Dawn Trager is Tig's black sheep daughter. She hasn't done much with her life, hopping from one bad decision to another. One fateful decision will change her entire life and bring her into direct contact with the enforcer of SAMCRO. Will they be abl...
Harmony and Dawn were exhausted when they finally pulled into the lot at T-M. After a small altercation with Dawn's ex-boyfriend Eddie, which led to him being held by Happy in the bedroom while they had packed what few possessions Dawn had into the back of Harmony's car and headed back to Charming. At this point, they both felt like they were part of the car. Dawn was rubbing her lower back as they walked into the clubhouse to find Gemma talking to Chibs at the bar. When she saw the road-weary group come through the door, she grinned and slapped Chibs on the arm.
"Well, it's about time you got back. Did everything go alright?"
Harmony nodded as she gratefully took the beer Chucky held out to her. He offered one to Dawn, but before she could turn it down, Happy handed her a bottle of water. "Everything went as well as expected. Now, I just need my child, then I can go home and collapse."
Gemma cleared her throat as Chibs looked away with a grin on his face. "Yeah, about that. See, I let Ope have him while you were gone." She held up a hand to stop Harmony from talking. "I know, I know, but he was missing the little guy something awful, and Mary wanted to see him too... I just didn't see the big deal. He's at the house and said that whenever you were ready, you could come pick him up."
Harmony sighed and rubbed her aching forehead before looking over at Dawn, who was smirking at her. "Ok, well, let's go pick up Max and head home then."
Before Dawn can agree, Tig threw an arm around her shoulders and grinned at Harmony. "Hey, why don't you leave Dawnie here so we can catch up? When we're done, I'll make sure she gets to the cabin ok. You can handle picking Max up, can't you? I mean, it's just Ope."
Harmony didn't like the way everyone, including Dawn, was grinning at her like something was funny. She shook her head and turned to the door. "I guess I'm gonna go get Max."
Dawn wasn't sure Harmony's car was even out of the parking lot before Tig was turning her toward the back of the clubhouse. "Hey, Gem, we're gonna need the chapel for a while."
He pointed toward a door and Dawn followed him. As she walked past Happy, he nodded to her as if to say that she'd be ok, and she nodded back in thanks. Once they were inside the meeting room and Tig closed the door, they sat at opposite sides of the table facing each other. Dawn waited for her father to speak, knowing that he probably wanted to know everything. He finally shook his head and looked at her, the mistrust easily readable in his blue eyes. A couple of months ago, that look alone would have been enough for Dawn to shut herself off, but now she knew that she deserved that look and it was up to her to change it.
"What's going on Dawnie? Why are you here?"
Dawn blew out a breath and looked her father in the eyes as she began to speak. "When I called Harmony to come and get Max, I was at rock bottom, but I didn't realize it, not fully. I've already talked to Harmony about this but I need you to understand something, dad. I didn't give Max to Harm because I didn't want him. It's quite the opposite, actually. As bad as I was, I knew that I couldn't be a mother to him and I didn't want him to end up in the system. He needed a stable home, and I couldn't give him that." She looked down at her hands where they were folded on the table and took a deep breath before continuing. "That night, after Harmony and Gemma left, Eddie came home and wanted me to work some guy he had just met at the bar. I was upset about Max and I was strung out, so I didn't want to. He told me that he would get me a fix after I finished with the other guy, but I still didn't want to. He beat me so badly that I ended up in the hospital."
Tig cursed under his breath and took her cold hands in his warm ones. "If I'd have known... me and Hap wouldn't have left him breathing, baby girl. You should have told me so I could handle him."
Dawn gave him a small smile as she shook her head. "No, I didn't want that, dad. Don't get me wrong, I want him to pay, but I'll wait for karma to take care of him. After, when I was in the hospital... god, I don't think I've ever felt that bad. I decided that I needed to get clean, to do something with my life besides be a punching bag and prostitute for Eddie. I went into rehab and stayed there until I was deemed ready to face society again."
Tig nodded as Dawn could see the tears in his eyes. "What was it?"
Dawn blew out a breath. "Heroin."
Tig shook his head and sighed. "But you're better now? Clean?"
Dawn smiled and nodded. "Yeah, two months. I have bad days still, where I want a hit more than oxygen, but I breathe through it and remember that I want to go back to school and have a life worth living. It gets me through."
Tig nodded, squeezing her hands that were still wrapped tightly in his. "I'm so sorry that I turned my back on you, Dawnie, but... "
Dawn cut him off, shaking her head. "No, dad, none of this is your fault. It's nobody's but mine, and I'm owning it. You were right to cut me off and don't you ever feel bad about it."
Tig looked her in the eye for a long moment before finally nodding. "Yeah, ok, but now it's different. You need anything, baby, I mean anything, you come tell me, ok? You're gonna need money for school, right? A place to live?"
Dawn shook her head. "No. Harmony wants me to stay with her and Fawn put my part of the money from mom's will in a savings account for me. I can have it on the condition that I use it for school and that's what I plan on doing."
Tig smiled at her, chuckling a little as he stood up and walked around the table to take her into a hug. He kissed the top of her head and she could hear the emotion in his voice when he spoke. "I love you, baby, and I'm so proud of you. You sound like you have it all under control. Almost like you don't even need your old dad."
Dawn snorted against his chest. "I love you too, and of course I still need you. I need someone to kick me in the ass every once in a while."
Tig nodded as he turned her loose and took her hand in his. "Come on, I'm sure Bobby has some coffee on."
Dawn followed Tig out of the chapel, happy that she had her dad back in her life.
