Skeletons

The insomnia that Falyn suffered from had only allowed her a few hours of sleep, meaning that at 4:30 am, she was lying in her bed wide awake and staring at the ceiling. After trying to go back to sleep for almost an hour, she finally gave up and rolled out of her bed, shuffling into the bathroom to take a long, hot bath.

Since there was nothing else that needed to be done today and she had no plans, she decided that they should go into town and eat her favorite breakfast at the diner. She knew that there was a good chance that she'd bump into someone who would question her daughter, but she wasn't going to leave her at home yet again. Doing so made her feel like she was hiding Savannah and she didn't want to do that.

Falyn slowly pushed the door open and crept silently into Savannah's room before jumping onto her bed, startling both her daughter and the dog at her feet. "Mooooom," she whined, putting her arm up to shield her face.

"Come oooooon," she mimicked. "Let's go out for some breakfast!"

Savannah glanced at the silver clock on her wall and groaned, letting her head drop back onto the pillow. "It's not even 7am yet."

"You're saying you'd rather sleep than eat?! Are you sure you're my child?"

"Maybe I get it from my dad," she retorted snidely. Savannah knew that mentioning her father would immediately get Falyn to shut up. The d-a-d word had always had that power over Falyn and her daughter knew that. Falyn sighed as she stood up from the bed and walked back to the door. "Alright then. The waffles are amazing but it's your loss."

She left her daughter to go back to sleep and went downstairs where her father was sitting in his favorite chair, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Morning, sweetheart."

"Morning, Dad. I thought I'd go grab some breakfast at the diner. Wanna join?"

"I would, but David should be here any minute. We're going fishing."

"You sure do spend a lot of time with him," she accused, resisting the urge to groan.

"Well, he was almost my son-in-law."

"Dad, we were seventeen years old. We weren't-"

Craig threw his hands up. "Regardless, he's a nice boy and it's nice to spend some time with him every once in a while."

"Whatever you say," she sighed. "I'm gonna get going. Savannah would rather sleep in so I'm leaving her here."

"Should I stay til you get back?"

"Nah, she's probably going to sleep the whole time I'm gone, which won't be that long. Besides, even if she does wake up soon, she'll probably just read that book she's in the middle of."

"Where did that child get her love of reading anyway?"

"Not from her parents," Falyn replied, grabbing her keys from the table by the sofa. "I'll see you later, Dad. Have fun with Davey."

Just as she opened the door to leave, David was on the other side reaching out to ring the doorbell. "Oh!" she exclaimed, surprised. "Hi. Um, you can come on in. Dad's waiting for you."

The two stared at each other for a long moment before David nodded his head and stepped into the house next to her. "Thanks," he muttered before quickly turning to head into the living room where Craig was waiting for him.

Falyn let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding in and shut the door behind her, going out to the car. It was only a few minutes after 7, but the sun was rising and the temperature was already good and warm. Once she actually got into town, she didn't feel like eating anymore so instead she took a left turn and found herself at Donna and Opie's house.

"What are you doing here so early?" Donna asked as soon as she opened the door."Everything okay?"

Falyn sighed. "Yeah, I guess. I just needed someone to talk to."

"Of course, come on in. I'm making breakfast."

Falyn followed her into the house and sat down at the table while Donna went back to cooking. "So tell me what's bothering you."

"It's just this whole thing with Savannah."

"What do you mean?"

"I talked to Gemma. She knows. Told me I should tell him, that he has a right to know. I mean, I guess she's right. But how the hell would I even go about it? It's been so long. It's like, I know he's going to find out eventually. Now that we've moved to Charming, I mean, he's going to see her. But I can't tell him, Donna. I really can't."

Donna finished the cooking and put a small serving on each of the plates before setting them down on the table next to Falyn. "Sweetie, you don't have to tell him anything until you're ready. It was a huge decision you made and it's up to you to decide if and when to tell him."

"It's not even just that now, you know? I feel guilty. Savannah should know who her dad is. I mean, she's grown up without him all this time. I just feel like it isn't fair to her. Or him."

"Don't beat yourself up over this, Fal. It's an important conversation to have with both of them and you need to wait until you're completely ready for it."

"I guess you're right," she sighed.

"Of course I'm right!" The phone on the edge of the counter began to ring loudly. "Oh, hold that thought," Donna told her, picking up the receiver. "Hello?" Falyn sat quietly, watching as Donna's whole demeanor completely changed while she listened to whoever was on the other end of the line. "Okay. Yeah, thanks. I'll talk to him." She hung up the phone and sat down at the table next to Falyn, folding her arms on the table top and dropping her head onto them. "Everything okay?" Falyn asked, rubbing her back.

"That was McCain, Opie's boss at the mill. I guess Opie's been missing work. He said if Op doesn't come in for second shift today, they're gonna fire him. I don't know what to do, Fal. We need that money but all Opie's worried about is getting back in the goddamn Club."

"He wants back in?"

"Yeah, and there's nothing I can do about it. If we're not fighting about money, we're fighting about the stupid fucking Club. I can't do this shit anymore."

"He's just lost right now, I think. He was inside for a long time. I know you love him, Donna. Just give him a chance to do the right thing."

"He's not gonna do the right thing. He's gonna do the Club thing." She shook her head and got up from the table, grabbing the receiver again and dialing a number furiously. When the person did not answer, she cursed loudly and hung up, only to dial the number again. After five or six tries, she sighed and put the receiver back then turned to her best friend. "Can I ask you a huge favor?"

"Of course. What is it?"

"Could you watch the kids for a few minutes while I track down Opie?"

"Absolutely. You go do what you need to do."

"Thanks, Fal. I'll be back soon."

She grabbed the keys to the truck and hurried out the door and Falyn went into the living room where Kenny and Ellie were watching their early morning cartoons. "Hey kids, your mom had to run out for a minute but your breakfast is ready on the table," she told them.

They both jumped up from the sofa and ran toward the kitchen, climbing into the chairs and immediately beginning to devour their eggs and bacon. After they were finished, they went back into the living room to watch some more tv and Falyn occupied her time cleaning up the kitchen from breakfast. She put the plates into the dishwasher and washed the pots in the sink before setting them in the drain to dry.

Donna was only gone for about an hour but when she came home, she was even more furious than when she'd left the house. "What happened?"

"I'm so fed up with this shit. I can't do it anymore. I'm taking the kids to my mom's."

"Donna, isn't that a little hast-"

"Falyn, stop. I know you're the biggest Opie/Donna supporter there is, but I need some time away to think. Please just help me get the kids ready."

"Of course."

While Donna was getting a bag packed for Kenny, Falyn packed one for Ellie. Once they got the kids dressed and their shoes and jackets on, they put them into the car. Donna threw her arms around Falyn and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'll see you later, Fal. Thanks for being such a good friend."

"Same here. Love you."

"Love you too," Donna replied, climbing into the driver's seat of their tiny car. Falyn stood in the driveway watching as they drove away before getting into her own car and driving back into town. She stopped by the diner on her way home and picked up some waffles for her daughter. Like a few days before, she got the eerie feeling that someone was watching her. She casually looked around but didn't find anyone who seemed to be paying any attention to her so she just shrugged it off.

As she was driving home, she passed a group of probably thirty motorcycles. The top rockers on their cuts read Sons of Anarchy but their bottom rockers identified them as charters from other states. She wondered what could possibly be going on in Charming that would warrant outside charters coming in, but she knew better than to ask questions when it came to the Club.

Savannah was curled up on the sofa in the living room waiting for her mother to return home. Falyn walked into the kitchen with Savannah following directly on her heels and sitting down at the counter, watching as her mother unloaded the bag.

"Mom?"

She transferred their breakfast onto real plates and slid one over to her daughter, not looking up. "Hmm?"

"Mom!"

"What?" she asked, looking up at her daughter with curious eyes.

Savannah sighed, dropping her hands onto the counter. "I'm sorry about this morning. It was really inconsiderate of me to bring him up."

Falyn dropped her fork onto her plate and walked around to the other side of the counter, wrapping her arms around her daughter. "I know you want to know him and it bugs you that you don't even know his name, but I promise I'll tell you one day. I'm just not ready yet."

She shook her head. "It's okay, Mom. I don't really care who he is. I have everyone I need."