DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sons of Anarchy or any of its characters or ideas, sadly they belong to the brilliant mind of Kurt Sutter, but I wouldn't mind sharing ;)
I only own my original character Rayne and anything that seems out of place. Reviews are appreciated, but I will warn you that I don't take kindly to being attacked, I will be a bitch. Thank you for taking the time to read my story and I hope you like it.
4 years ago - Tacoma, Washington.
The SAMCRO motorcycle club arrived outside of the local funeral home. As they looked around they found both sides of the street lined with black Harley's, nearly 100 of them. The crew backed their bikes into an empty spot across the street from the home and dismounted. SOA cuts from every neighboring charter surrounded them; Washington, California, Nevada, Arizona and Oregon.
The group lead by President Clay Morrow made their way up the drive, everyone stepping back and clearing the way for the Mother Charter as they headed through the front doors of the building. Stepping inside the entrance to the main room the group paused, before them on two pedestals at the front of the room sat two shiny black coffins. Each of the coffins sported a white reaper on the top as well as the Sons Of Anarchy name down the sides.
To the left and right of the coffins sat two pictures, each one respectably of the man lying in the coffin beside it. On the left Wally Grazer, founding SOA First 9 member and former President of the Tacoma, Washington Chapter. On the right Niklaus Grazer, SGT at Arms of the Tacoma, Washington Chapter and Wally's son.
As they moved further into the room to pay their respects to their fallen friends, Clay found the woman they had came here for. Still a knockout at 5'4", although she was considerably taller in her 4" heeled black knee high boots. Her long dark brown hair fell in layers down her back where it brushed the top of her pants. From where he was he could see the redness surrounding her normally bright and vibrant Cerulean blue eyes, that now seemed dull and lifeless. Clay and the boys had always thought she would become a model, with her girl-next-door beauty, long legs that were now encased in tight black jeans, her ample and natural 34D breasts that peeked up out of her low-cut black long sleeved shirt that also clung to her toned arms and tight torso. Yeah, she definitely could've been a model, but bikes and the club had always been her life.
This was proven not only by the Beretta handgun that sat on her right side and the black handled hunting knife on her left side, but the SOA cut that adorned her upper half. Yes, this beautiful young woman is a member of the Sons Of Anarchy.
Rayne Grazer, daughter of Wally, twin sister of Niklaus and Vice President of the Tacoma, Washington Chapter of SOA. The only female to ever be accepted as a full patch member of the Sons.
Contrary to outsiders opinion Rayne had not simply been handed the cut. It had made no difference that she was the daughter of a 9. She did a lot of questionable and undesirable things to even be considered worthy of the cut and the name, but after two years Rayne had earned her spot. Clay and the others of SAMCRO had been in on the vote to bring her in, as well as the other charters. It was a long and drawn out process, but in the end the vote from every charter had been unanimous.
Since she was the first and only woman to patch in, the clubs had made two special patches for her cut. 'Princess' and 'First Lady' had been sewn on the left side and when she had earned it, 'V. President' was sewn on the right.
Rayne turned to her left to find Clay approaching her from the doorway, a smile spread on her face as she moved forward into his embrace. "Thank you so much for coming."
"We wouldn't miss it, Ray." Clay said hugging the girl tight before pulling back so the others could see her.
Rayne's smile widened at the person behind Clay. "Jax."
"Hey Ray." Jax gave her a sad smile as he took her hand and pulled her into his arms.
Rayne spent the next few minutes saying hello to the others and meeting the new members, including the new Prospect Juice, who was so taken with the young woman he couldn't put two words together.
After paying their respects, the members of SAMCRO took their positions alongside the Tacoma members and together they carried the two coffins to the hearses waiting out front.
"We'll follow your lead, Rayne." Clay said laying a hand on the woman's shoulder.
Rayne nodded walking over to her bike, a custom 2003 Dyna Bob she had built herself. It featured matte black denim paint, black rims that feature a forward slashing scythe design that radiates from the compact center hub. Honed to a razor's edge, the 5 curved blade spokes blend with the rim. Power comes from a Twin Cam 103 engine block with chrome accents, gloss black front end triple clamps, textured black console, blacked out powertrain with textured covers, black bobber-style round air cover, custom drag bars, a chrome, staggered, shorty exhaust with dual tapered mufflers and a small black leather single-sided swing-arm bag on the left side.
The custom paint job was airbrushed by Rayne, it featured "Princess" in hot pink letters above a pearl white reaper surrounded in smoke and "First Lady" below it on both sides of the tank.
Rayne picked up her black turtle shell helmet and strapped it onto her head. She swung a long leg over the bike, settling herself on the seat. The Twin Cam gave a nice low rumble as she fired it up and pulled out onto the street followed by the SAMCRO crew. The hearses followed behind the group as the rest of the Tacoma charter fell into line behind them and the rest of the charters brought up the rear.
It was a short ride to the cemetery, but long enough for the gravity of the approaching moment to begin weighing Rayne down. By the time the funeral procession stopped at the grave site Rayne was lying forward on the tank of her bike, heavy sobs wracking her body as she let the toll of the moment finally catch her in its clutches. She had been so strong over the last two weeks; having to I.D. the bodies, making the arrangements, calling the charters to make the announcement, that she had yet to have her moment to grieve.
But now with her extended family surrounding her, seeing the grief on their faces and their emotions nearly choking her, Rayne's rock solid exterior and strong resolve came crashing to the ground. The ice princess had now shown this family, this club, something she had never shown them before… she was human.
Rayne felt fingers unstrapping her helmet and removing it, then two strong arms wrapped around her shoulders. She sat up immediately curling into the torso standing beside her, she knew by the smell that it was Jax. Her arms wound around his waist as he helped steady her as she stood up and dismounted her bike. With a quick glance up she saw that Tig had taken hold of her bike and was easing it onto the kickstand. She sent him a warm "thank you" smile, which he returned before she allowed Jax to lead her towards her family's final resting place.
If it hadn't been for Jax, Rayne didn't know how she would have made it to the graves, for with each step closer she took, the harder it became for her to continue forward. She pushed herself even though she knew Jax would lift her up and carry her in a second, and even though no one there would blame her, she was determined to hold herself together.
The coffins had already been set up over the graves as Rayne took her place at the front in between them. Looking out over the sea of black cuts literally took her breath away. She had been wondering on the ride over how she would address everyone without breaking down, but now standing there in front of them all with Jax and now Opie standing beside her gripping her hands, she felt a new strength enter her.
"Wow. You all have no idea how beautiful you look. My dad and brother loved this club, like the rest of us they lived and breathed SOA. Anyone who knew them, knew that they would have laid down their lives for anyone of us without any hesitation. My dad would kill me if he knew I said this, but he was a teddy bear at heart." She gave a small chuckle that was echoed by many of the members, they knew she was right.
"He treated everyone with respect, no matter their rank. My brother may have been SGT of Arms, but he wasn't all business. He loved to laugh, a lot of you have been on the receiving end of one of his infamous pranks I'm sure. Some more than others." She said smiling at Jax who smiled nodding his head in confirmation.
"I don't think I will ever be able to wrap my head around this, how they died. It seems surreal to me that two of the toughest men in my life were killed by a drunk driver. I find myself wishing that they had never been out there on the highway, helping a mother and two kids fix their car that had broken down. But then I remember that this was who they were. They never missed a chance to help someone in need, to do the right thing. The only consolation I have is that mom and her kids get to live another day because of the actions of my family."
At this point Rayne can feel herself breaking, tears are cascading down her cheeks, her throat is tightening as her emotions grip her.
"It's strange to be standing here without them by my side. You know, I always heard people with twins saying that when they lost their sibling, they felt like a half of them was missing. I now know what they were feeling. Niklaus was my other half, and my father was my guiding light. I'm not sure how I'm going to live my life without them here with me. But I will never forget them, or what they taught me. I will remember them everyday and I will live my life like I know they would want me to. I hope you all will do the same."
Her eyes drop to the two coffins sitting before her. "Dad, Niklaus. Everyone here came for you. I hope you're looking down on us today so you can see what you meant to this club. I hope now you are at peace and I promise, I will continue to make you proud. I love you and I miss you so much. Kiss momma for me." She took a deep breath looking to the sky. "Ride or die. No regrets."
"SAMCRO! Guns up!" Clay yelled as the crew pulled out their handguns, including Jax and Opie who still held Rayne's hands in theirs. "Fire!"
Rayne closed her eyes as the first shots rang out, sending a deep thumping through her chest she wasn't certain was the shots or her heartbeat.
"Fire!"
She clung to Jax and Opie's hands like a lifeline in a raging storm at sea. She knew she wouldn't have been able to get through this day without either of them here. They were her best friends and now the closest things to brother's that she had.
"Fire!"
A tiny smile graced her lips as SAMCRO gave her boys a 21 gun salute while the caskets were being lowered into the ground before her.
When the salute was over Rayne opened her eyes, with Jax and Opie's help she laid her father's and brother's cuts on the caskets. Then one by one she watched as each member stepped up to place a flower into the graves before placing a kiss on her cheek in honor and respect.
After everyone had paid their respects and left, leaving the SAMCRO crew behind with Rayne, Clay approached the young woman. "You did great, sweetheart. They'd be very proud of you." He said giving a glance down to the two marble headstones that now sat beside her mother's.
"Thank you, Clay, for everything. I couldn't have survived this day without all of you here."
"Hey, you're family. You're like a daughter to me and Gemma." The elder woman gave a smile and a nod confirming what her husband was saying. "Anytime you need us, or you wanna get away, all you gotta do is call."
Rayne nodded before giving them each a hug, when she pulled back she knew by the look on his face what Clay was going to ask her.
"Are you gonna take the gavel? Be our first woman pres?"
She smiled. "No. I'm gonna go to school. My dad always wanted me to get a degree, be the first in our family to go to college instead of the military." She laughed. "I talked it over with the club and I'm gonna step down. I'll still be a member just not in any official capacity while I'm at school. When I get out, I guess I'll figure things out from there."
Clay nodded. "Well, when you get done with school, we were all thinking maybe you should come to Charming for a visit."
"That sounds like a plan."
Clay brought her in for another hug while he whispered in her ear. "If it's too hard for you to come back here after school, SAMCRO would be happy to have you as a member."
Rayne was taken aback by Clay's admission, she had never thought about being in any other charter, let alone the Mother Charter, that was an incredible honor in itself to be a part of SAMCRO. As Clay pulled back Rayne had no words, she simply nodded. She turned back, crossing her arms over her chest hugging herself she stared at the three marble headstones. A sudden, gripping sensation overtook her body, crippling her in a second and dropping her to her knees.
Immediately Jax and Opie were at her sides, she glanced at them both, her Cerulean eyes wide with fear. "I'm alone." She whispered. "My family's gone. I have no one."
"Wrong." Jax said taking her face in his hands bringing her eyes up to meet his. "You have us. Me and Ope. You have everyone in SAMCRO. We're your family, Rayne. We will always be here for you. You are never alone."
That was the truth. And it was proven to her in the days and years following.
After the funeral, Happy and Kozik helped Rayne pack up her things and move what she wouldn't be needing into storage. Rayne gave the keys of her family's house to Happy, he and the crew would be staying there while she was away, taking care of the place.
After loading her bike and essentials into her 30 foot enclosed trailer she bid goodbye to the club and headed for Florida where her school was located in Orlando.
It was rough going for Rayne those four years, being away from her home, her crew. But remembering the promise she had made to her family caused her to keep pushing. Plus, letters from the crew and weekly phone calls from Jax, Opie and Happy had kept her going as well.
Four years later, Rayne was again loading her belongings into her trailer and setting out on the long drive home. Only now, her destination was not Tacoma, but rather the place she had been born and grown up in. She hadn't been there in many years but her hands guided her truck down the roads as if by memory. As she passed the town's welcome sign a smile graced her face.
"Look out Charming. The Princess has returned."