The only maker that you'd want to meet

Brian thought wrong. There was nothing he or his sisters could try that Fiona and Filip wouldn’t catch on to. Anything they were attempting to get away with, one of them had ultimately tried. It was like Mackenzie and her girlfriend. Did she really think the two of them didn’t know? (Yes, yes she did).

“Aye. That we can do.” As she wasn’t completely a monster. “Why don’t we head home and your Da and I can make you two a proper fry up.” Good for curing hangovers and/or just for Sunday brunch. A bit of that in Brian and he’d be sure to remember every word of what she was about to tell him. Never again would her son be disrespecting the sanctity of Mass. Of that she was sure. “I’d invite your sister but well…if she’s too busy for mass, she’s clearly too busy t’ eat.”

Of course she wasn’t a monster--she was just his mother, Fiona Larkin. Brian knew his mother’s ways, and he knew he was in for it. “I’m not going to turn down home cooking,” he confessed, knowing damn well he wasn’t the best cook out there, himself. Nothing beat his ma’s cooking, though. 

“First time on a motorcycle--let me guess, it was both terrifying and thrilling.” Tommy gave her a smile as he walked through his apartment, grabbing a bottle of water on the way and offering her one. When she’d said she’d never been on a motorcycle, he’d jumped at the opportunity to offer, mostly because Tommy was about new experiences. 

“You lost the bet--now pay up. You know the rules.” It was simple enough, right? Never bet against Hayden in something like who’d come out of the bar fight worse, because she rarely lost one of those. Sports? That was a different story. “I told you the redhead was going to get his ass beat.” 

“Not necessarily. All you need is the right lawyer.” Or the right judge. SAMCRO was sure to have one or two in their pockets. And she knew they had excellent lawyers. How else did they get out of as many charges as they did. “One willing to lay out all the reasons that you are better for them than she is.” And not just Opie, but Charming. The extended family they had within the club. Here they had a support system. With Donna? Not so much.

“The club has several. Let me talk to Clay…” It wasn’t something she offered lightly – her relationship with her stepfather as strained as it was. But for Opie? For Opie she’d do anything. 

“We’ll find a way for you to keep your kids. I promise.”

“Clay doesn’t trust me,” he reminded her. And it was the truth--Clay was suspect that Opie wasn’t all in since he’d gotten out of lockup, which was far from the truth. He was pulling back towards the club, while his wife was pulling him away.

“Look, it’s all a disaster, either way. You know she came to see me twice the entire time I was down?” Twice. Two entire times. And the last time she’d came was to tell him if he didn’t leave SAMCRO, she was gone. Hell, he’d missed five years of his small kids’ lives, and Opie didn’t want to miss any more if he could help it.

Looking up from her computer, Skye closed the lid as she flashed Gunner a smile. “This is a nice surprise; I thought you had to work late tonight?” Either at the garage or dealing with club business – she didn’t ask, not sure they were in a place where she was allowed to know. She figured that came once the whole ‘Old Lady’ thing was made official. Something she was hoping for, but knew better than to expect.

Often expecting things from guys was what led to disappointment. Like expecting one’s father to be there for them. That’s what they say, right? That the only man a girl can depend on is her daddy? Only her dad had been a loser and a drunk and instead it had been her brother that had raised her.

“Sit. Sit. Save me from my research.”

Putting the bag of burgers and fries down, he gave her a smile. “I finished up what I had to do.” Luckily, it had been a pretty quick job, quicker than they thought. And Gunner was trying to stack as much cash as he could, to get them out of his parents’ basement, to take care of the kid they had on the way. 

“I’d say so.” Kat would make him switch to decaf, but let’s be real…no one else was going to drink it and decaf was basically just dirty water. No one deserved dirty water.

Hearing him talk about Tommy, she motioned for him to take a seat, grabbing them each a bottle of water from the fridge. “Everyone in the club owes someone. Possibly more than one person. It’s part of the brotherhood. Without your dad, you uncle wouldn’t be here today. And without your uncle, your dad wouldn’t have made it as long as he did. You can be grateful to Tommy and still give him hell. Look at your Grandpa Filip and Uncle Tig. Look at Happy and the others. Your brother is a prospect. He knows what that means. And he’s not going to hold any of that against you.”

If she tried to switch him to decaf? Well, that would go over amazingly, in that his Teller anger would come out. Because decaf coffee wasn’t coffee. Moving, Abel took a seat, lowering himself a bit carefully, still weak, tired from his stay in the hospital. 

Listening, Kat fought back her first instinct. The one that was to say “good; let her.” Because while that was what would make her happy – to not have to deal with Donna ever again; there was no saying that was what would make Opie happy. But given the look on his face? The depression she had seen seeping in slowly ever since his release? She’d say he was just about ready to let go too.

“God, she’s such a see-you-next-tuesday…the fuck is her problem? It’s not like she didn’t know what she was marrying into. You deserve better than her, Ope. You deserve someone who’s gonna be a proper Old Lady. Who’s going to support you. Stand by you and the club.” Someone like her.

Provided she hadn’t fucked that up. Yeah…her and Ope had…been together a few times. But always with the promise that that time would be the last. Never with the thought it would be permanent. Or that he would leave his wife.

But then, back then, he hadn’t looked like this. Hadn’t been so miserable. Maybe now…maybe now things could be different.

“I say let her go. Fuck her ultimatum.”

Let her go? Let her go. If it were only that easy. “You think that just letting her go is just that? You realize that any court is going to give her full custody of my kids, and that I’ll never see them again?” Because that was the major factor in this. Donna had her suspicions about Kat and Opie anyway, and if she brought the idea of adultery to the court, too, then he was fucked five ways to Sunday. 

Ashing the cigarette, he met her gaze, hazel eyes focused on her face. “She knew what she was getting, but I don’t think she realized what all that shit involved. I’m not leaving SAMCRO. But I can’t leave my kids.”