Stress Relief

[mavrick]

Name of Thread: Stress Relief
Characters Involved in Thread: Kate Cliff, Jax Teller
IC Month Thread Occured: June 2007
Brief Description of Thread: Kate gets stressed out and wanders outside to unwind. Jax joins her and reminds her that she needs to stay put, something always hard for Kate to swallow.

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Why is it that Kate’s good times were being ruined lately? First her night out with Bailey had been rudely interrupted by Cyrus, and now some red headed… thing, had pissed Kate off to the point where she had to leave the clubhouse, or beat the obnoxious bitch’s head in. She didn’t like getting into fights, she got cranky as hell, but you didn’t usually have to worry about her flying off the handle and swinging her arms around… unless she was really drunk, and she wasn’t. She’d stormed outside for some air, and some peace and quiet. She’d slumped against the wall of an adjacent building and sat down, her legs pulled up at the knee. She lit a cigarette she’d stolen off of Bobby. She didn’t smoke often, usually when she was really angry or stressed out, the beer between her legs was her usual method of stress relief.

With her cigarette half finished, Kate leant her head back to stare up at the night sky. She liked looking at the night sky, counting stars, trying to find constellations. Usually out in the Hills, it was darker outside and things could be seen easier. But the lights from Teller-Morrow, and the rest of the town dimmed things down just that little bit. Her smoke hung limply from her lips, the tip glowing dimly in the night. She’d take the occasional drag, bringing the tip back to life for a moment before returning to its previous state. She could feel the tension and anger she had been feeling before start to ease, though she still had a mind to go medieval on that stupid woman, just to put a point across.

She sighed, at least Cyrus had gone home and left her alone, she could imagine him hovering over her right there, looking at her with one of those ‘behave yourself’ looks. Honestly, she loathed the fact that everyone still looked at her like she was a thirteen year old. Her father, the Tribe, even the Sons still looked at her and treated her like she was a little girl. She wondered whether it’d be the same when she turned thirty, whether she’d always be that scrawny kid who used to run around the club houses getting everyone fresh beer and more smokes. She pulled a face, the idea freaking her out, she took the last drag from her smoke and flicked it into the night. She then finished her beer, enjoying the pleasant buzz it was giving her, it was probably her fourth or fifth one. She contemplated tossing the bottle, but knew she’d just have to clean it up, along with the rest of the club house in the morning.

She took to dragging it along the concrete, listening to the hollow clinking sound it made, wishing she had another beer and smoke, but didn’t want to go back inside just yet. She tilted her head back and looked up at the sky again, maybe she could fall asleep out here and dream of beating up annoying women, or dream of being treated like an adult… a pleasant fantasy indeed.

[evolutionx]

Spending most of his evening in the garage, Jax had devoted his time to working on his bike. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with it, so much as he just wanted to give it a once over. Swapping out belts and changing oil was like second nature to someone that grew up around motorcycles and Jax was no different. His father being a gear head only helped to instill this knowledge in Jackson. After he had accomplished what he set out to do with his cycle, Jax cleaned himself up and returned to the clubhouse just as Kate was leaving in a huff. Not one to simply let her storm off, the V.P. of the Sons grabbed alcoholic beverages from behind the bar and proceeded to follow after Kate minutes later. Once he was outside, he could see the young blonde sitting against the adjacent building to the clubhouse.

"Hey Blondie. How you holding up?" Jax asked as he neared Kate, walking towards her with his all too familiar gait. Dangling between his fingers by the neck were two bottles of Budweiser already opened. Sitting down next to the petite blonde, he handed her the second beer and proceeded to drink from his. Joining Kate, Jackson leaned back against the building and participated in the impromptu star gazing, though he couldn't really say there was much to look at what with California and its overly polluted air. Digging into the inside of his vest and removing a pack of smokes, Jax lit one up and then tilted the pack in his hand towards Kate as an offering. Despite the fact that Kate was underage and more like a sister or daughter to most of the members of the club, she was older and more mature then most gave her credit for. Even Jax had a tendency to treat her like a child, but he tried to refrain from it whenever possible; he knew she was secretly touchy about it.

"Heard you got into another fight at some bar in Lodi." Jax exclaimed, not moving his head and only looking at Kate out of the corner of his vision. "You are definitely you're fathers daughter." he added with a hint of amusement in his voice, taking another drag from his cigarette. Jax wasn't one to tell a person how to act and despite the fact that he wanted to tell her that she didn't have to prove herself to anyone. Everyone knew what she was capable of and like Jax grew up in his life. He could relate to her more than others, although he wasn't the one being babied and coddled like Kate unfortunately was.

[mavrick]

She heard his voice, and she felt her throat tighten up. Half of it was the fact he called her ‘Blondie’, she loathed that nickname. The other half was because Jax had had that effect on her since she was twelve, when her ridiculous school girl crush on him had formed. She had noted however, that the crush had no subsided with age. She’d spent years perfecting the technique of not making this fact outwardly obvious, she’d never hear the end of it if Clay, or her dad for that matter got wind of such a thing… the teasing would be endless. So she acted cool, calm and collected with Jax, even though on the inside her guts were often churning. She pulled her head forward to look at him, and noted that he had two beers in his hand, she was glad for that if nothing else at this point. She accepted the beer from him and a small smile, trying hard to not retort on the Blonde comment, she took a long sip and enjoyed the cool, frothing liquid.

He sat next to her, and the stitching on his cut scratched at her bare shoulder. She idly scratched the skin that had been irritated and dropped her head back to look up at the sky again. She heard him light up a smoke, and her eyes drifted over to him, catching him offering her one. She leant over and took one, reaching behind her and into the ass pocket of her shorts for her Zippo to light it. It was a wonder anything fit into those damned shorts of hers, and yet physics were defied daily when what she managed to get into her ass pockets. The flickering light from the flame lit her face for a moment, before she flicked it closed with a metallic snap.

She chuckled when he mentioned the bar fight in Lodi, smoke billowing from her mouth as she did. She couldn’t keep anything to herself, not that she had wanted to in that case, but it amused her how quickly the MC grapevine learned of her various ‘indiscretions’.
“Technically Cyrus started a bar fight in Lodi, I just kept some drunken idiot from bashing Chib’s niece’s brains in.”
The fact that Kate had a history of bar fights was definitely no secret. The last time she had been in LA seeing her sister she had gotten into some serious trouble, and had an outstanding warrant for the damage she had done to two women and one guy. But at least in this case, she was innocent… She withheld the fact from him that she was only outside because she had been seconds away from starting another bar fight.

She took another drag from her cigarette, then a swig from her beer. She looked up again, but she wasn’t really looking at the stars, just staring into nothingness.
“How’s things with the ‘Prince’ of Charming?” she asked after a moment’s silence. She rolled her head to the side to look at him, wondering what he’d been up to in the few months since her last visit.

[evolutionx]

"I'm sure Chib's and Bailey are both grateful for your intervention." he praised as he blew cigarette smoke into the night air masking the laughter that might have come out otherwise. She always had an explanation and it really did amuse him, and really had no reason to question her otherwise; it is what it is in the end. When Kate called Jax the Prince of Charming, he couldn't mask his laughter behind blowing smoke and he chuckled loudly. "If my mother heard you callin' me that, she'd tell you otherwise. A prince I am not." It was almost a play on words if you only removed the word "the" from the saying. But Jax knew no one thought of him as Prince Charming - really how could they? He was an outlaw with a criminal record and heading down a path that would only extend that record.

"Back to your original question, I'm still here. With all this shit with the Mayan's and your Dad..." Jackson's voice trailed off as if he just got lost in the thought of what to do. He and Clay had been discussing what to do at length and at the moment the chips could call on either side. "And speaking of the Mayan's, I should be the one to tell you this, but you gotta stay up here for awhile. I don't know how long but Jury wants you safe and he feels this is the best place for you." His gaze had lingered towards Kate as he explained the situation, trying to show her that it was getting serious. He knew she wouldn't like to be told what to do or where to stay, but if anyone could get through to her, Jax believed he could.

"Just until we get this shit under control one way or another okay?" He tried to reaffirm that she wouldn't be here a second longer than she had to be and hopefully she understood that, but with her temper some times, there was no telling how she was going to take the news. Lifting his beer to his lips he took a moderate swig of the alcohol and leaned forward resting his arms on his bent knees. He was looking towards the clubhouse and in it's appearance he found some comfort knowing there was a chance that they might all get out of his unscathed because of this place they called home. Everyone that wore the Sons of Anarchy patch were part of a family and that family looked out for one another. He then looked back at Kate and tried to study her face, trying to find some kind of tell that would let him know she was okay with what he told her.

[mavrick]

Kate felt her gut drop as Jax did his best to explain to her that she needed to stay put. She hated that feeling, the helplessness of not being able to help, and the feeling she was still a child as her dad refused to let her help. She sighed and took a drag from her cigarette to hide the pained expression she was trying her best to hide. He tried to make her feel better, and she appreciated the offer, but it didn’t work. She knew if she’d been born a guy, that her dad would have wanted her home pronto to arm up and fuck some Mayans up.

She just hadn’t been that lucky.

She gave a slight nod, acknowledging that she’d heard Jax if nothing else. She removed the smoke from her lips to drown herself in beer, and reclined further against the wall, stretching her legs out and placing her beer bottle between her thighs. She didn’t say anything, because she knew if she started talking she wouldn’t stop. She’d just start bitching about poor Kate and she did not want to be doing that to anyone, let alone Jax who had his own pressures and misfortunes of being the child of an MC President.

Her smoke hanging limply from her lips, Kate did about the only thing she could think to do at that moment. She tilted her head back and looked up at the stars again, glad for the company, smokes and beer, and that feeling of being something special, even if she didn’t really want to be that special lil Kate who had to stay out of harm’s way.

[evolutionx]

Jax had a feeling she wasn't going to take the news well - her reaction said as much. Not that he could blame her. But then again, he knew it was for the best. She could be stubborn and moody at times and while it may have gotten a little old after awhile, everyone just let her have her moments. Despite her feelings that she could handle herself, she wasn't a patched member of SAMCRO or the Tribe, nor a male, which at his juncture made her oh for two. Jax shaking his head in disappointment, stood up and stared down at Kate, a hint of frustration in his eyes.

"Ya know playin' this calm, cool card isn't you. I know you're pissed and I don't blame you, but it's not your place to help the club fight a war - you have to learn that. If you're father lost you because of some club shit gone wrong, he'd never forgive himself." Jax kept a calm tone to his voice, though it wavered at the end. It wasn't that he was mad at her, but more disappointed in her attitude, or the lack thereof. "You can handle yourself, so what? One more person with a gun mean's one more chance a person ends up dead! You're not needed fighting wars, you're needed here, doing what you already do." Jax exhaled sharply through his nose as he tried really get Kate to understand her role in things. Clay had wanted to just give Kate the run around and keep her busy, but Jackson couldn't do that to her.

The most frustrating part for Teller was the fact that it probably wasn't going to sink in. Kate always figured herself as one of the guys, or at least more capable than most other women within the MC. So it was when someone tried to tell her otherwise that things took an awful turn, and maybe Jax should have kept him opinion to himself, but if he didn't tell her, then there was no telling if it would ever be said. Jax turned away and began to walk back towards the clubhouse, but not before looking over his shoulder at the young woman and said, "My father once said, the best protection any woman can have... is courage. I'm pretty sure we both know you have plenty of that." Jax remembered that quote so well because it was said about his mother and she practically defined the word courage. Putting up with a club full of outlaw bikers wasn't something just anyone could take on. But Kate did her duty as well and dealt with those same men. Jax just wanted her to realize that you don't have to be a hero to help and when it counted the most, she was already doing her part.