Chibs stares down into his whiskey. It is never a good thing when a Scottish man is too upset to drink. He can hear the lads behind him playing pool and enjoying their new-found freedom. Chibs has done his time before and he knows what a man wants when he gets out after a year on the inside. Despite the slowly rising drama with the Cartel deal and the carnage at Opie's wedding the clubhouse has stayed particularly rowdy since his brothers had returned from Stockton and he really can't blame them.
He'd seen Jackie-boy's face as he'd followed Clay out on some unspoken mission for their new business partners and Chibs can feel the dark clouds that are slowly gathering around the club. He's not a young man, not anymore, and he had a lot of time to think while the bulk of the club had been away. He's not sure how many more storms he can weather before one just blows him away.
The fourteen months of relative quiet had been nice though, almost too nice. He'd managed to sneak away once in the middle of their sentence back to Belfast. Spending a week with Kerrianne was a bright spot. One Chibs knew he'd have to pull on for a long time, it would be awhile before he was able to go back again. Even as the time with his daughter had been incredible the time spent with his wife was less than he'd imagined.
Fiona had changed in the years they'd spent apart and finally being free of Jimmy and living on her own with Kerri seemed to have opened up something unexpected inside of her. She'd be welcoming and sweet and he'd shared her bed a few times while he was there but he hadn't been surprised when she'd settled him down to have a talk on his last day in town. Time apart she'd said, space, freedom to choose. They were all words he'd heard before but not ones he'd expected to come from his Fi after he'd finally gotten them all free of their boogeyman.
He couldn't say he didn't understand though. Chibs had put Fiona through hell for the first six years of their relationship between the RIRA and SAMBEL. Then she'd been under Jimmy's thumb for the next 12 years and was it any wonder the woman wanted a chance to get to know herself alone. The chance to find a future of freedom as she'd put it. The details of what she wanted were murky but the message had been clear. Chibs was welcome to visit his daughter anytime and he would always have a family in Belfast but there was no future for him with Fiona. So, he'd come home, told the boys he'd had an amazing time, and kept this newest heartbreak to himself. There was enough on the horizon for SAMCRO without adding his own worries to the pile.
The sound of two bikes pulling into the lot force Chibs out of his thoughts and he takes a deep breath before downing the contents of the glass in front of him. He pushes away from the bar and turns to survey his brothers. It's early yet and no one looks particularly drunk, he can sense a tightness in the group. Chibs hadn't been the only one to notice the tension between their president and VP as they'd left the clubhouse earlier and while the boys all look occupied he can tell most of them are prepared for anything to walk back through that door.
Well almost anything, even Chibs isn't prepared for the sight of a happy Clay and a sullen Jax followed by Phil escorting a young dark-haired woman.
"Chapel." Clay's voice rings out over the room in a way that brooks no argument and Chibs watches his brothers disengage from their various activities. Pulling away from eager croweaters, dropping cards on tables, and laying down pool cues. The Scot moves away from the bar heading for the black doors and his seat at the rosewood table.
"Who's the pick-up bitch?" Tig speaks first and he's voiced the question on everyone's mind.
"Protection detail for the Galindo Cartel. We've been asked to do our new brown friends a favor and keep an eye on the girl for a few days while they figure out who she is." Clay is leaning back in his chair as he speaks and he lets his eyes scan the men gathered around the table. Chibs can tell the older man doesn't want there to be too much discussion around the issue. He's probably trying to avoid a table vote on an issue he's already assured the Cartel will be handled.
"Protection from who?" Bobby asks looking curious.
"Lobos Sonora Cartel, a rival." Jax's voice is dripping with contempt as he speaks and Clay tenses visibly at the candor.
"Tha's quite a bit of protection." Chibs finally speaks up and he knows he's going to have to walk the usual tightrope between Clay and Jax. He can feel the weight of their constant conflict settle on his shoulders.
"We've been assured the blowback is being contained and we're being very well compensated." As though he'd been waiting for this moment Clay stands up and puts the black duffle bag he'd been carrying on the table with a thump. The zipper is pulled back and from his seat Chibs can see what has to be at least $500k in neatly wrapped cash inside. It is a familiar move from Clay and Chibs lets out a low whistle as he looks towards Jax to see if the younger man recognizes the moment from their last vote.
"Seems t'me like a lot of green for a lil'protection detail." Chibs shifts his eyes to meet Clay's as he speaks and is not surprised when his president keeps his gaze focused elsewhere.
"That's because it's not a little protection detail. We had to walk through a pile of bodies to pick her up and there's the matter of information gathering." Jax sounds ready to burst as he spits out the words and Chibs wonders how much of the drive back from Lodi the VP spent trying to figure out how to fight this particular battle.
"This is easy money and an easy favor." Clay's palm slams the table for emphasis and there are a few sounds of agreement from around the table.
"There's something wrong with that woman Clay. She's too calm, didn't react to a single one of Luis's threats. What does she know that we don't." Jax fires back.
"Maybe she's just really dumb?" Tig can't take his eyes off the money as he speaks.
Chibs takes a deep breath. He knows how this will play out. They can argue all night but the reality is when you're in business with the Cartel there is no halfway. The money on the table was a nice touch, it would make them feel like they had a choice but they didn't. What the Cartel wanted the Cartel got.
"We should vote." Jax has finally crossed the line and Clay's shoulders tighten dangerously.
"Not really worth it boyo." Chibs sighs out the words and he knows his accent is thicker than usual in his resignation. "I doubt protection detail is really a choice. We might as well do what we can to keep the lass safe until they want her back." He keeps his eyes on Jax as he speaks and hopes the younger man reads the seriousness of the situation.
"So, Bobby get a—" Clay's pending order is put on hold by the sound of a crash through the closed chapel door. "What the fuck." Clay is on his feet and moving but Tig makes it out the door first followed closely by Chibs and Bobby.
On any other day and with any other person the scene in front of them would have been comical. Miles, the latest prospect, is on his back in the middle of the room clearly having taken a tumble over a now damaged table. The woman they're all supposed to be protecting is standing over him, a booted foot pressed between his legs her hands gesturing wildly down at him while Phil hovers nearby trying to figure out what to do.
"Jesus, can someone get our guest off the prospect!" Clay sounds like he can't decide if he's amused or pissed and Tig lunges forward to grab the woman her hands still moving wildly. She's taken completely by surprise at Tig's attack despite his heavy footfalls and the Sergeant at Arms has no trouble getting his arms around her middle and lifting her off Miles' crotch.
"What happened? Phil, you were supposed to keep an eye on her." Jax is looking back and forth between the prospects and Chibs doesn't miss that only one of the men appears guilty.
"She wouldn't talk but I figured maybe she was just scared. I went to make her a cup of tea." The giant of a man is in fact holding a steaming mug. Chibs shifts his gaze to Miles.
"An' what did yeh do while Phil was gettin' the lass her tea?" The Scot can't help the accusation in his tone. If what Jax said at the table is accurate this is the most active the woman has been all night and she's had quite a night. The boy must have done something to her.
"I didn't do anything she said no to." The guilty prospect won't meet anyone's eyes and it's obvious he's covering up for a bad decision.
"Tiggy, let her go." Bobby's words pull Chibs' attention away from the prospect and towards the woman who Tig has wrapped up in a bear hug. Now that he's got a moment to really look at her Chibs understands Miles' desire although not his methods.
She's a pretty woman, even with the bruise blooming on her cheek. She stands about 5'7", the top of her head hitting just under Tig's chin. She's a thin thing and Chibs gets the impression it's more from lack of food than natural metabolism. Her dark hair is cut short, he almost smiles at the idea that she's got shorter hair than most of the men in the room. She's got a heart shaped face and full pink lips but it's her eyes that draw the most attention. Large and liquid dark, they're intelligent and he doesn't miss the way they dart around the room taking in every detail.
Tig's arms finally go slack around her and the woman steps forward angrily, her eyes flashing from one face to the next. She gestures again with her hands, her face flashing through a number of expressions.
"What is she doing?" Tig seems enthralled by her movements as he speaks. "Use your words." This last bit is directed at the woman and it seems to set her off as the gestures get wilder and then her hand flicks out from under her chin in a gesture they're all familiar with.
"Well that's at least something recognizable. Maybe she doesn't speak English?" Juice pipes up from the back of the group but Jax is already shaking his head.
"Luis questioned her in English and Spanish. He said they didn't get anything out her." Jax, like all the brothers, has his eyes trained on her as he speaks.
"She could just be really stupid." Tig suggests his previous theory.
"Does it really matter? We have to watch her anyway." Clay enters the conversation business as usual.
"What is she doing with her hands? We could cut them off, Chucky could have a little girlfriend." It's Happy with the most immediate and potentially violent solution.
"No one is cutting off her hands." Jax has authority in his voice and Chibs is glad to hear there won't be an amputation tonight.
She finally seems to realize this is getting her nowhere and goes still with a loud huff. Her dark eyes scan their ranks as they stand in front of her and she shows no fear or intimidation, just utter confusion. She seems to be working through something, her body slowly relaxing almost muscle by muscle and she takes a long breath in like she's trying to find something reassuring to suck out of the very air.
She moves slowly this time the movements less wild and more controlled and the more Chibs watches her the more he realizes the movements aren't random. It's the same series of gestures over and over again. He watches as she uses her left palm to gesture to her chest and then makes a sweeping movement down her front before using the same left hand to do a complicated set of finger gestures. Then a with a wince she brings both her left and right index fingers together point to point twisting them in the air. She does it again and then again. It seems they've been standing there forever but Chibs knows it's only been a moment since the crash pulled them from Chapel.
"I know what this is. I know." Bobby is speaking softly but he steps forward out of the group to stand directly in front of the woman. He reaches out to still the woman's hands and then speaks slowly looking directly into her face, every word enunciated carefully. "Are you deaf?"
Her hands go still and her large dark eyes are focused on Bobby's mouth like a laser. She nods.
"You have got to be kidding me." Jax sounds like he's on the edge of total collapse.
"Shut up, let Bobby talk to her." Juice speaks over the tension.
"She can't hear dumbass it doesn't matter if we talk over him." Kozik smacks the younger man upside the head as he speaks and it's like air has been let out of the room. Those who didn't get it suddenly understand and everyone relaxes into what is not a normal but at least a now clear situation. Chibs keeps his eyes locked on Bobby.
"I don't know any signs anymore, not really." The older man says still speaking clearly and directly into her face. "Can you read lips?" Again, a nod. "Are you hurt?" Another nod. "Are you hungry?" Continued nodding.
"Okay then." Clay is taking charge of his club and the drama of the moment forces the conversation in the Chapel fade. An unspoken agreement is made that protection is now the status quo. "Bobby, you got this tonight?" The bearded Elvis impersonator throws a yes over his shoulder and it's a dismissal letting everyone else get back to their evening.
"Chibs you want to help me patch her up. She's breathing heavy to the left and I don't think we can call the doc." Bobby keeps his face turned towards her as he speaks and Chibs guesses it's so she can continue to read his lips.
"Aye, I'll get m'kit." He moves deeper into the clubhouse as he speaks and Clay grabs his arm as he goes.
"Thank you for your support at the table." There's a smile on Clay's face that Chibs doesn't like. As though the President thinks Chibs did it for him rather than to save them all from Cartel blowback.
"Anytime brotha." He mutters, might as well let the President believe what he needs to believe.
-Author's Note-
The main OC in this story is deaf. I am not deaf but I have personal experience with the community and am hard of hearing. I wanted to write a deaf character for my own growth as a writer and person. Additionally, I think the deaf perspective is wonderfully unique and can create a compelling story for anyone interested in reading. I will also note that deaf here does not mean mute and the OC, like many deaf people, is capable of a range of sounds including occasional speech.
I do my best throughout the story to be true to the culture and signs but there are some known missteps. For example, lipreading is generally demonstrated in this text as a process that allows the deaf person to receive every word spoken. This is not the case but license was taken for literary purposes. Signs are also regularly described and I did my best but there is only so much the written word can convey. ASL is a beautiful three-dimensional language that requires the entire body, it is not easy to translate onto the page without images.
It is worth noting that the syntax and structure of ASL is very different from English. While this is conveyed through the sign descriptions as much as possible the written expression of what is being said is conveyed to the reader in English. For example, in English we would say "I washed my car last week" but in ASL this would most likely be signed "Week-past, I wash my car". In this story the signs, when described, will be in ASL format but written out as dialogue in the English format. If you are interested in learning more about ASL and deaf culture I encourage you to go out and Google! I will try to put some useful resources on my profile as well.
A quick note on formatting, because the OC is deaf most of her communication is not audible. She does use multiple mediums (meaning ASL, paper, typing on a phone), some of which may translate written text verbally, however, to avoid confusion all inaudible dialog is presented in italics regardless of medium.