Hi! I wanted to give a HUGE thank yo to everybody who reviewed and favorited and followed this story after the last chapter. MR, just reading and loving it, and AmbrosiaRush, thanks for your kind words. I have never written Opie before, and I am glad that you all seemed to like it. Here is the next chapter, a little bit different from the last one. Please let me know what you think! Enjoy and have a wonderful day!
Lila was elbow deep in soapy water, finishing up the dinner dishes, when she heard the shrill ding of her cell phone, indicating that she had a text message. Within a couple of seconds, Ellie came rushing into the room in her pajamas, wet hair hanging down her back, with the cell phone in hand, letting her know that it was from Opie. Lila reached for the nearby dish towel, drying her hands as she glanced at the clock. 8:12. Lila knew that if she was getting a text from Op at 8:12, then it was most likely to tell her that he wouldn't be coming home. Judging by the look on Ellie's face, she was concerned as well.
"Thanks Sweetie," Lila said, managing a smile for the girl. "What are the boys up to?"
"They're in the bathroom," Ellie reported. "Kenny is reading comic books to Piper while he takes his bath."
That thought turned Lila's smile into a genuine one. Piper loved Kenny and Ellie, and the affection was mutual. It was just as if they had been siblings all of their lives. She had always wanted for Piper to have a brother or sister, and for this fact, she felt lucky that she had found a package deal in Opie.
"Spider Man again?" Lila asked as she crinkled her nose. Comic books had never been her thing, but Kenny loved them, and Piper loved anything that Kenny loved.
"No," Ellie said, rolling her eyes and smirking. "Piper decided that spiders are too scary. They are reading Superman now. Because there is nothing scary about an alien with super powers coming to Earth."
Lila groaned, "Please don't tell him that! He has Superman sheets. If he suddenly realizes that Superman is an alien, none of us will sleep for weeks."
That made Ellie laugh, and Lila was once again remind of just how much the girl looked like Opie when she was laughing. "I won't, I promise," Ellie assured her.
"Good," Lila grinned, tugging light on a wet lock of Ellie's blonde hair. "Since the boys are busy, that means you get to pick what movie we watch tonight. Go figure it out and then grab your brush. I'll braid your hair for you."
As Ellie ran off to choose a movie, Lila sighed and picked up the phone. She was glad that she could make Ellie happy, at least. She opened the text from Op, frowning as she read it. Something came up. Will be home late. Tell the kids goodnight for me. Her shoulders and heart sank. She had expected this from the moment she heard the text message, but that didn't stop the ripple of disappoint she felt. She had held on to a foolish hope that he would come home tonight, that they would watch TV and put the kids to bed, that they would…
"Lila! Ellie says that we have to watch that Princess Diaries movie again! Piper and me want to watch Step Brothers!" Kenny whined as he and Piper ran into the room.
Lila looked at the two boys, Piper fresh out of the bath and dressed in his train pajamas, nodding in full agreement with Kenny. Lila couldn't help but be grateful that Piper and Kenny were fast friends. Kenny took care of Piper, reading with him and playing with action figures and giving him a bath, and in return, Piper worshipped the ground Kenny walked on. If Kenny had an issue with watching The Princess Diaries, of course Piper had an issue with it too, even though Lila knew for a fact that Piper loved the movie.
"Okay, calm down guys," Lila ruffled their newly clean hair. "First of all, Step Brothers is not going to happen, but if you go pick up all the toys in your room, you can stay in there and play video games while Ellie and I watch the movie."
"Can we have popcorn still?" Piper asked, his voice a breathy whisper. "And soda?"
"Of course you can," Lila smiled. "Get picking up and I will bring it right in."
Just like that, the boys were off, leaving cheers of excitement in their wake. As Lila grabbed the microwave popcorn from the cupboard and stuck it in the microwave, she couldn't help but be a little bit sad that Opie was missing out on this. She punched in the time on the microwave and picked up her cell and typed a quick reply to Opie.
Okay, stay safe. We love you and miss you.
She waited for a while, long enough to make two bags of microwave popcorn and all sorts of other snacks, but she knew that no matter how long she waited, she wouldn't get a reply.
Across town, two women were sitting in the kitchen of a large, mostly empty house, all of their attention focused on the baby boy in the high chair in front of them. Gemma was feeding the boy some sort of hellish orange baby food that smelled awful, but she didn't mind at all. It was a warm night, but she was wearing jeans anyway, the length of the denim used to cover the ever present ankle monitor. It was stupid, but she didn't want her grandbaby to see it. The blinking plastic strap was pure evil; keeping her here, away from her shop and her guys, alone if not for the woman and boy here right now.
Tara's hand rested on her flat stomach, thinking ahead to the days when she would swell and grow and eventually, bring a human child into the world. The baby in her womb was barely the size of a grape, but she was already picturing him. She had argued with Jax about the sex of the baby, but in her heart, she knew that she was carrying a boy. Tara hoped beyond hope that he would look like his father, all blonde hair and blue eyes and perfect lips and a smile that just melted her heart. In seven months or so, this baby would come and take the world by storm, and Jax would miss it all.
"He's eating good tonight," Gemma spoke up, pulling Tara from her thoughts. Noticing the bags around Tara's eyes, and the unhealthy look of her skin, she continued, "Has the morning sickness been bad lately?"
"Not really, no," Tara told her, sitting up and stretching, shooting a smile at Abel. "I haven't been sleeping very well, that's all."
"Has this little guy been having a hard time?" Gemma asked, feeding another scoop of the orange mush to her grandson, not at all surprised when most of it ended up on his shirt and not in his mouth.
"A little bit," Tara admitted. "He's been kidnapped, adopted, recovered, and crossed the ocean twice. He's having a hard time settling."
Gemma just nodded, and continued to feed the boy, sensing that Tara was not done yet. This girl sitting here in front of her hadn't exactly had the easiest time either. Gemma knew that part of that was on her. She hadn't exactly been easy on Tara, but the girl had come through every bit of shit thrown at her. She had patched up the guys, witnessed murder, dealt with cock chasing porn stars; and all while holding down a respectable job and taking care of this sweet little boy. Gemma had thought for a moment that losing Abel, even temporarily, would chase Tara away, but the doc had stuck it out and she was still here. Gemma was proud of her.
"I think he misses Jax," Tara spoke up suddenly. Her admission was followed by a brief silence, and then a hollow laugh. "I think I miss Jax."
There were tears in the younger woman's eyes, and as much as Gemma hated crying females, she couldn't help but reach over and take the doctor's hand. "I know baby," she said soothingly. "I miss him too. I miss them all."
They sat like that for a long while, neither of them saying anything else. Never, in a million years, did Tara think she would be here, sitting alone with Gemma while her sweet Abel ate and played, bonding over the misery of missing the ones they loved. A part of Tara hated Gemma; hated this woman who lied and manipulated and did literally anything she could to carve out her place in the world. Tara had read those letters and was well aware of the lengths Gemma would go to get what she wanted. Yes, there was a part of her that hated Gemma, but there was a larger part of her that admired Gemma. She was strength incarnate, and she would do whatever was necessary for those she loved. A part of Tara wished that she had that courage, that foresight, and those balls.
A laugh from Abel pulled their attention back to the bright, sunny boy who had upended his bowl of food directly over his own head. Their moment passed as both of the women laughed at the little blonde boy that they both loved so, so much. For just a moment, laughing at Abel covered in orange, Gemma and Tara both forgot the loneliness and pain and ache for those not present and the worry over the future and what it held. Both women instead were caught up in a moment with a happy baby boy.
More than five thousand miles away, across an ocean, in a small apartment in the center of Belfast, Fiona bolted straight up from a dead sleep. Every muscle in her body was tense and tight, and she was covered in a cold sweat. It took her a moment of frantic breathing to realize that she was fine; she was in her small bedroom, in her small apartment. Her Kerrianne was curled in bed next to her, a habit that had developed after Filip left. The two of them weren't in any imminent danger at the moment, and so she finally allowed herself to relax and breath.
Fiona considered herself a strong woman; she had to be. She had been born into the IRA and had been surrounded by turmoil from an early age. She had lost her mother before her first birthday and had been raised by a tough, unyielding father. She had experienced more forms of hate than she could recall, simply because of her skin tone. She had fallen in love with Filip Telford as a teenager and had become an Old Lady, which brought an untold amount of worry and fear and stress. She had spent twenty two hours in labor, all without the benefit of drugs, and delivered a perfect baby girl. She endured the loss of her love and spent ten years under the thumb of Jimmy O'Phalen. She had all of these experiences under her belt and she was still here, alive and breathing.
Yes, she considered herself a strong woman, which was why she was so incredibly irked by the fact that something as small as a bloody dream had her awake and in tears each and every night. She reached for the glass of water she kept on the bedside table, next to the photo of her little family. She tried to grasp it, but found that her hands were still shaking too badly, so she gave up. The smiling face of her Filip seems to stare directly at her from the frame, taking her back to the dream. She shuddered slightly, turning away from the photo. The clock told her that it was 4:09 AM, and she knew that she wouldn't be getting any more sleep tonight. Kerrianne was still curled on her side, sleeping soundly, so Fiona silently rolled out of bed and left the room.
Fiona made her way to the kitchen, where she started a pot of coffee. She generally preferred tea, but she had very recently developed a liking for the strong, bitter taste of coffee. Besides, she needed something strong this morning and tea wasn't going to cut it. She stood by the counter, waiting for the coffee to brew, trying to massage the ache from her own neck. She couldn't help but allow her mind to drift back to her dream. It had been the same one, each and every day for the past week. The sleeping pills last night hadn't stopped it from coming, but she hoped the caffeine from the coffee would ward off the effects during the day.
It was always the same dream, every night. It started off with her, walking down a road in an unfamiliar place. She never knew where she was in the dream, but her location always had a hint of familiarity, as if she had been there before but she just couldn't remember. Though she didn't know where she was, in her dream, she always knew where she was going, because down the street, about a mile in the distance, she could see him. She could always see her Filip, sitting in a chair in the middle of the road, as if he was waiting for her.
At first, she was always happy. She was overjoyed to see him, and she would walk towards him. At this point, she would begin to notice the people. Some of them were familiar to her, some of them were not, but each and every one of them was staring at her, giving her the same look that she just couldn't identify yet. Their looks always caused her discomfort, and so she began to walk faster. The closer she got to him, the more scared she became. She started seeing more and more faces she knew. Maureen was always there, a sad look in her eyes, and Trinity. The SAMBEL boys would always come next, and Filip's brothers and sisters after them. By this time, she always knew that she was dreaming, because why else would she be seeing long dead people staring at her? Knowing that she was dreaming never seemed to lessen the impact of it, though.
In her dream, she would draw closer and closer to him. She was running now, passing by the Gemma and the California lads, and they were all crying and whispering that they were sorry. She just kept running and didn't stop until she saw their Kerrianne, standing on the corner, staring at Filip in the chair. Dream Fiona never said anything to her daughter, she just looked straight ahead at her Filip, determined to prove to all of these people that everything was fine. He would finally look up at her, and give her one of his heart-stopping smiles, and for a shining moment, Fiona would believe that everything was fine, that this dream was going to end differently than the others.
She would run to him then, closing the last few feet in seconds, and throw herself at him. He would close his arms around her and things were perfect for a split second. It was then that she would start to feel it. A warm wetness always seeped its way into her consciousness at this point, and then she would start to smell the salty, metallic blood. Within seconds, she was holding on to air. Her husband was gone and she was in the middle of the road, covered in his blood. She would cry, she would call out to him, but the only response she ever got was a vicious, all cold laugh that reverberated through her skull until she woke.
The dull beeping sound of the coffee maker thankfully jolted Fiona from reliving her nightmare yet again. She went through the motions of making herself a cup, black and sweet, before returning the pot to the brewer. She made her way over to the table, stopping briefly at the pantry, where she pulled out a box of bran cereal, the kind Kerrianne would never touch. She carried the steaming cup of coffee and the cereal box over to the table where she sat, opening the small window next to her. The cold air hitting her face was harsh but welcome as it helped to wake her.
She opened the cereal and dug to the bottom of it, retrieving the pack of cigarettes and lighter she had been hiding there. Looking into the pack, she was surprised to find that it was more than half empty. She had managed to pilfer these cigarettes from Filip, his preferred brand, before he left, and she felt a moment of sadness that they would soon be gone. It wasn't that she enjoyed smoking; far from it actually. She had quit the moment she found herself pregnant with Kerrianne and hadn't missed it even a day since then. Fiona smoked these cigarettes because they reminded her of him; of the way he smelled and tasted when he came back to bed after one of his middle of the night smoke breaks. Between this and the coffee he so loved, it was as close as she could get to having him here right now.
Several days ago, during one of their daily chats, Kerrianne had made an offhanded remark about Fiona not sleeping, and though she had hoped it would go unnoticed, Filip had most definitely noticed. When he asked her about it, she had told him that she was having bad dreams. He had assumed, not illogically, that her nightmares focused on Jimmy. She wondered that she wasn't having dreams about Jimmy coming back for her, but she had peace over that now. Filip had assured her that they were safe, and she didn't know why, but she believed him. Fiona just didn't have the heart to tell him that her dreams focused on him; on her fear of losing him when she had just gotten him back. He didn't need the added stress of that knowledge weighing him down.
Soon, it would be time for Kerrianne to get up and get ready for school. Fiona would drop her off, and then go see Maureen and help do the books at the shop. She would come home in the afternoon and try to keep herself occupied with housework until it was time to retrieve Kerrianne. She looked forward to doing this all day, because as soon as Kerrianne got in the car, she would insist on calling Filip and giving him his daily "wake up call". When Kerrianne passed her the phone, Fiona's heart rate would finally return to something close to normal for the first time all day. She would get to talk to him for a few minutes, and that would get her through homework and dinner time and the rest of the housework until bed, when she would usually call him just so that she could hear his voice; hear him say that he was safe and he loved her.
Her eyes found the clock again, and she saw that it was nearing 5:00. She took one last deep drag of the cigarette and hid the evidence so that Kerrianne wouldn't find it when she woke up. She stood from her seat at the table and got ready to wake her daughter for school, all the while looking forward to that afternoon phone call. Until then, she would just try not to dwell on a dream she couldn't do anything about.