Gemma had woken up early the morning after the party. Not having drank as much as everyone else the night before, she felt rather bright eyed and bushy tailed. Katie was home, her baby girl, the daughter she never had, and it felt good knowing her family was once again complete. Last night, before leaving the club house, Gemma went into Tig's room and got Katie's duffle bag of clothes. Her intention was to surprise Katie was clean clothes and a feeling of being home once again. Now, standing in the laundry room, the worn bag half unpacked, she was the one surprised and rather taken back by what she discovered. She had come across a SAMCRO bandana, wrapped around something as though to keep it safe. After slowly unwrapping the bundle, not sure as to the degree of frailty, tears started to well up in her eyes. What she held in her hands wasn't a plaque, medal of honor, or anything of that nature like she had expected. Instead, she held three pictures, worn and faded with time and handling. The first picture was of Katie when she was about 16, her dad, Jax and Clay standing in front of Teller-Morrow, their arms draped over each others shoulders, all grinning from ear to ear. The second picture was of Katie, Chibs and Tig in the club house by the bar, Katie sandwiched between the two Sons as they hugged her, all of their faces riddled with laughter and no doubt a lot of Jack. And the third picture was of her and Gemma, taken the day of Katie's high school graduation. It sent a ping of comfort through her heart, now knowing Katie had thought of them on her time away. But, at the same time she felt an overwhelming wave of heart ache as she looked over the pictures. Seeing the girl she had known all those years ago, her bright, vibrant, smiling, blue eyes and comparing her to the girl she had seen the last few days, they weren't the same. As she looked at the photo of Katie, Chibs and Tig, she couldn't help but wonder if she had since achieved the same level of happiness and contentment as she had that night. From what Gemma had seen, she guessed not.
Katie had always been a happy kid for the most part, always joking and making people around her laugh. But, on the other hand, she had always had a knack for hiding her troubles beneath her tough, carefree exterior. Remembering her eyes last night, all though her face was smiling, Gemma could see the darkness and pain hiding in the depths, especially after the fight. She was certain, the girl that left Charming all those years ago, was not the same to return. She just hoped the girl she loved so much wasn't completely gone, that somewhere hidden deep down inside she was still in there. Maybe with some time and possibly the right person to peal back the layers, the real Katie would be exposed once again. Hopefully, with being home and surrounded by the people she loved the emptiness, distance and pain in her eyes would fade… Hopefully…
The sun came streaming through the windows into the club house hitting Katie's eyes like curse from heaven. She moaned slightly in protest at the interruption of her sleep and turned to roll onto her right side. Her body was sore, her head was pounding and after a little trip back to reality she remembered the occurrences of last night. As she sat up she realized she wasn't in bed where she thought she was. Instead, she was on the pool table between a still sleeping Tig and a loudly snoring Chibs. There was something cold and hard in her bloodied left hand and after her eyes adjusted she found it was an almost empty bottle of Jack Daniels.
"Ugh… Home sweet fucking home," she said to herself as she tried to wiggle from her spot between the Scott and S.A.A.
With much effort she finally succeeded in battling the evil, spinning room Katie finally made it to the bathroom and managed to turn on the shower with out severely injuring herself. A hot shower was the ticket to clear out the fog that currently consumed her head.
Feeling somewhat refreshed and alive once again, she limped out into the bedroom clad only in a towel, she found Gemma's note laying on the bed with a small pile of clothes.
"Took your clothes home to wash for you. Hope you don't mind. Love Gem."
"Gotta love her," Katie mumbled to herself after reading the note.
The struggle of getting dressed was the same as always, a little more frustrating with a hangover however . She decided to go work on her bike for a little bit, just basic maintenance since it had been in storage for the last few years. Everyone was still sleeping and since it was Saturday she knew no one would be in the garage. From being surrounded by crowds of people for the last 2 days, she just wanted to be alone, left to her own thoughts to figure out her next move.
Holding a Fat Boy up with a bum leg was difficult enough, getting in onto the lift was just a bitch. But, after a little effort and a few choice four letter words Katie stood triumphant over the machine.
"God, do I need a fucking beer!" She said heading to the fridge.
Tig found her about an hour after he had the unpleasant surprise of waking up next to Chibs. Now showered and somewhat hung over, he stumbled into the garage to find Katie working on her bike, music blaring, surrounded by empty beer bottles and a somewhat peaceful look on her face. He stood in the doorway for a few minutes with a smile on his face as he watched her work. She looked sexy as hell covered in grease like it was the most natural thing in the world to her. He almost hated to interrupt her.
"Drinking already?" He asked as he turned down the radio.
"Hair of the dog man," she replied turning at the sound of his voice.
"It's like 10 a.m.," he said with a chuckle.
"Your point would be?" She asked calmly.
"Alcoholic," he replied.
"Ain't that the pot calling the fuckin' kettle black," she said putting down her wrench and picking up the beer bottle next to her stool. "And I don't attend meetings, there for I'm not an alcoholic."
She seemed to be in good spirits today, regardless of her snippy remarks. He decided to play along with her insults.
"If this is you flirting with me, your doing a really shitty job," he said trying not to smile.
"Well, I didn't think I was your type, you and Chibs made such a cute couple sleeping next to each other spooning," she said moving towards him.
"Fuck you!" He said with a hint of edge in his voice.
"You wish," she replied as she pushed herself up onto the work bench.
"I will," he said moving in front of her. "I always get what I want."
His hands were on her thighs as he moved to stand between her legs.
"I wouldn't be so sure," she smiled.
"Doll, there isn't a woman with in a 100 mile radius of Charming that can't resist the advances and charm of Tig Trager," he leaned into her.
"Bullshit, man your modesty is just to much to take."
"You know that you like it," he said, his lips just barely touching hers.
"Mmm, maybe I just play along because I know that you like it," she said playing into his game as she brushed his lips lightly with hers.
She was driving him crazy, she was playing his game, teasing the hell out of him, it was almost to much to take. He hadn't even really touched her yet and he was already rock hard, this wasn't fair by a long shot. He was supposed to make her want him more, drive her crazy, not the other way around. When he would lean into kiss her she would back away just out of his reach, then in quickly to brush her lips across his. After a few times of this, he went in one last time, but instead of just a brush of the lips she delicately pressed her lips to his. They kissed for a few minutes, Tig's mouth moving desperately with hers. His hands exploring her body, firm and perfect, curved in all the right places, not an ounce of body fat, just perfectly toned muscle. He had to have her, but his advances were short lived.
"I gotta get my bike off the rack, I need help," she said pushing him away.
"What? No, come on baby, that's not fair!" Tig protested.
"I got shit to do, maybe if you're a good boy and help me with my bike I'll repay you," she said trying to get down from the bench, but Tig was in her way.
"I want my payment first," he said trying to hold her in place.
"Come on Tig, I'm serious, let me get down," she demanded starting to get somewhat aggravated.
"What's wrong? Why are you getting pissed?" He asked confused.
"Just please let me get down," she said trying to move once again.
"Not until you tell me what's wrong," he said firmly.
"It's my fucking leg ok! I can't sit like this anymore, my leg is pounding," her answer was sharp with almost a growl in her voice. Her eyes had changed once again from light to dark. Tig decided not to say anything he just moved from his place and walked over to the rack. He work in silence as he got the bike down, then calmly walked out of the garage.
Katie hated when her temper and insecurities took over all at once, now it felt as though the walls were closing in on her, she had to get out. Her bike roared to life like the monster that hid down inside her. At first she couldn't feel the wind against her skin, her mind and body were both numb. But the more she rode, it felt like the wind blew right through her. The road seemed to stretch endlessly in front of her offering some sort of comfort from the prison of her own mind. As the wind blew through her it was as though it blew away her troubles as well. She hadn't been the easiest person to get along with lately, she knew that, now she battled with herself inside her mind, trying to figure out a way to undo the damage that had already been done.
She hadn't been close enough to someone in years emotionally or physically to worry about showing her scars. Now, it was all coming at once and her insecurities started to take control. The fear of what one would think once made aware of those scars. Scars that marked her emotionally from years of mental abuse from her mother and the things she had seen overseas. The list went on endlessly like the road. On the other hand, there were the scars that were scattered over her body, an ever painful reminder of where she had been and what she had seen. Her leg was healing but it still wasn't pretty, the scar was dark and discolored, all around not very pleasing to the eye. She wasn't quite sure she was ready to start showing off her battle wounds just yet.
Katie rode for hours, stopping at some dusty corner bar every so many miles. The freedom of being on her bike was always a form of therapy to her, a liberating, mind clearing experience. Somewhere she could be herself with out the fear of being criticized or judged. It was starting to get late, so she headed back towards Charming with a clear mind and an agenda. She decided she was going to talk to Tig and try to explain her situation the best she could. It there was anyone in SAMCRO that would understand, it would be him or so she thought.
Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry it took to long for an update, work has been crazy and has been consuming most of my time. I've had the next couple chapters written for a while but haven't had the chance to post them. The next chapter is going to take a little turn and I am going to need some feedback on it. Read and review!