not missing the dark look Happy gave her. What's his fucking deal?

She fumbled with her mug in silence, adding some milk and sugar before politely excusing herself. She could hear quiet boot steps on the hardwood following her as she walked down the hallway back to her room. She sighed in irritation – annoyed that she had been yet again reminded of her failed engagement— and she spun around, almost spilling the contents of her mug.

"What? What do you want?" She asked harshly, easily masking her unexpected surprise under her very real frustration. She had been sure it was Chibs following to check on her. Happy gave her stern look, effectively silencing her. She felt a bit like a child about to be scolded by her father the way he turned her around to take a closer look at her tattoo.

One strong hand held her waist steadying her as his calloused fingers trace the edges with a gentleness she hadn't known he possessed. It was on her mid-back, over one of her kidneys. He cleared his throat before allowing her to turn around, his hand still resting on her bare waist. She felt his fingers flex slightly into the soft skin before releasing her and she found it unnerving that he stayed in her personal space. Gone was the confidence she had earlier this morning upon waking.

"It was done good. Nice lines and filling. But I can cover it up, if you ever want. Or I know a guy who can laser it. If you want." He stated quietly. She was stunned by his polite tone, her plan to seduce him suddenly lost from her mind.

Their last few encounters had been volatile at best. Volatile she could deal with; volatile was what she had been counting on. Gentle she didn't know what to do with and it shook loose some emotions she couldn't easily identify, nor did she want to.

"Oh. Um. Thanks. I-I'm not really sure what I want to do yet." She was unable to meet his eyes as she swallowed the unexpected lump in her throat, mortified at the emotional reaction she was having before him. He tilted her chin so she was looking at him.

She noticed in this close proximity that his scruff was starting to gray and he was starting to get crow's feet. The bubble of attraction that had risen in her belly sank abruptly from to the sudden weight of guilt at being turned on while talking about removing Ryan's ink.

She had always had a thing for older men. She figured it was a product of being raised her whole life around the Sons. Hell, even Ryan had been eight years her senior. And here he was again. Ryan invading her thoughts. Maybe she wasn't ready for sex. Maybe it was just stupid hormones and loneliness. This was all making her more confused.

"That ink is a big deal for some of us and if it was my mark, there'd be no chance in hell of you removing it. Prison or otherwise." With that he walked away and she stared after him in silence. What… the fuck… just happened? She walked into her room in a daze and sipped her coffee as she tried to process what he had said. Was he implying that he wanted to mark her? Or was he just making a point about the importance of the ink?

She knew the SAMCRO women got a crow, but SAMDINO didn't have anything equivalent—unless you count the time Buddy had gotten drunk and had a dinosaur tattooed on his girl—needless to say, it hadn't caught on. Most women just got the reaper logo with her Old Man's name on it, if anything at all. She wondered briefly what the SAMTAC women did.

After about a half hour, Gemma came knocking and invited her out to go shopping—as if she'd turn that down. The two left as soon as Sara was ready.

Sara spent much of their trip silently wondering when she would hear something from Clay about SAMDINO. It had been two weeks now and she was needed back in San Bernardino. She knew that soon she would have to abandon the cause and go home, and she was hoping that Clay wasn't just stalling and counting on her dropping the topic completely. The girls needed justice and she wasn't about to let them get pushed to the wayside; she also knew better than to push the subject with Clay. Maybe she could ask Juice about it.

Gemma wanted to stop by TM after their shopping trip and as they pulled onto the lot Sara's light mood darkened quickly, her stomach feeling like she had swallowed lead weight.

"Fuck." She hissed hopping out the moment Gemma stopped the vehicle. She stomped across the lot, her heels clicking briskly.

"Jason! What're you doing here?" She asked trying to suppress her frustration. She was supposed to be dealing with this.

"Where the fuck have you been?"

"Out with Gemma. Why does it matter?"

"It matters because I fucking let you come up here to get some help with retaliation. Not to go on fucking shopping sprees and fuck the Prospects." He shouted at her in exasperation. At this point, the SAMCRO guys had started filtering out onto the asphalt. Great. An audience. Just what Jason wanted.

"Relax, Jason, you know I don't fuck Prospects." She retorted boredly, trying to talk him down a little without losing her own dignity in the process.

"Bullshit. Of course, a whore would run a whorehouse. Shut your fucking mouth and start showing some goddamn respect. Your Old Man let you get away with too much shit just because you could swallow his dick whole." He spat venomously and she slapped him.

There was a slow-motion split second where she looked at him in horror before he grabbed her by her hair and pulled her back flush against his chest facing her out on display for the guys. The sudden move forced her legs to give out beneath her and he hooked an arm around her ribs to support her weight. She winced as her scalp burned but she choked back the surprised shriek that threatened to escape. A few of the guys stood up straighter but none of them moved to help her except Juice, who took a few steps before she met his eyes and shook her head quickly, stopping him in his place.

"You fucking him?" Jason whispered vehemently into her ear, twisting his fist in her hair slightly.

"No." She breathed out quietly trying to ignore the sick sound of her some of her hair snapping at the root.

"You lying to me? Ryan's only been in lockup a few months and you're already spreading your slut legs?" She caught Happy's gaze for a moment and she could feel his intense gaze bore into her as he crossed his arms. She didn't answer her brother, knowing anything she said would just incense him further. She just tried to get her legs firmly planted beneath her and her chest heaved as she tried to ignore the pitying looks the men were giving her. Let him send his message and be done she reminded herself.

She knew what Jason was doing. He had learned this, too, from their father. It was all about humiliating her in front of the guys to remind her of her place.

"You need to get your shit together, little sister. You keep acting like this is your club and that you have a say here. You don't." he said sternly before letting her get her footing and disengaging his hand from her hair. A few of his rings caught and she winced as they pulled. She turned to face her brother, clearing her throat and hurriedly running a hand over her hair and smoothing it down as best she could.

"What's going on out here, Jason?" Clay asked firmly from his spot leaning against the garage office door, Gemma behind him. Sara was sure Gem had run in to get her husband the minute Sara was out of the car.

"Nothin', Clay. Just had to give my sister a reminder of her place… You know how these girls can get. Sorry for disturbing your place of business. I'd like to talk to you if you have a minute." Clay nodded and turned back into the office. The rest of the guys were still on edge watching.

"I'm sorry for slapping you." She whispered fighting the tears in her eyes. Jason hated when she cried. He reached a hand up and smoothed some of her hair.

"I know you are, Sare." He whispered back kissing her forehead gently.

"Go get yourself cleaned up." Jason said dismissing her. She felt all the eyes on her as she kept her head down and walked into the clubhouse and made a beeline for the bathroom.

Happy had observed the whole encounter with crossed arms, nails digging into his skin to stop himself from intervening when her frantic eyes had met his.

He knew what this was and so did she, apparently. It was common practice in the MC world, punishing women in front of the club. Charming had always taken a pretty firm stance on the care of their women, but he had an inkling that it came from Gemma being such a force to be reckoned with. Hell, Gemma was the whole reason the club had settled in this fucking podunk town to begin with.

The other clubs didn't have that strong matriarch and therefore their women were not as well looked after. He had seen it plenty in Tacoma, though even there it wasn't as blatant as Jason had just displayed, especially by a man as young as the SAMDINO president. Usually it was the older guys who grew up in a different time with a different school of thought.

The reason she obeyed Clay and kept her pretty little mouth shut in front of officers became glaringly apparent. He couldn't help but be uncomfortable with the kind of forced subservience she had shown to her brother. Hap was all about a submissive woman but he wasn't about forcing her into it. He wanted a woman that wanted to make him happy; not one that was dutiful because she was afraid of him.

He could feel Juice seething beside him and distantly heard him fuming about how fucked up that was, that they needed to do something about Jason.

"Listen brother. That's some oldschool shit. He learned that from his old man. San Bernardino runs things a little differently down there. Now I ain't saying it's all right, but he's the President and it sure as hell ain't our place to stop him in the middle of something like that. Clay was watching and he didn't step in so you better not either. Besides, she knew what she did and she knew what was gonna happen. You don't slap your President in front of the club and expect to get away with it. You could tell that ain't the first time those two have tangled." Piney said gruffly and Bobby nodded in begrudging agreement.

Juice scoffed and stormed off into the clubhouse, presumably to check on her. Happy watched the younger man go and cleared his throat before returning to the car he had been working on before being interrupted.

She'd be fine with Juice checking in.

Sara sat in the bathroom breathing deeply to stop the tears from falling as she gently ran her fingers through her hair, throwing out the small handful of strands that came out tangled around her hand. It wasn't nearly as much as she had expected.

With a sniff she wiped her fingers under her eyes and exited the bathroom before running into Juice. He looked at her with a worried face before pulling her close. Tears welled up in her eyes again.

"I'm fine Juice." She said gently disengaging herself from his arms after a moment.

"What? How are you okay with this?" She smiled softly at his exasperation.

"I'm okay. I promise. I'll have a headache and my scalp will be sore for a bit but I'm fine." She averted her gaze as his eyes bored into her.

"That was not okay." He said, "Why can't you see that?" He finished after a moment of silence.

"Are you done?" She asked quietly. He shrugged dramatically and nodded before moving out of her way and letting her pass. She walked back out onto the lot with her head held high and found Gemma, well aware of the multiple pairs of eyes following her every move.

"I'd like to go now, if that's all right." Gemma eyed her briefly before nodding. Sara gave her grateful nod and the two hopped in the vehicle. The ride was silent for the most part.

"Baby, you can stay here in Charming if you want." Gemma said evenly as they turned onto the road her and Clay's house was on. Sara made a sound of acknowledgement but didn't say anything.

"I'm serious." Gemma said as they pulled into the driveway.

"I can't leave my girls, Gem." Sara said with a sad smile. "Besides, he's only like this when I'm gone for a long time. Once I head back, he'll be fine. He just needs me and is just afraid of me leaving." She added after a moment. "We're family."

Gemma gave her a look of doubt but didn't say anything as Sara climbed out of the vehicle, grabbed her shopping bags from the day, and headed into the house with Gemma following silently.

Author Note: Thanks everyone for the wonderful reviews and encouragement! Sorry I didn't update sooner, I was in Egypt for five days on vacation. I am planning on updating maybe once or twice a week but I will be gone for the two weeks of Christmas/New Year's. I really do love reading your reviews! I love hearing people's opinions of my characterizations. :D Please keep reviewing and I will keep churning out chapters. Thanks!