Worlds Collide

Overprotective Big Brothers

Karli's POV:

Standing in the kitchen of my brother's house, stirring sugar and milk into my cup of coffee, I prepared myself for the argument that was to come -all because I wanted some space to do something fun that and not be under the watchful eye of whatever club member Jax decided to send with me on my outing. Being the princess of SAMCRO had its downfalls, the biggest of which being surrounded by guys who thought of me as someone that needed to protect simply because I'm a girl. For as long as I can remember, it's always been that way too. It didn't matter that I could shoot straight and had been able to since I was old enough to hold a gun in my hand. It didn't matter that I could hold my own in a fight, almost always coming out on top.

"You know, for someone who reminds me all the time of how cautious I am, of how alert I am when I'm out and about, you sure tend to be overprotective as hell when it comes to me wanting to do something that is even remotely fun that doesn't involve the club." I said, placing the hand not holding my coffee mug on my hip and popping it to the side as I glared at my big brother as he sat at the kitchen table, relaxed as could be.

"That's because you're my damn sister. It's my job -my damn duty- to protect you at all costs. If that means that you always have a member with you to watch your back, so be it." Said Jax, lifting his own coffee mug to his lips and taking a long pull. It was his go-to argument any time I wanted to do something that didn't revolve SAMCRO.

"Jesus Christ, Jax. It's just a damn concert. I don't need Happy, Juice, Miles, or any of the others to tag along just because you want to make sure that I'm protected." I said, keeping my voice low since my nephews, Abel and Thomas, were still sleeping. When Jax didn't immediately respond, I sat down in the chair directly across from him and leveled him with a glare that was a carbon copy of the one our mom wielded -except for the blue coloring of mine- anytime she wanted to get a point across, which was pretty much every time she spoke. "For fucks sake Jax, I'm 31. I can protect myself from all the big, bad, boogeymen in the world.

"Kar, it's not that I don't trust you to go out. It's not that I don't trust you to be able to protect yourself either. And it's not that I don't think you could fight off anyone who tried to hurt you. But that's on a regular day. I don't have to remind you that shit is upside down right now." Said Jax, referring to everything going on with the club, its gun business, and the fact that our stepfather had gotten the club involved with the Galindo Cartel. Now that Jax was president of the club and not Clay, he was trying to pull the club away from them.

"When was the last time that shit wasn't upside down? Refresh my memory because for as long as I can remember, shit has always been upside down when it comes to this family. Even way back when I was 5 and couldn't go on a class trip to the zoo without a damn club member being in tow. Back then, it was the rivalry with the Mayans. Now it's the cartel." I said.

"Karli, I don't have to tell you the shit that the cartel is known to do. Remember what happened to Armando?" said Jax, bringing up president from another charter who had been decapitated by the hand of the cartel.

"That was Lobo, not Galindo." I countered, knowing that it was silly to mention. One cartel was just as bad as the other so pointing out that it was one group that had decapitated someone was pointless.

"Kar—"

"Look Jax, I get it. I know I don't have a normal life. But Jesus Christ, you are treating me like I'm a kid. What's the difference between me going out to a concert with some friends and Tara heading to Oregon for a doctors' conference?" I said, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Yeah, and look how that played out. And I was with her." said Jax, anger simmering in his words at the memory of how Tara had been kidnapped while he had tossed the trash from their lunch into the receptacle.

"That wasn't your fault." I said, placing my hand over his on the tabletop and squeezing. "And it wasn't the cartel's fault either. That was the doing of one man -a very vial man."

"Doesn't change the fact that it happened." Said Jax.

"I know it doesn't. But Tara's healing fine. Her hand is almost back to normal, and she told me the other day that she was planning on going back to work depending on what they say at her appointment next week." I said, my thumb stoking over the back of his hand.

"I know." He signed.

"Then stop blaming yourself. She chose this life with you. She chose to raise Abel with you, even though he isn't her biologically. Hell, she even gave you Thomas knowing that shit in this town could get bad. If you trust her to make those kids of choices, then why can't you trust me to go to a concert with my friends and have a good time and not have to have one of the guys tagging along?" I said.

"Kar, it just the way I am. It's the life." He said, his blue eyes that were a carbon copy of my own meeting mine.

"And what if I don't want this life anymore? What if I just want to be a normal 31-year-old- Californian?" I said.

As far as arguments went, I knew it was weak one. Over the years, I'd fallen back on that argument too many times to count. I could say all I wanted that I didn't want this life, but I knew -and so did everyone else- that it was just a line of shit. SAMCRO was in my blood, there was no way I could walk away from this club even if it did drive me batshit crazy from time to time with its rules and overprotective ways. No, I wasn't a patched member and had no desire to ever be one, but that didn't mean that I cared about it any less that the guys who wore the reaper on their backs.

"If you go, who would be going with you?" asked Jax, dismissing my 'I don't want this life' comment.

"Laney and Jocelynn." I said, taking a sip of my coffee.

"So, Laney is going, and you think that Mile's isn't?" Jax said.

"I know he's not going because he already told Laney to have fun and that he would see her after the concert. Seems he's less controlling over his old lady than you are over your sister." I said. "Plus, it's Thursday and that means it meeting night." I added with a shrug of my shoulder.

"Kar—"

"Before you even start with some shit about how I'm your blood and all that, let me remind you that I'm not asking permission to go tonight. I told you I was going so that you would know where I was. I don't need one of the guys to escort me to a damn country music concert because let's be real. How many cartel guys, how many of the club enemies are going to be at a Brantley Gilbert concert in Modesto on a Thursday night?" I said, cutting him off. Jax glared at me, his blue eyes dancing with equal parts anger and laughter.

"Still don't understand why you like that music so much." Jax said.

"And I can't figure out why you like to hang out at Cara Cara when you have a wife at home that I know damn well would do 99% of that shit you see them filming if you so much as mentioned that you wanted her to." I said.

"Whatever Kar." Said Jax, leaning back in the wooden kitchen chair, making it squeak. After a while, he added "Fine. Go to your concert with Laney and Jocelynn. But I have a deal for you. I will promise not to send one of the guys to keep a watchful eye over you as long as you promise to keep the tracking app on your phone on."

"Done." I said, joy of being able to go out and have fun without someone watching me making me giddy.

"Alright." He said with a sigh. "But don't make me regret this. I couldn't live with myself if something was to happen to my baby sister."

"I know." I gave him a kind smile. "I mean, I am pretty fucking awesome." I added with a wink.

"Pain in my ass is what you are." he said with a brotherly smirk.

"Ehhh, you love me so it's worth it."

The two of us drank our coffee in silence then, happy to just be sitting here with one another. Thoughts of what I was going to wear tonight, what Laney and Jocelynn were going to wear tonight and how they were going to react to us not having an entourage filled me with so much happiness that I was finding it hard to wipe the smile off my face. Damn, I can't wait for tonight. This is going to be EPIC!