Okay, so I was a little put off with the amount of reviews this week compared to the week before. I need to know what you guys think of this story. All I want is to know that the time I spend away from my family writing after a long day at work is worth it. So my challenge to you this week, my faithful readers, is to leave me five reviews (not a huge order if you ask me) with a like and dislike of Connie. She is one of my first completely original stand alone characters. All the others have been based of my friends and family in real life.

And as always a huge shout out to my lovely beta, Just da Girl. She totally rocks my socks.

Happy ready and please review!

All The Right Reasons

By: AlyKat4Life

Chapter 3 - Photograph

And this is where I went to school;

Most of the time had better things to do;

Criminal record says I've broke in twice;

I must have done it half a dozen times;

It was about seven in the morning and Connie was wide awake laying in the bed next to Juice. To say she was a morning person was an understatement. She always woke up at the crack of dawn no matter what, which really didn't work in her favor since she worked nights at a bar. Rolling over, she let out a stretch and grinned when she got a peek of the man laying next to her. Juice was laying on his stomach, stripped naked, his head turned towards Connie. His face though, was what really had her struggling to not laugh. His mouth was slightly open and there was a small pool of drool on the mattress beneath him and he was snoring, but with a slight gurgling sound. Shaking her head, Connie rolled over and gently lifted herself off the bed, trying not to wake her 'slumbering knight.'

When her feet hit the hardwood floor though, her feet instantly turned to ice, a shiver going up her spine. She quickly hopped around the small dorm room gathering some of their discarded clothing in a sad attempt at covering her underwear clad body. Even though Juice had no problem sleeping in the nude, she at least covered herself somewhat, not wanting one of the many club members that had stayed the night, to walk in on her. The product of her search was her skinny jeans from the night before and Juice's oversized black SAMCRO tee. Wanting something on her feet to fight the cold, but not wanting to deal with her own skimpy flat sandals, she slipped her sock covered feet into Juice's black boots, glad that he was only a few sizes bigger than her own size 9's.

She made her way out the door and shut it behind her quietly. Making her way to the front of the clubhouse, Connie winced each time the old floor boards let out a squeak, not wanting to wake any of the half dead bodies littering the area. Juice hadn't been lying to her when he'd said they knew how to throw a party. There were naked, half naked, some that she wished to never see naked, men and women alike, all laying out in various positions in a coma like state. Stepping over a few, she found her way to the kitchen in search of some coffee. It didn't take long though, as there was already a pot brewing, the smell reaching her nose and making her sigh with happiness. On days where she barely got any sleep, which was practically everyday; caffeine was her one vise that got her through the day.

Once her cup was in hand, she trudged along looking around, trying to take everything in. It had been so long since she'd been in an environment like the one she was in, and wanted to learn what she could. During her scan, her eyes found a wall of photos, all of them arrest photos, and soon enough found herself right in front of it. She pulled out a chair from the table against the wall beneath the pictures and stared, pinpointing the one of her new Rican beau snoring logs in the back room. He looked so different with his hair grown out hiding his skull tattoos; almost giving him an even younger, more innocent look… if that was even possible. Blowing the heat from her coffee, she took a sip, still eyeing the picture over the rim of her cup, committing it to memory to ask him about later. She was sure there was probably an interesting story behind it.

"Up a lil' early, dontcha think?"

Connie jumped at the voice that came from behind her and she turned quickly coming face to face with a very authoritative looking woman dress in dark denim and lots of black lace, her hair highlighted in heavy chunks. "I'm up early every morning." Came her reply. She held out her hand and cracked one of her million watt grins. "Hi. I'm Connie."

The woman didn't move as she eyed her hand with contempt. Flicking her eyes back up to the young woman she simply said, "Forgive me if I'd rather not touch. Not quite sure where it was last night."

"I washed, promise. Can't blame you though with the crowd here this morning." Connie made a jester to the lumps around the room, smile never faltering. She wasn't one to loose face around women such as the one in front of her. She'd been around worse and from the looks of the one in from of her, she was just being cautious for family's sake.

"Name's Gemma." Gemma nodded and the brunette beauty in from of her who's obviously just gotten up. "You Juice's squeeze? Boys' been burstin' at the seems all week talking about you. Got the young pup pussy whipped."

"Yeah, you could say that. Pussy whipped, eh?" Connie was all butterflies inside whenever she heard about Juice talking about her with this other world of his. He may have been wrapped around her finger, but she was wrapped just as tightly around him as well.

"Pussy better not get him straying from what's important." Gemma warned a bit firmly before walking off to finished getting the breakfast in order for her boys. They'd be waking up soon.

~Q~

Every memory of looking out the back door;

I have the photo album spread out on my bedroom floor;

It's hard to say it, time to say it;

Goodbye, goodbye

There were still boxes littering every corner of the apartment because Connie had been a little pre-occupied as of late, putting her living space on hold. Now though she was enjoying some alone time on her day off and going through some of the clutter, organizing her mess of a life into neat piles on the ground. She'd always followed her brother to where ever he'd decided to go, but this was the first time she'd had her own place at his insistence. His excuse was that he'd be dealing with some shit that he didn't want her caught up in. She just hoped he wasn't getting himself in over his head again. She didn't know if she could loose another family member due to 'dealing with shit.'

Connie looked at the piles in front of her and started ruffling through one of them in search of a particular picture she'd remembered seeing a few short minutes before. Her thoughts had started wandering and now she wanted it out, in the open, so she could look at it and remember the 'happy' times of her youth. She smiled when she found it, gazing at a picture of a much younger version of herself and Abe, along with another man with many of the same features as themselves. They were all wearing smiling faces and were all in swim suits, water dripping from their heads as the sun produced a glaring glow around them, blocking out the background. Connie knew though that they'd been at the pool in their parent's backyard during one of the many scorching hot valley summers.

Little things in the picture caught her attention though and brought her mind back to the dark thoughts she'd had. Like the fact that in the picture Abe was about fifty pounds lighter and nearly all skin and bones, his cheeks sunken in. His thick, curly hair wasn't the trimmed neatness that it was now, but a long stringy mess, and not just from being wet, but from the oil that had been built up. She was sure he probably hadn't showered in a few days when he'd finally come home after a week long meth binge. Back then she hadn't cared what he'd looked like, but was just happy that her big brother had come home to see her.

The other man in the picture though wasn't a thin rail, like Abe had been, but a strong looking man with lots of definition in his upper arms and shoulders. He had the same big brown eyes as Connie, but his head was shaved all the way to his scalp. He didn't smile broadly, blaring teeth, like she and Abe had been, but a small subtle grin. The tattoos on his neck and chest though were blatantly obvious, even with his dark summer tan. White hate, showcased for all to see. He'd never had shame in showing his 'cause.'

Connie looked up from the photo in her hand at a pounding on her door and quickly got up to answer it. When she opened it Juice was standing there, smirk on his face that still managed to look goofy. He pulled his hand out from behind his back and handed her the weed looking flower he'd picked from the front of the complex on his way up. "Hey there sexy."

"Gee. That for me?" She asked as she took the pathetic looking white flower. "Thanks. You shouldn't have." she reached up to kiss him and then backed away opening the door all the way giving him access to come in.

She made her way to the kitchen and set the picture on the counter before reaching into the cabinet to get one of the few cups she'd actually unpacked, filled in with water, plopping the flower in it. They both laughed though as the stem wasn't strong enough to actually hold it up and curved over the glass, pedals hitting the countertop. "Thought's what counts, right?" Juice asked as he settled into a stool on the opposite side of the counter.

"Yeah, but that's only if you'd actually been thinking."

Ignoring her comment, he picked up the picture she'd discarded and studied it for a moment. "Who's this?" he asked pointing to the bald man.

"That's Russell, my brother. He died about seven years ago. Drug deal gone bad."

"Oh." Juice replied nodding, but not quite sure what to say. He just kept staring at the picture though. Russell looked so familiar to him, but he just couldn't pin-point where he'd seen him before of why. If he'd died seven years ago, there was no way Juice had ever met him, since he'd only been in California himself just over five years.

~Q~

Every memory of walking out the front door;

I found the photo of the friend that I was looking for;

It's hard to say it, time to say it;

Goodbye, goodbye;

Look at this photograph;

Every time I do it makes me laugh;

Every time I do it makes me…

Abraham looked around as he entered the old dinner off the 99, just outside of Charming. He'd made a few phone calls earlier to some old contacts, hoping to get his name out that he was back in town. It had been so many years since he'd left and it was proving to be harder than he'd thought to get back into the game. After a quick scan of the area his eyes fell upon the man he'd been coming to see and made his way to where he was located in a back booth. The man was strategically placed so the he was looking out over the entire establishment, but also not out in the open for everyone else to see. To anyone just off the streets he looked to be alone, but Abe knew he had at least three guys spread out keeping watch. He didn't look like a heavy hitting boss in his cargo pants and white tank showing off his illustrious ink, but when it came to the drug trade, this was the man to see.

Abe slipped out of his black coat and slipped into the booth across from the man effortlessly. Without hesitation or fear, Abe lifted his hand over the table, offering it in a friendly greeting. "Darby. Been a long time man."

Darby accepted the offered hand and grinned. "That it has. Never in a million years thought I'd see the youngest Hildebrand boy again. How's your sister?"