Hi guys! So sorry for the delay in this chapter. Back to school time has begun in my neck of the woods, which makes me one tired, stressed out teacher! Updates might be a bit more infrequent for the next few months, as I get back into the swing of school, but will DEFINITELY continue this story, so you may want to throw it on alert.
I wants to give a HUGE thank you to my reviewer friends, for taking the time to review the last chapter. Also, a major thank you to Anna, who messaged me and demanded that the wee baby get a name soon. Hopefully, this chapter will satisfy that particular need. And one last huge thank you to AmbrosiaRush, who actually picked the baby's name for me, because I couldn't.
Please enjoy this chapter! Take a moment to review if you don't mind! I love getting them.
Kozik thought that it was way too fucking early to be out of bed, headed to Teller-Morrow. He glanced in his mirror at Tess, who was following him in her car, and smirked when he saw her dancing around in the front seat as she sang at the top of her lungs. They had been at the shop waiting the birth of the baby far, far too late last night, and had been woken with a frantic phone call from Chibs far, far too early this morning. He had no idea how Tess managed to have enough energy to be dancing and singing.
He yawned widely, and through his fog of sleepiness, managed to notice the light change color. The bike beneath him roared to life as he took off down the road, reminding himself to keep his eyes open for a young Irish woman, who looked like she may have possibly just given birth. He had no idea what was going on or why the hell the girl had taken off, but he sure as hell knew that they needed to find her, which was why he was out of bed and on his way to the Clubhouse at six in the morning.
Teller-Morrow came into his sights before the sun was all the way up. Kozik eased his bike into the lot and parked, not surprised to see Chibs, Opie, and Piney's bikes already in place. One glance over to where Tess was parking her car told him that Fiona, Tara, Lila, and Unser were all here as well. Kozik wondered where Gemma was, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he opened the door for Tess and waited for her to get out of the car.
"What do you suppose is going on in there?" she asked, as she grabbed her bag from the seat and situated it on her shoulder. "Seems like a lot of people are here."
"Almost a full house," Kozik agreed. "I am sure that they've called in the calvary. Chibs sounded really worried. We have to find this girl."
Tess stopped as they approached the the door. "Listen, Koz. Before we go in there, well, just tell me. What do you need me to do?"
"You?" he paused and looked back at her, aarmed. "Nothing. We will find her. You don't need to worry, Tess. That's not why I brought you, to make you help, you know? I just didn't want to leave you alone."
Tess rolled her eye, a tiny smile playing across her face. "I know you didn't bring me to make me help. As if you could make me do anything," she chuckled. "But here's the thing. Not long ago, I was in a very bad place, and you and your band of biker buddies came and rescued me. You saved my life. I'm not just the shop girl anymore. I actually, well, I kind of think...you guys are sort of my family. More than my own family, even. If my family is in trouble, I want to help. I mean, if you don't feel the same way, you can just ignore everything I just said…"
Kozik managed to crack a smile. This woman was amazing in every sense of the word. He reached over and took her hand. "Of course you're family. You're kind of stuck with us. I am not sure what you can do to help, but let's get in there and figure it out, okay?"
Tess squeezed his hand, but didn't let go. "I'm following you, boss."
"I like it when you call me 'boss'," was all Kozik could get out before Tess smacked him.
Two hours later, Tess sat French braiding Ellie's hair, while Fiona held the baby and paced around the room. Everybody else had left to scour the town in search of the young runaway. The guys had all taken their bikes, and Lila and Tara were driving around together. Unser had agreed to go snoop around the Sheriff's office and see if they knew anything. That left Tess and Fiona with the baby, Kerrianne, and all three of Opie and Lila's kids. Fiona was more than a little stressed out, but Tess loved it. Hanging out with the kids was much better than being out in the garage, dealing with the general public.
"Alright El," Tess announced, as she twisted a small hair tie around the girl's braid. "You're all set."
"You're finish? Already?" the girl asked, her fingers raising to softly trail over the braid. "Wow."
Tess grinned and handed the girl a small mirror. "Check it out for yourself!"
Ellie looked delighted, which made Tess giddy. Ellie turned to look at her. "Will you teach me?"
Tess laughed. She was definitely not the best of teachers, but she nodded her head. "Just as soon as you convince your brother or Piper to let us practice on them."
Ellie laughed, and ran off to join the two boys, who were being schooled in pool by Kerrianne.
"You're good at that," Fiona spoke up from nearby. "The hair thing. I have always been hopeless."
"Really?" Tess asked, surprised. "I thought that everybody with daughters could French braid hair!"
"I don't have the coordination for it," Fiona shrugged. "And her hair is a mess of curls. When she was little, before he had to leave us, Filip would braid it for her, sometimes. He had sisters growing up, and I didn't. He knew how to braid, and Kerrianne always loved it. If you ever tell anybody that, you'll likely regret it."
Tess could actually picture Chibs delicately braiding little Kerrianne's hair, and thought it was ridiculously sweet. "The secret's safe with me."
"I am glad that this one is a boy," Fiona admitted. "I somehow doubt I could convince Filip to braid another little girl's hair, not with all of SAMCRO around."
"You're probably right," Tess acknowledged. "I am so glad that the baby is staying here, with you guys."
"Me too," Fiona murmured, glancing down at the baby and holding him a bit tighter. "If this brainless girl running away doesn't change all of that."
Tess bit her lip, trying to decide how to word her next question, before finally deciding to just spit it out. "Fiona? Why is it so important to find this girl? I don't mean to sound like a heartless bitch, but she did what she came here to do; have the baby and hand him over. What is the big deal about her going off on her own? Everybody is trying so hard to find her, but maybe she just doesn't want to be found."
Fiona narrowed her eyes and glanced at Tess shrewdly. "How much do you know about the Irish? More specifically, about what the boys here do for the Irish?"
Tess's eyebrows knit together. "Nothing, really. I mean, I have gathered that whatever the guys do, it probably isn't exactly legal. When I was hired, Gemma pretty much warned me off from sticking my nose where it doesn't belong or talking to people I shouldn't be talking to."
"Gemma," Fiona muttered and rolled her eyes. "She is very good at telling people what to do or not do, but providing no reason as to why they should listen to her."
"I didn't really argue with her, what they do isn't any of my business," Tess shrugged.
"You live with Kozik now, so you should make it your business," Fiona advised. "In case you haven't gathered, some of the things they do are dangerous, and yes, illegal. The Irish are a big part of that. The man who brought her yesterday is a dear friend, but he is also a shotcaller for the Irish. He left that girl here, in our care. If they know that we misplaced the girl….let's just say that it would throw a major wrench in the business that the Irish and the Sons have together."
"Woah...I guess I didn't think of it that way," Tess told the other woman. It was easy to see the worry on her face, and now Tess could understand why. "Do you think they will find her?"
Fiona managed a smile. "There's a good chance. It's not that big of a town."
Gemma pushed the cart towards the checkout of the grocery store, her eyes trained on Abel, who slept soundly in his carryer. She had been slightly upset yesterday to have been left out of the loop regarding what was happening with the Club, but it had given her a good deal of time to spend with her grandson, and she wouldn't complain about that one bit. Abel was absolutely perfect, the spitting image of his father, and Gemma would gladly take all the time she could get to spend with him. It lessened her feelings of loneliness and purposelessness that had been hanging over her head since the boys went inside.
When she arrived at the checkout lines, she casually chose the shortest one and joined the queue. She had been overtaken by the urge to cook tonight, so a big pot of spaghetti would soon be simmering on her stove. She was debating bringing some over to the Clubhouse and feeding those gathered there. She had gone to visit the prison, and Clay had urged her to make nice where the Irish were involved. Apparently, he had known that they were coming. What he hadn't known about was a girl giving birth in their Clubhouse, but he somehow didn't seem all that concerned over it.
Abel caught her attention with a yawn and the beginnings of a whine.
"Easy there, little man," Gemma soothed. "We'll be home soon."
"What do you mean you can't accept this card?" the girl in front of her asked the cashier, anger coloring her tone. "There is money in the account! And it's not as if I am buying luxury items. I need these."
The accent in her voice caused Gemma to look closely at her. She was young, maybe twenty, and most definitely Irish. Her clothes were rumpled and ill fitting, and she carried a backpack. Glancing at the conveyor belt, she could see that the girl was trying to be ultra, mega, super sanitary pads, and if she "needed" them, then she was likely bleeding heavily, as if she had perhaps just given birth. Gemma couldn't help but wonder whether or not the guys knew that this Irish girl was loose in Charming.
"I've got it," Gemma didn't hesitate to speak up. "Put it in my tab. Like she says, they aren't luxury items. A girl needs what she needs."
The girl turned her surprised eyes to Gemma. "Thank you."
"No problem, honey," Gemma replied with a smile. "You can pay me back by helping me carry the groceries to the car. I've got my hands full with this little guy here."
The flash of pain across the girl's face when her eyes saw the baby made up Gemma's mind. This was most definitely the girl from the Clubhouse, and Gemma wondered where the hell her baby was. She knew about the Irish and their reputation for taking babies, and she wanted to know what the hell Opie and Chibs were doing.
The cashier finished ringing up her items, and Gemma handed over her card to pay. She saw he Irish girl pick up three of the bags, and Gemma herself picked up the remaining two. She pushed the cart out of the store, accompanied by the girl.
"I can't tell you how much I appreciate you helping me back there," the girl said, her eyes and tone downcast. "I don't know why my card didn't work."
"Well, this is a small town. They don't generally do well with foreign currency," Gemma informed the girl, who stopped in her tracks and stared at Gemma in awe. "Your voice. I take it you aren't from around here."
"No, not at all," the girl replied. She gave a hollow laugh. "I honestly have no idea what I am doing here."
Gemma raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe that, even for a minute. Tel me your name, sweetheart."
"I'm Maeve," the girl told her. "Maeve Roarke."
"Well, Maeve Roarke," Gemma said. "How the hell did you end up in Charming?"
"I was pregnant. I came here to give birth, and give my baby to the people who are going to raise him," the girl spilled her guts to Gemma. "His father's family. My boyfriend….he died months ago. The people I came with, they said that his uncle and aunt wanted to raise my baby, which was great, since I certainly didn't want to. Except we got here, and I had the baby, and they didn't want him! The uncle just said no, just like that."
Chibs. And Fiona. That had to have been who this girl was talking about. Gemma was suddenly getting a much, much clearer picture of what was going on. Judging from the girl's tired, rough appearance, Gemma guessed that she was on the run.
"So what? You just ran away?" Gemma probed.
"I didn't have much of a choice," the girl argued. "I can't take that baby; I can't raise him. If his uncle doesn't want him-"
"He wants him," Gemma told the girl, placing her groceries in the trunk, and grabbing the startled girl's backpack and tossing it in as well. "Come on. I'll give you a ride."
"Hey! That's my bag! And how would you know? Who are you?" the girl seemed panicked.
"I'm Gemma," she declared. "I've known Chibs for a very long time, and if there is one thing he cares about, it's family. You probably just caught him off guard. Running away isn't going to solve anything at all. Now, why don't you get in the car and I will take you back. I am guessing that they are worried about you. And if you are bleeding bad enough to need SuperLady Pads, then you probably need a doctor. What were you thinking, wandering the streets hours after giving birth?"
"I'm not going back!" the girl screeched. "I can't! I can't raise that baby!"
"Cam down," Gemma demanded in her most dangerous voice. "I know you are scared, but you don't have to be. Your baby is going to be taken care of. You didn't give Chibs enough time to change his mind, that's all. That baby will be so, so loved by everybody. You don't need to worry at all. What you do need to do is get in the car. I won't ask again."
The girl gulped nervously, but did as she was told. She had been walking for hours and hadn't managed to get out of this town yet. She was tired of walking, and this woman was right; she probably needed a doctor. At least the people back at that Clubhouse hadn't been as crazy scary as this lady was, so really, what did she have to lose?
A single text message from Gemma had all of the men back at the Clubhouse within minutes. The insanity that had broken lose when she returned with the girl would be remembered for ages. Maeve had yelled at Chibs about not wanted a baby, and he had tried desperately to calm her without losing his mind and yelling at her for being horribly irresponsible and running off in the middle of the night. Fiona paced back and forth behind him, while Tess held the tiny baby, who would not stop wailing.
It took nearly an hour for the girl to calm down and for Chibs to adequately explain that he had changed his mind and he wanted to keep the baby. Once the message had finally gotten through to the girl, she had begun sobbing and continuously thanking and hugging Chibs. Tara gently pried Maeve off of the very freaked out Scotsman and explained that it was likely postpartum hormones. She had taken the girl into the back to calm her down and examine her. Chibs was more than happy to NOT be asked for assistance this time around.
Now, several hours later, the scene was much more calm. Fiona, Chibs, and Kerrianne sat around Maeve's bed in the Clubhouse dorm, the sweet baby sound asleep in Fiona's arms. They had spent some time getting to know one another. Chibs told stories of when Paddy was little, which caused Maeve both great joy and intense sadness. Maeve told them about how she had met Paddy and fallen in love with him, against her better judgement. Maeve found that she liked these people, and she felt confident that these were the people who needed to raise her son.
"This wee boy is going to need a name," Fiona remarked as she gazed fondly at the baby in her arms. He slept soundly, wrapped in his blue blanket, the peaches and cream of his skin set against the shock of black hair atop his head.
"I suppose you're right," Chibs agreed, leaning back in his chair, his eye never leaving his wife. "Don't have half a clue what it'll be."
"We could name him after his Da," Fiona suggested, hesitantly. She knew that those particular wounds were still fresh for her husband, not to mention the girl sitting across from her. "It might be nice to have another Padraic Telford in the world."
She noted the way Filip tensed up, but Maeve let out a disbelieving laugh. "No, sorry. He's your kid and all, but just…no."
"Why not?" Fiona wondered, more out of curiosity than offense at her idea being shot down.
"Paddy hated his name," Maeve explained, as if recalling an old, somewhat painful memory. "He always said that Paddy was a kid's name, but really, I think he just hated it because when the schoolyard bullies teased him, they called him Paddy the Pussy."
"That doesn't even make sense," Kerrianne declared, eyebrows knit together in defense of her deceased cousin. "It doesn't even rhyme."
"Of course it doesn't make sense. Bullies never make sense," Maeve agreed.
They were all quiet for a moment, thinking up possible names to bestow on the new arrival. Kerrianne was the next to speak up with a suggestion.
"What were you going to call me if I was a boy?" Kerrianne wondered. Really, if was something she had always wondered, but it had never seemed like the right time to ask.
Chibs blew out a breath and shrugged. "I don't know."
"You don't know?" Kerrianne repeated in disbelief. What, had he just forgotten?
"Well," Chibs rushed to defend himself. "Boys are always named after family members, aren't they? I don't happen to have very many family members that I like. You probably would have been named after your grandfather. Andrew."
"That's your Da?" Kerrianne asked her Ma, who responded with a nod. "No. I don't like it. He doesn't seem like an Andrew."
In all actuality, she dreaded the idea of the baby being named Andrew, of her having ever had the chance to be named Andrew. She had very few, dim memories of her grandfather, but in them, he was always old and cranky and terrifying.
"So a family name," Fiona continued, managing to avoid chastising her daughter over insulting her own grandfather's name. She knew that the girl didn't mean it. "I'm afraid we're all out of luck. Not many family names left, at least none we could all agree on."
Chibs couldn't help but agree with his wife's assessment of the situation. Fiona was from a woefully small family, and naming the baby after one of his many dead siblings seemed slightly morbid to him. He turned to Maeve, figuring that she would appreciate having some say in the boy's name.
"What about you?" he asked. "Any names in your family that you're particularly fond of?"
"My family?" she startled, surprised to be asked her opinion.
"Aye," Chibs shrugged. "Whether you raise him or not, he's part of you. It might be nice."
"Oh," the girl replied, and her eyebrows knit together, as if she were thinking hard on it. Chibs desperately attempted to avoid Fiona's eye, for fear that she was giving him a look as if to say how sweet or considerate he was being. Luckily, the girl continued. "Well. There's my little brother. He is the only person in my family I can tolerate. He's the best guy I know. And he was named after my grandfather, who I adored. I wouldn't mind the baby being named after them."
"Well then?" Fiona questioned with a smile. "What is the name?"
"James," Maeve replied with a blush, not realizing that she hadn't said it. "We call my brother Jimmy. It's a nice name."
"NO," came the reply from all three members of the family, all at once. Maeve very nearly fell out of the bed at the sheer force of the answer.
Fiona was the first to recover. "No, dear. There is a bit of bad association with that particular name in our family."
"Oh, I get it. It was just an idea," Maave quickly replied.
They all fell into silence again, each of them with the sinking feeling that this was going nowhere. It was Kerrianne who proposed another idea, out of the blue.
"What about Roarke?" she said, out of nowhere, taking them all by surprise.
"Roarke?" Maeve repeatedly. "That's…my name."
"Exactly. It's a family name, technically speaking," Kerri explained. "So it honors tradition. Plus, it's a really badass name for a kid. Who's going to pick on a boy named Roarke? Nobody, that's who."
They considered it for a minute.
"We could call him Rory," Fiona murmured, seeming to like the idea of the name. She looked up at her husband. "Filip? What do you think?"
"Roarke Telford. Rory," he tested the name out on his tongue. Looking around, he knew from the looks on his wife and daughter's faces that it would do him no good to dislike the name. "Yeah. I like it."
"Me too," Maeve added as she wiped the edge of her eyes, so as not to reveal how touched she was by the gesture. Desperate to get the attention off of herself, and knowing that it would likely cause another rousing, heated conversation, she asked, "So what's his middle name?"