Good morning! Last chapter before the epilogue! I still don't have any other stories finished. Maybe I would if I would stop starting new stories. Some are already 40 chapters and I still haven't finished any. There are 9 now. Eventually, you'll get to read them. I hope. lol

Chapter Seventy Eight

Sophia's heart pounded hard in her chest and she had to wipe the palms of her hands on her jeans several times. Her hands were shaking but she had to do this. Buck and the others had shattered protocol for her and now it was her turn to do her part. She just hoped that she could do it without breaking down. This was a very delicate situation. She climbed off the back of the bike just as Piper and Eli pulled up next to them in Piper's car.

"You don't have to do this. Daryl, Merle, Buck, fuck even I can do it. You don't have to," Damon said, grabbing her hand as he stood up.

She smiled and let him pull her closer. She took comfort in his embrace but she was a big girl and this was something she needed to do. "You all have done enough. I need to do this."

He shook his head and tucked her hair behind her ears before he kissed her quickly. She heard Piper rev the engine behind her and she glanced over her shoulder, flashing the other girl a smile. "Let's get this shit over with, Square. What's the hold up?" Piper asked, hanging halfway out the window.

Sophia sighed, squeezed Damon's hand and then dropped it. She took her time as she climbed the steps to the police station. It had been three weeks since the night she had been taken. It had been messy and complicated, but Shane had done everything he could to keep the club from going down for what happened that night. The men that had taken her hadn't walked away. All of them were dead and so was the man that had... bought her. There was only one witness that could point his finger at Daryl and the others.

One person had walked away from the massacre that night that wasn't a part of her family. Tyler had been arrested and charged with accessory to kidnapping and accessory to human trafficking. Sophia had been afraid they would kill him too but she had pleaded with Buck and surprisingly, he had simply nodded.

She stepped into the police station and took a deep breath to steady herself. She had no idea what his reaction was going to be when he saw her.

"You ready for this?" Shane asked as he approached her.

She smiled and nodded. "Not really," she said.

He stopped in front of her and offered her a reassuring smile. "He's a quiet kid. He seems a little..." Shane rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head.

"Lost?" Sophia offered.

Shane nodded. "You can tell that he ain't one of the bad guys. We've kept him here so we could keep a closer eye on him though."

She frowned. "I thought you just said that he wasn't one of the bad guys?"

He led her through a set of doors that slammed behind them. "He isn't. But we weren't too sure if he was a risk."

"Risk?"

Shane nodded. "Suicide risk."

She stopped, her throat feeling thick. This shouldn't have came as a surprise to her. He lost his father when he had been too young to know him. Lost his mother shortly after. He was dragged around by a brother that was no good and full of hate and now he was dead too. She was afraid of how he would feel when he saw her. It was her family that had taken the last of his away, and sometimes people overlooked the reasons why. He knew what his brother had done was wrong but he was still Tyler's brother. His only family.

Then again, he had never implicated Buck or Daryl or any other club members. He had never tried to sing to the DA for a lighter sentence. He never even mentioned them to his attorney. She knew that because his attorney was on Buck's payroll.

Andrea met her in the hall and offered her a small smile. "How's your brother?"

Despite her inner turmoil she couldn't help but grin. "He's amazing."

Andrea nodded and then gestured towards the door she had just exited. "He doesn't know you're here. I don't think he understands that he will be a free man tomorrow. He just seems indifferent. If you'd like I can go in with you and-"

Sophia shook her head. "I'd like to speak with him alone. Maybe he'll actually listen if it's just me in there."

Andrea shook her head. "I don't know how on earth you talked Buck into this. After what that boy's family put yours through, I'm impressed Buck didn't kill him out of spite."

Sophia flinched but she understood. "He really isn't like the others. If I thought for a second that he was a threat I would never have asked Buck to do any of this. Or you for that matter."

Andrea sighed and then hugged her quickly. "You're something else, you know that?"

Sophia hugged her back. "So are you. Thank you for helping him."

Andrea scoffed. "Oh, honey. I got paid for that. I don't do favors."

"I'll be sure to ask Merle that when I get home tonight." Sophia grinned.

Andrea gave her a loaded look and elbowed Shane on her way past after he let out a low chuckle.

Without further delay, Shane opened the door and motioned for her to come in. "There's guards right in the other room, watching from a two way. It's procedure."

"Thanks, Shane," Sophia muttered as she stepped past him.

He shut the door behind her and Tyler looked up. His pale blue eyes widened when he saw her and he ran a hand through his blond hair before sitting up straighter. "What are you doing here?" He asked. He didn't sound angry or accusing. He just sounded curious. And under the curiosity he sounded extremely sad.

"I was wondering if we could talk?" She hated how quiet her voice was.

He snorted. "I don't guess I'm going anywhere. Not until tomorrow anyway."

She took the chair across from him. Andrea had gotten the worst of the charges dropped since he was so young and didn't have a criminal record, and Shane and Martinez both backed him, admitting that just because he was there didn't mean he was involved in the worst of it. Sophia had signed a document stating that he had tried to get her out and that had been that.

"What do you want, Sophia?" He asked when she hadn't thought of a word to say.

"I wanted to see how you were. And I wanted to talk to you about something," she said cautiously.

"I can't believe you'd wanna talk to me at all," he muttered.

She shrugged. "I thought the same thing about you."

He looked up, meeting her eyes. "Wasn't any of that shit that happened your fault. I know that." He laughed bitterly, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair. "You know, I thought about what you said that night. You asked me why I hadn't gotten away from it all before. I don't even remember my answer, really. But I started asking myself the same thing. My brother was doomed from the start, man. But I wasn't. I was stupid and it got me here."

"You get to leave tomorrow," she said softly, hating that he looked so desolate.

He nodded and offered her a smile. "Yeah. I get to leave tomorrow. Bright side, right?"

She looked away, knowing what he was thinking. Buck had told her everything. He didn't have any family left. He didn't have a home to go to either. He didn't have a job and his bike had gotten trashed during that explosion. He had no money. No club. No friends. He had nothing. He was better off in jail than he would have been out there. She took a deep steadying breath before she said anything. "I know what you said that night, about how you knew that your father did what the Dixons said he did. I know that you said that your brother was wrong for trying to get back at them for it. But I need to know, do you hate my family for everything that's happened?"

He tucked his hair behind his ears and drummed his fingers on the table, his eyes never leaving hers. It took him a while but he finally let go of a heavy breath and then shook his head. "I want to. I think I should. I guess I just ain't like other people. I ain't got a whole lot a hate in me, you know? I wish I did cause it'd make things easier. I think about the things my dad did. I think about the things my brother did. I think about my mom. But it wasn't the Dixons that did any of that. My mom killed herself because she couldn't stand the truth and, just like me, there wasn't any other way out. I still don't have a way out. Everything they've done is probably gonna follow me around for the rest of my life. I know the Dixons hate me for the shit that's happened, but-"

She reached out then and gripped his hand. "I'm a Dixon and I don't hate you. None of us hate you."

He looked down at their hands and then back up, meeting her eyes. "If Damon Dixon busts in here and kicks my ass for this, I'm gonna be pissed."

She snorted and moved her hand. "Don't flatter yourself." She was happy to see that the corner of his mouth turned up.

"Thanks, Sophia. For comin' here. Letting me know that there's no hard feelings. At least where you're concerned. I wasn't too sure." He looked back down at the table, "It means a lot."

She nodded. "So, what now? What are you going to do?"

He shrugged, eyes lingering on the table. "No idea yet. I heard about my bike. I guess the first thing I need to do is try to salvage it. Once I get it runnin' then maybe I can do a few things. Petty robberies until I have enough to get the hell out of this town."

She waited for him to tell her that he was joking but he obviously wasn't. "There is another option..." Her voice trailed off.

He waited her out.

"I spent a lot of time talking about you with Buck and the others. It took a while to get them to come around but they finally did. You say that you don't hate them for what happened to your family. Well, they don't hate you for what happened to theirs. Those things were out of your control and they know that."

"Where the hell are you goin' with this?" He asked curiously.

She cleared her throat. "We know that you have nothing. No home or car or money or job. You weren't a member of that other club. Not really. Buck... Buck said that if you know your way around an engine then, if you wanted, you could come to work for him at the shop."

His brows pulled together in a frown and he shook his head. "Is this some sort of joke?"

She shook her head. "It's favor to me. There's a house, just a little bungalow, that you can stay in until you get on your feet. It's close to us so Daryl could pick you up in the mornings until you got your bike back."

He shook his head again, "Why the fuck would they-"

"Because you aren't a bad person. You're in a spot and no matter what you've heard your whole life, my family... they're good men. Men that wouldn't mind giving you a break for me because you're a good man too."

He ran a hand over his face and then leaned over the table. "And how do you know that I'm not a bad man? How do you know I won't do something to hurt them?"

She held his gaze. "Because you would be dead before you could even try."

He raised back up. "You're serious about this? A job?"

She nodded. "Maybe you can finally put back a little cash and get out of here. You can have a new life."

They both looked up when the door opened and Shane stuck his head in. "Time to wrap it up, Sophia."

She nodded and Shane shut the door. Her eyes met Tyler's again, pleading. "So, what do you say?" She stood up when he did.

He shrugged but when she met his eyes there was life there. There was hope there. She smiled despite herself. He smiled back. "Are you sure they're sure?"

She nodded. "Didn't you wonder how you got an attorney as bad ass as Andrea?"

He frowned. "I guess I never really thought about it."

"She was a peace offering. Buck set it up."

"And I'll have my own place, huh?" He asked, still looking like he wasn't really able to believe what was happening.

She nodded. "You just have to buy your own food after you get your first paycheck. Everything else is free. So, can I tell them that you're in?"

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously but finally he nodded. "I don't see any other options. Yeah. I'm in."

She grinned, so relieved that things had worked out this way. Before she thought about what she was doing she hugged him. She pulled back quickly, not wanting to give him the wrong idea but he didn't look like he did. He actually smiled. The first real one she had ever seen on his face.

She glanced at the door. "So, Damon and I will pick you up tomorrow and then you can talk to Buck."

He made a face. "Damon?"

She rolled her eyes and walked towards the door. "You know, the two of you are going to have to end up getting along. He's my boyfriend. You're my friend. You're kind of stuck with each other."

He sighed but finally offered her a nod. "You're right."

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said as Shane opened the door for her.

"Hey!" He called before the door could close all the way.

She caught it and stuck her head back in.

"Tell Buck thanks, okay."

She nodded. "You can tell him yourself tomorrow night."

When she made her way towards the bike Damon watched her closely. Piper slid out of the window of her car, apparently on some Dukes of Hazard kick.

"He go for it?" Damon asked.

She nodded. "Really he didn't have a choice but he seems... excited. He had to have been worried about what he was going to do once he got out."

Damon eyed her. "Was he a dick to you at first?"

Sophia rolled her eyes. "No, actually. He was worried that I would hate him for what happened."

Piper leaned against her car. "It's gonna be weird havin' another newbie hangin' around."

Sophia laughed. "I'm losing my newbie status, huh? It's about time."

Damon sighed. "Well, lets get our asses back home. I'm starvin'."

"Which home?" Piper asked.

"Mine," Sophia said quickly. "That's where everyone is waiting."

As they pulled out of the parking lot Sophia grinned into Damon's back. Everything seemed to be working out for the best for everyone. Things could have gone so wrong in so many different ways but it had all worked out for the best.

I know that some of you really hated Tyler but to me he was just a lost kid. One that never really had a chance. Kind of like, as many of you mentioned, Daryl was in the show when he talked about Merle dragging him around. He could have done more to help. He should have done more to help. But in the end, he was powerless to do anything at all. Now we're down to one more chapter! I'm sad! Thank you guys so so so much for taking the time to read this story! =)