Here's the next chapter! I hope that you all enjoy! I want to thank you guys so much for the reviews, they really mean a lot! Please, continue to leave them! It really motivates me to write! That being said, November is a hugely busy month for me, with a lot of travel and work commitments, but I will do my best to keep the updates coming regularly.
Also, I was lucky enough to meet Theo Rossi, Kim Coates, and Katey Sagal yesterday. It was stellar! That is all.
ENJOY!
The popcorn ceiling in his bedroom contained some very interesting patterns and shapes. So far, Opie had identified a demented looking clown, a mountain, a sword, and a fox. He rubbed at his tired eyes and sighed, turning to glance at the digital clock on the bedside table. The neon green numbers indicated it was 4:12 in the morning. He definitely should not be awake, staring at patterns on his ceiling, but he had woken up and found it impossible to go back to sleep, so what else was there to do?
Lila sighed softly from the other side of the bed where she was stretched out on her stomach, sleeping soundly. Well, she was something he could definitely do to distract himself from the impossibility of sleep. However, he knew good and well that waking her up a whole two hours before she needed to be was selfish, and therefore probably not a good idea. Things had been going better for the two of them lately and he didn't want to do anything that might damage that. He needed peace wherever he could find it these days.
Instead of waking her, he climbed out of bed and walked to her side, switching off the alarm. She had been busy as hell lately dealing with all of his crap and taking care of the kids and the house and helping out Tara and Gemma whenever they asked. The way Opie figured, he really could have done a lot worse in the Old Lady department. Letting her sleep in for a change was the least he could do for her.
Opie left the room and headed towards the bathroom, hoping that a shower would wake him up a little bit. As he flicked on the light and looked up, he noted with surprise that the walls were a different color. The old, dirty yellow color had been replaced with a green shade that reminded him of guacamole. Op ignored his first instinct, a twinge of anger and sadness. This had been the very first room Donna had painted when they bought the house right before Ellie had been born. He remembered her agonizing over the color for days. He shoved down that memory as he stripped off his clothes.
He wasn't mad at Lila for painting. After all, she lived here too. A part of him wished that she had asked his opinion before doing it, but for all he knew, she had. He supposed that the color was alright, but he racked his brain, trying to figure out when on earth Lila had managed to paint an entire room without him noticing. Had he really been that completely absent in his own house lately? He didn't even have to think very long to answer that question. He knew that he had been. Between shit with the Club and visiting the guys and keeping T-M running, it didn't leave much time for anything else.
He stepped under the stream of the hot shower, hissing as the water touched his skin, enjoying the steaming hot shower for a full minute before reaching down and adjusting the taps. The kids would be up for school pretty soon and he had no idea whether or not they had taken baths yesterday or whether they might need a shower this morning. He figured it was a good idea to save some hot water, just in case.
He and his Dad had had a very busy day yesterday, leaving before the sun to go on an all day charity ride. Really, they used the ride as cover to pick up drugs for his Dad and meet with some other charters about the gun business that they would be handling. After a full day of riding and business, they had returned home well after dark. He thought about the day ahead of him as he shampooed his hair. Chibs had informed him that Tara had finally asked to go see Jax, which he was glad for. His friend needed that, and of course Opie would go along for the ride. Hopefully, he could fill some of the guys in on the gun operation. After that would be dinner at Gemma's, and then, Opie vowed, he would come home with his girl and the kids.
He finished showering quickly and shut the water off. He grabbed the nearest clean towel and dried himself off, before wrapping the terry cloth around his waist. He very nearly walked right past the dirty clothes on the floor, but thought twice. He picked them up and deposited them into the hamper before checking the hallway to make sure he was still the only one awake. They might be family, but he really didn't want one of his kids to walk out and catch him in a towel.
He entered the bedroom and rummaged through his drawers for clothes. He didn't bother to turn on a light, knowing that every piece of clothing he owned was essentially the same; a pair of jeans and a dark colored t-shirt. He was in the process of pulling on a t-shirt when he looked over at the bed and noticed that Lila was stirring.
"Op?" she mumbled, her voice heavy with sleep. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," he was quick to answer. Everything's fine. Go back to sleep," he told her quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Can't. Have to get up and fix breakfast. Kids will be up soon," she told him with a yawn.
"Yeah, I'll handle that. You go back to sleep," he urged her. "You deserve a morning off. I'll get them to school."
She looked at him as if she was trying to figure out whether or not he was serious. He could have been offended by the skeptical look on her face, but he chose not to be. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss before continuing. "Sleep. I am going to meet the guys at T-M after I drop the kids off. We are going to take Tara out to see Jax today. I won't be late, though. I'll meet you at Gemma's for dinner tonight?"
She nodded slowly, still not quite believing that he was being serious. The fact that she was so surprised that he was doing a small, insignificant act of kindness for her kind of broke his heart a little bit, but he didn't let it show. He just smiled at her and squeezed her hand before he left the room to figure out what the fuck he was supposed to cook for three children.
8:30 found Chibs at a picnic table outside the garage, nursing a cup of strong, black coffee. It wasn't particularly good coffee, but then again, he wasn't drinking it because it tasted good; he was drinking it in hopes that it would keep him awake. The dark haired doctor sitting across from him was staring at the contents of the mug with envy, and it was only then that he realized it was probably rude to drink coffee in front of a pregnant woman who was not allowed any.
"Sorry Doc," he said quickly moving the cup farther out of her direct line of sight. "Is the coffee bothering you? I could finish it in the office."
"No, you're fine," she quickly assured him with a small smile. "I just...really miss coffee."
He wasn't really sure how to respond to that, and no matter what she said, he still felt guilty drinking it in front of her. Part of him knew he should toss it, but the other part of him that realized he needed to be awake if he planned to ride out to Stockton protested. He compromised by swallowing the remaining coffee in one giant gulp.
"There, that's better then, yeah?" he asked, turning the cup upside down on the table in front of him out of habit. "Coffee isn't good for the wee one, is it?"
"Not really, no," she said with a sigh. "Something tells me that this baby will have a lot more to worry about in his life than a cup of damned coffee, but still, better not to chance it."
He laughed, knowing that she was very likely right. "So it's a boy, then?"
"I don't know, really," she told him with a shrug. "It's just a feeling I have, really."
He grinned, knowing firsthand just how correct those gut feelings could be. "I've been in those shoes. You know, years and years ago, when Fiona was pregnant, from the very first minute she told me, I knew it would be a girl. She thought boy from the very start, told me I was crazy, but I never had a doubt."
"I hope I get to meet them one day," Tara said quite suddenly. "Your family, I mean."
"You will," Chibs assured her. "Just don't tell FIona that I guessed right about the baby. I still don't think she had gotten over me getting it right when she was the one doing all the hard work. She doesn't really buy the idea that sometimes, Da's just know."
"Jax is the one who decided that this would be a boy," Tara admitted softly, looking down as one hand that covered her slightly rounded stomach. "I think I just agreed with him."
Chibs could see the sadness and nerves on her face as she talked about Jax. Her eyes were full of worry; worry that he would be mad at her for not visiting sooner, worry about what seeing him in prison would do to her, just worry about a thousand different things. He couldn't just do nothing, so he reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "Things will be fine today, Tara. Opie will be here soon and then we will head out and you will see for yourself. It will all be okay."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," she smiled at him, sniffing a bit before recovering and wiping her eyes. It was clear as day just how much she missed the VP.
He opened his mouth to say something else, but the sound of his cell phone cut him off. He let go of her hand to reach into his pocket, grinning when he saw the number.
"Hello, Love," he said when he flipped it open.
"Hey Da!" Kerrianne's voice came from an ocean away. "How're you?"
"Good, good Darlin. And you?" he asked, beyond thrilled. It was funny that something as small as a phone call could make him so damned happy.
"I'm doing fine. Just got done with school," she reported. "Which is why I am calling. We have midterm break coming up in two weeks. It is only a week and a half long, but Ma and I talked to the dean, and he is letting me take a few extra days. Do you think it'd be okay if we came to see you then?"
He was kind of floored by her question. Did she really have to ask? He couldn't deny the excitement that was blooming in his chest at the question. They had always talked about them coming to visit, and both girls had promised him they would, but now there was a definite plan and a date and it was really fucking soon, and the question just made him more thrilled than he cared to admit.
"Yes," he told her, immediately, not even giving her request a second thought. "Yes, you guys can come visit. You don't even have to ask, Darlin. I would love to have you here."
She let out what he only hoped was an excited squeal from the other end of the phone line. It was a matter of seconds before that squeal turned into a sigh. "Hang on, Da. Ma wants to talk to you. I love you though, and I'll talk to you soon. I can't wait to see you."
"Me too, Kerri," he said.
It was another moment before Fiona got on the line, "Filip."
"Fi," he replied with a smile on his face. It was amazing what the mere sound of her voice did to him. "I heard I have a couple of visitors heading my way?"
"You heard right," she told him, and he could hear the happiness in her voice. "Only two more weeks, Filip."
"I know," he agreed, not quite ready to believe he was that lucky.
"We're both very excited," she informed him. "I'll go online and buy tickets, as soon as Kerrianne stops bouncing off the walls."
He heard a muffled 'Hey!' in the background and laughed, "Do you need money for the tickets?"
"No Love," she insisted. "Jimmy's savings account will be paying for the tickets."
He smirked at that statement. "Very kind of him. Have I told you lately that I love you? So fucking much?"
"Yes," she reported. "But you can tell me again, anytime you want. I am thinking later tonight, after the wee one goes to bed."
He really liked where this conversation was heading. "Make it tomorrow morning?" he asked, calculating the time difference in his head. "We're about to ride out to visit the guys. I somehow don't think that prison would be the right setting for that phone call."
She laughed on the other end of the line. "If you insist. Be safe! I will be waiting for that call, Love."
"Okay Fi," he spoke quietly. "Have a good night. My love to Kerrianne, too."
As he hung up the phone, he turned to look at Tara, who was regarding him with mild curiosity. "Looks like you won't have to wait long to meet my girls," he told her, the wonder still not leaving his voice. "They're coming to see me. In two weeks."
For just a moment, Tara forgot her nerves and her worry as she grinned as Chibs. The pure joy on his face was contagious, and she really couldn't stop herself from sharing in it. The two sat there for a moment, grinning like idiots, which was exactly how Opie found them when he pulled in.
"Morning," Opie said as he dropped a kiss on the top of Tara's head. "You two about ready to go?"
"Aye," Chibs responded, standing up and stretching. "We're ready."
"Good," Opie nodded. "You seen Kozik this morning?"
"Not at all," Chibs informed him. "He wasn't around yesterday either."
"Damn," Opie cursed. "I had hoped he would ride out with us. I would feel better riding with at least one more."
"I don't think that's likely to happen, brother," Chibs shook his head. "We can take the van. Easier and safer that was."
"Yeah, okay," Opie agreed, knowing that there really wasn't much of a choice. "I am gonna go check in with Tess and then we'll head out."
Opie found the office door part way open when he arrived. Tess was seated behind the desk, typing as usual, but her eyes looked about a million miles away as she greeted him with a stiff, "Good morning."
"So Chibs and I are headed out today," he told her. "We'll be at Stockton for most of the day, so if you can't get us by cell, you know why."
"That's fine. Today is a light day and I don't anticipate any problems," she reported.
"Alright, don't forget dinner at Gemma's tonight" he told her as he grabbed the van keys off the hook.. He noticed the look on her face and cut her off before she had ever gotten started. "And yes, you absolutely have to come, or you will never hear the end of it. It's a requirement."
Tess deflated almost immediately and nodded, "Okay, yeah. I'll be there."
"Good," he declared as he turned to leave, but suddenly thought better of it. "Hey, have you seen or heard from Kozik in the past couple of days?"
Her eyes widened and her jaw fell opened as she sputtered out an answer. "I...well...what...I mean, no. No I haven't seen him. Why would I have seen him?"
Opie raised an eyebrow in her direction, intrigued by her answer, but he just shrugged. "It seemed like you two were pretty tight, I just thought you would have heard something."
"Well, I haven't," she insisted quickly.
"Alright then," he told her, still not sure what to make of her weird answer. "Give him a call, would you? Remind him that he still fucking works here and tell him that he had better show up at Gemma's tonight."
Tess nodded meekly, and Opie left the office to collect Chibs and Tara, having no clue about the panic he had just cited in the office.