****FLASHBACK****

LAST REST STOP FOR 20 MILES

I quickly did the math in my head and decided it might be a good idea to stop. I had been stuck in a traffic jam on Highway 99 long enough that I had been able to have a half hour nap. I loved the dive down the 99 from Lodi to Modesto, so I had chosen it to make my migration from Tacoma, Washington to Charming, California. But some inconsiderate asshole had caused a brush fire in the median between the northbound and southbound lanes by tossing their cigarette out the window and traffic had been at an absolute stand still for over two hours.

Fucking dumbasses, I thought to myself as I shoved my own cigarette butt into a nearly empty pop can sitting in a drink holder on my center console. Smokers weren't the cause of brush fires; inconsiderate douchewads were the cause. They were also the cause of me being HOURS behind my schedule and made me beyond late to meet up with my new employer and my new landlord.

I hated running late and loathed the idea of putting myself further behind schedule, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to freshen myself up. I wasn't too worried about the impression I would make on my new landlord because I had him wrapped tightly around my pinky finger. My dad had admitted that he would help me get away with murder one the first time I had met him as my father and not just a member of the Tacoma chapter of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club. He was also a contributing factor to me making the Southern migration, so he would be easy to guilt out of being annoyed at my tardiness with tales of woe of being stuck on the highway.

But my new employer? I wasn't so sur that they would be as easily convinced. Some of the guys in SAMCRO might remember me from their trips to the Pacific Northwest, but I sort of doubted they would. Back then I was just a scrawny pre-teen with bright green eyes that were too big for my face and wavy black hair I had a hard time taming who ran around my uncle's garage trying to be helpful but was forever getting in the way. My Uncle Terry would use me as a runner to get him whatever tool he needed as he worked, but most everyone else just saw me as a cute little distraction when I was at the garage.

Now, I was a trained mechanic with more certifications from Lake Washington Institute of Technology than any other mechanic at my uncle's shop. I had even earned my Master of Business Administration from the University of Washington because I had aspired to not only grow his business while I worked there, but we had also talked about me taking over the business when he decided to retire. But those goals felt like they were made a lifetime ago and I wasn't that naïve little girl anymore.

Presently, I was persona non grata at my uncle's garage and my family home because his new girlfriend thought that I was trying to move in on her man. Trust me, I love my uncle and he was the first man that I considered to be my father before I found out that our family friend, Happy, owned that title. But anything beyond that? GROSS.

When I called my dad to complain about it, he had sounded too delighted about my need to relocate. After I pressed him for details, he finally disclosed that there was a rival in California that might be going after the children of members of his charter. Although he wouldn't have suggested it, Dad wanted me to move to California to be close to him. Since I still went by my birth mother's maiden name, he figured now would be a good time for me to move close to him without anyone knowing that I was his daughter. I was feeling so numb about the arguments and physical fight I had had with my uncle (I had punched him in the face and given him a black eye when I was packing my truck because he refused to defend me when his 'woman' drunkenly started to spout off about our relationship. Well, about our non-existent incestuous relationship) that I didn't have it in me to be bothered that he didn't want anyone to know that I was his daughter. I had free room and board at his home and would be able to continue to do the job I had worked hard to train for, so how could I complain?

Once the traffic got moving, I pulled off at the rest area and grabbed the duffle bag I had placed on the passenger seat. I was wearing yoga pants and an oversized, long sleeved t-shirt while I drove and marinated in traffic. In my bag was a pair of form fitting, hip hugging jeans as well as a three-quarter length sleeved black, light-weight sweater with a V-neck lin. I wanted to look presentable without being too feminine because I was going to be a mechanic, not some bimbo, Crow eating groupie. I had debated about wheat I should do with my hair, but I still had a few miles to drive, so I pulled it back into a tight bun to keep it out of my face. I also needed some fresh air, so I figured that would keep it from getting too messy as I drove with my window opened wide.

I had Dad's address set as my final destination in my GPS. He had promised to leave a key in a designated spot and I figured I would just head there and then deal with being a day late for meeting my new employer after a good night's sleep. Sounded like a good plan. Keyword: SOUNDED. I guess whatever shit that was going down with the club had Dad's attention divided because he had forgotten to leave me my key.

After seriously weighing my options of how angry Dad would be if I broke a window or kicked in a door, I punched the address for Teller-Morrow Automotive into my GPS. Even those this wasn't the ideal way for me to meet, or in some cases be reacquainted with, the men of SAMCRO, I knew I looked presentable enough for such introductions and there was no use in delaying the inevitable.

The garage really wasn't all that hard to find, especially with the help of my GPS. It also didn't hurt that the lot was decorated in the red, white and blue lights of the San Joaquin Sheriff's Department vehicles parked there. I pulled into a spot across from the office at the garage and watched the police vehicles drive away.

Great. What a wonderful time to make the introductions, I thought to myself as I stepped slowly out of my pickup truck. Perfect fucking timing.

As I made my slow approach, someone from the group that was still lingering outside saw me and called out, "Maria?"

I waved then quietly called out, "Yeah. Hey... Happy."

Thankfully I caught myself before I called him 'Dad'. Fuck! I was really going to have to work on that if I wanted to honor his request to keep our relationship confidential. We rushed towards each other, but before we could embrace, I heard someone yell out, "I'm sorry, but if you're looking for work to be done on your truck, we're closed for the night. You'll have to come back tomorrow."

I spared a glance over my shoulder and I'm sure I looked offended when I said, "Work on my truck? No, that's not why I'm here."

The Alpha female stepped towards me demanding, "Well then, why the fuh...?"

"Maria!" Happy jumped in as he hurried to step between me and Gemma. "I thought you we're coming until tomorrow."

I smiled a little bit more easily then answered, "Actually it was supposed to be here earlier today. But traffic sucked and... Unfortunately, my new landlord forgot to leave me a key, so I thought you might have the spare for me."

His eyes widened when he caught onto my meaning, but before he could verbally reply, Gemma asked in a much less severe tone, "Maria? As in Mia the Mechanic?" Happy and I shared a look of amusement before we turned back to her and nodded. "Well shit. When Happy and Jax said they had a mechanic to help out while Jax was in county, I sure as hell didn't expect this."

"I beg your pardon?" I questioned in a heated tone as I stepped towards her.

Gemma held her hands up then answered, "No offense intended, Sweetheart, but you are much cuter than I expected you to be. I'm not saying you can't do the job, I'm just saying I expected someone less... feminine than yourself."

I felt one corner of my lip curl back in an 'Elvis-curl' as I replied, "I'm as Tomboy as any girl can be, so don't let this outfit fool you."

"And she's done all of the work on her truck that you can't see right now," Happy chimed in as an effort to ease the tension between the two of us. "When you see it tomorrow, you'll understand what I mean, Mom."

Gemma nodded then said, "Alright. And given everything that happened tonight, I think that would be best."

Happy then pulled a set of keys out of his back pocket and passed them to me asking, "You have the alarm code, right?"

I almost barked out a laugh at that because yes, Dad had given me the alarm code. Not like I could forget it easily. 0224. My birthday minus the year.

He walked me over to my truck then very quietly said, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Dah... Happy. Looks like you guys have had an interesting night."

"You can say that again." He gave me a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "I'll tell you all about it when I get home."

Happy watched as Mia drove out of the parking lot before he turned around and rejoined the group who were still lingering outside. There were a couple of catcalls, but Bobby was the only one brave enough to ask, "You got a new Old Lady, Hap?"

"Her? No, that's the new mechanic I told you guys about."

"THAT'S little Mia?" He asked sounding somewhat surprised. "Wow. She really has grown up."

"You remember her?"

Bobby nodded then replied, "She used to spend all of her free time at her uncle's garage. Any time he worked on my bike, I had the pleasure of hanging out with her. Guess it makes sense that she's a mechanic now."

"Yeah, it's in her blood for sure."

"Her mom was Theodore's Old Lady, right?"

"Yeah... she was," Happy replied somewhat skeptically. "You get to know her too?"

Bobby got a dreamy look on his face. "I sure did. But that was long before she and Theo shacked up together. Do you know how she's doing?"

"Died, just before Mia finished high school."

"Oh, shit. Sorry to hear that. Man, how old does that make Mia now?"

Happy gave Bobby an unfriendly look causing him to throw his hands up in surrender and add, "Not like that, man! I'm old enough to be her father. I'm just curious because it's been so long since I last saw her, and you seem to know so much about her."

Happy's expression softened slightly as he answered, "She'll be twenty-nine in February. And before you ask, don't worry about giving her condolences about Liz. Mia's had a decade to work out those feelings, so there's no need to bring it up."

"Alright. I'll keep that in mind. Man, she was such a little spit fire when she was a kid."

That comment coaxed a proud smile from Happy. "And that hasn't changed much over the years."

The next day, I made sure to get to work bright and early so that I could get any paperwork that needed to be done and all of the introductions out of the way as soon as possible. I wasn't sure how much work there would be at the garage, but I was hoping to get started right away. I knew that Dad had vouched for me and my work already, but those were just words. I knew that no one would truly believe any of it until they saw what I could do.

Despite my protests that I should be fine, Dad insisted on following me in. I tried to argue that everyone would probably find it weird and start asking questions if we were always together, but that didn't bother him. He saw himself as my unofficial sponsor with everyone at the MC, so he decided that meant that he would be my go between with everyone until I settled in. When it came to anyone asking questions about our relationship...

"It's none of their fucking business." My dad sure does have a way with words.

Dad paused beside where I was parked and asked, "You going to be okay?"

I didn't even try to hide my eye roll as I answered, "I'm a big girl. I'll be fine."

"Alright. If anyone gets out of line, let me know."

"D... Happy. I can take care of myself."

"Mia..."

"No," I interrupted with a firm tone. "They won't take me seriously if I use you as my enforcer. I grew up at a garage, I've been working in one forever, so I've got this."

"Alright, but..."

"If anyone gets WAY out of hand, I'll sick you or Gemma on him."

He smiled then said, "That's more like it. Good luck today."

I watched as Dad parked his bike by a row of motorcycles before I got out of my truck. It wasn't that I didn't trust him to butt out and let me handle things, but... well... I didn't. After he dismounted his bike, he walked towards the clubhouse and I let out a sigh of relief. Once I had confirmation that he was in the clubhouse, I turned to make my way to the office. But I didn't have to go far because Gemma was already out of the office walking towards me.

"You're here early," she commented with a smile.

I shrugged replying, "I was hoping to make a good second impression. Hi, I'm Maria Cooper, but everyone calls me Mia."

She took my offered hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Gemma Teller-Morrow, but everyone calls me Gemma or Mom. I'm sorry about last night, it was... well..."

"That's okay," I jumped in when she trailed off. "Happy explained everything to me. I'm sorry to hear about your son and the other guys. Sounds like a headache."

"You can say that again. Alright, why don't we start with the introductions and then I'll show you around?"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

She then wrapped my left hand around her right arm and turned to lead me towards the clubhouse. I had expected to be led to the garage to meet my new coworkers, but I guess this made sense since the guys in the MC technically worked here too.

The guys had started filtering out after Dad had arrived. I started to chuckle when I saw them all congregating around one of the picnic tables.

"I'm almost afraid to ask what's so funny," Gemma asked as she squeezed my arm into her side.

"Sorry... sorry... It's just... I thought I was getting here early but looks like I'm actually late for work."

Gemma laughed at that then said, "Well, to be fair, a couple of them slept here last night, so there was no chance of you beating them here."

"Good to know. Feeling less guilty now."

"Gentlemen," she announced as we made our final approach. "I'd like to introduce you to our newest addition. This is Mia and she'll be working here as a mechanic. And she has more training than all of you put together, so I better not see any of you giving her any shit about fetching your coffee or anything." I bit my lip to keep from laughing while I watched her give them all a withering, don't fuck with me look. "Mia, these are the guys. You already know Happy. Beside him is…"

"Bobby!" I shouted as I ran over to him and gave him a hug.

He caught me but sounded somewhat surprised about my enthusiasm as he answered, "Hey there Mia. You…? You remember me?"

I moved back so that he could see the offended look on my face. "Bobby Elvis? You seriously think that I would forget the man who save my tenth birthday after the asshole Liz hired bailed on us? Of course, I remember you!"

He stopped to think about that for a second then answered, "Wow. I do remember that. I'm pretty sure you knew the words to most of the songs better than I did."

"I probably still do." I gave him another quick squeeze. "It's good to see you again."

I then quickly ran back to Gemma's side and contritely said, "Sorry. You were saying?"

"It's fine, Sweetheart," she replied with a chuckle. "The tall guy next to Bobby is Phile. Over to the side there is Juice. Behind him are the prospects, Rat and V-Lin. And last but not least is Wayne. He's not a member of the MC, but he's part of the family."

I waved at the group saying, "Hi everyone. I think I got all of your names, but please don't hate me if I call you 'Hey You' for the first little bit."

They all laughed politely at my weak joke. Another guy exited the clubhouse, but Gemma quickly turned me towards the office without acknowledging him. "Our regular mechanic, Wade, is off for a couple of days. He was a victim of a home invasion, so we're not sure when he'll be back to his full-time hours."

"I read about those. Scary shit. That other guy… Wayne? He was a victim of one too, right?"

"Yes, yes he was. How did you…?"

"Happy gave me a bit of a rundown on everyone when you guys agreed to let me move down here." I laughed out loud then. "Sorry about that. He had… an interesting way of trying to describe… shit… Pop? No…"

"Juice?" She offered with a chuckle.

"Yeah. Juice. Fuck, I'm going to have to make a cheat sheet for everyone."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. You'll get to know all of them soon enough. Maybe not as well as you know Happy…"

When she trailed off, I swallowed hard and said, "He's been friends with my Uncle Terry going way back when he was with the Tacoma chapter, so he basically watched me grow up. When I was needing a change of scenery, he suggested here because of the fluctuating void you've had here at the garage. After you and Jax gave the go ahead for me to move down here, he kind of appointed himself to be my watch dog."

"Well, you could do worse than him. Alright… So… I have kind of an office assistant…"

"Happy warned me about Chucky. He really had everything, but his two index fingers chopped off?"

"That he did. No use in delaying the inevitable, let's get that done because we have a couple of clients coming in for oil changes. I was worried we were going to have to cancel on them. Thankfully you're here, so they'll be happy to get the work done."

It's stupid, but I was actually giddy that I was going to be able to touch a vehicle on my first day on the job. I felt horrible that I was somewhat grateful for the home invasion Dad had told me about because it meant that today I technically the only full-time mechanic on staff at the garage.

I turned off the vacuum after I finished detailing the first car on which I had completed my first oil change and heard, "Do you need a hand with anything?"

I stood up and turned around to see the young Latino brother with the weirdest faux-hawk hair cut I'd ever seen and ad to bite my lip to keep from laughing. Dad was NOT a fan of his hair-do and had some very interesting descriptions for it and NONE of them were flattering.

"Actually…" I looked around the room then said, "At my other garage we used to top up fluids for our customers, but I couldn't find windshield washer fluid anywhere. Do…? Is that not part of the services rendered here?"

"Services rendered?" He repeated with a laugh as he opened up a cabinet I hadn't noticed before.

I walked over to his side to retrieve what I needed and replied, "Sorry, too fancy for you? Is it part of the shit that we do?"

He barked out a laugh then answered, "I like 'services rendered' better. But yeah, we do top ups. Washer fluid, extra wiper blades and air fresheners are in here."

"Perfect. Ooh! Shammies too! Awesome. Thanks… uhh… shit…"

"Juice. They call me Juice."

"Right. Fuck. I swear I'm the worst with names, sorry."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Mia. You'll learn them all in time." He started to leave the garage then stopped to add, "IF you need anything else, just yell 'hey you' and one of us will be happy to come over to help."

"Alright. And thanks." I hugged the bottle of washer fluid to my chest and took in a couple of deep breaths to try to slow my racing heart. I was going to have to be careful around that one. He was just much too tempting.