I can be a hard ass. I'm patient having learned the hard way after my parents died. I learned to take the good with the bad and go with the flow. I can be stubborn on a lot of things, and I don't give in easily. Especially to my younger siblings when they give me that puppy dog face and pout. I like to joke around and tease if the timing is right. I am way over-protective of my younger siblings especially the ones I raised from when they were little.

[smear:#b64756]Positive Traits:[/smear:#91a7b8:0]
1)Honorable: Characterized by noble principles; displaying integrity.
2)Affectionate: Showing open fondness for others.
3)Protective: Inclined to safeguard, shield, or carefully supervise the persons or items in one's charge.
4)Diplomatic: Skilled at handling people while respecting their needs.
5)Nurturing: Having the desire and ability to nourish and further the development of others.
6)Nature-focused: Preferring natural resources over artificial ones; being strongly attuned to nature.

[smear:#91a7b8]Negative Traits:[/smear:#b64756:0]
1)Stubborn: Unyielding or obstinate.
2)Perfectionist: Perceiving anything less than perfection as failure.
3)Pessimistic: Inclined to focus on the negative and expect the worst possible outcome.
4)Lazy: Disinclined to exercise or work; not energetic or vigorous.
5)Paranoid: Inclined to excessive worrying and irrational suspicion.
6)Workaholic: Someone who works compulsively, sacrificing other interests and responsibilities.

It was a frigid cold day the day I came into the world. Some say my heart froze over that day not learning to love. Where they get that I don't know. Could be because I really don't give a shit about a lot of things. My family on the other hand is a different story. They see a part of me that nobody does. How my parents had seven of us I'll never know. Dad has been in and out of jail ever since I was born. Mom was an alcoholic, and I knew she loved us in her own way. At least we weren't beaten or abused in any way. Dad when he was home never laid a hand on any of us either.

I was two when my brother Aiden was born. Dad was in jail for a couple of years and it was another year before our next brother Wolfer was born. Course he was right back in before my sister Deserene was born, and it was another two year stint. The next four years I don't know how he stayed out of jail, but my sister October was born a year after. Then the next my brother Bode whose barely ten months younger, about a year after that the baby girl of the family who they named Romy. Wouldn't you know it though the day she was born he was arrested yet again and this time he went to prison for twenty to life. I was nine then.

When I was ten a girl moved in next door. Her name was Aite. We became good friends, and had a lot of fun together. By the time I was fourteen we were dating. She was my first for everything just as I was hers. Did I mention my dad was in the Wild Wolves MC? Don't think I did. So I hung out with other guys that were sons of members too. My best friends and I couldn't wait to prospect together when we turned eighteen. I quit school when I turned sixteen and worked in a garage to help bring in money since mom rarely went to work. Especially when she'd down a bottle of tequila or gin the night before. I usually had to take the kids to school as well, before I would head to work. My boss knew my situation so I had lead way to get to and from work. If something happened during school I was the one they'd call since mom would never answer the phone.

I became a prospect when I turned eighteen. I was working days at the garage and doing my prospect duties at night. The day we were getting ready to head to Sturgis at the clubhouse, we had just gotten on our bikes when the president got a call. I knew it wasn't good when his eyes landed on me. My girl was already on behind me, and I'd been about to start my bike. When he got off the phone he dropped the bombshell that my dad had been killed in prison by a rival club. It was still sinking in, when a bike came barreling into the parking lot. I turned and saw Aiden. I figured he was here to tell me about dad. Instead it was the day the world stopped turning for me. He parked his bike and jumped off running through the bikes that the guys were already seated on and up to me.

"Mom got a call that dad was killed. She went off the deep end. Tobi called me and I could hear her screaming in the background. She tried to call you too, but you didn't answer. Mom loaded the girls and Bode up. Wolf and Des were down at the park. Mom took off and I heard the crash down at the gas station. When I got there the police and ambulances were there. Mom's dead! The kids were taken to the hospital." Aiden was practically yelling, and it was then I noticed there was blood on him. I just sat there letting it sink in. It was more than shocking, and I didn't know what to do. The president spoke up then telling us to get to the hospital. They were putting off heading to Sturgis, and that the club would be there for us. Aiden, Aite and I headed to the hospital.

It was a whirlwind there, and grand central station. My younger sisters only had scrapes and bruises. They had gotten lucky. Bode though was in critical condition, and they didn't know if he would make it or not. One of the old ladies had picked up Wolfer and Des that had been at the park so they were here with me now. The state showed up, and wanted to take my sisters, and my brothers. I wasn't about to let that happen. They said they'd be back for Bode. The club stepped in and said they would be taken in by them. The next few days went by in a daze for me.

Bode thankfully pulled through. His leg was broken and his arm. Concussion and some internal bleeding. He'd been taken into surgery when he was brought in. It was a week later that we were able to take him home. I ended up having to go to court, and I finally got getting custody thankfully of my younger siblings with the help of the Drakos family. The social workers over the years were a nightmare, and I wanted to pull my hair out with them. I sponsored Aiden when he began to prospect when I was twenty. He in turn sponsored our next brother. I really wanted to pull my hair out when my little sisters became teenagers. At least Aite was there for the girly stuff that I wanted no part of. It was when my younger siblings started getting in trouble that the social workers were really hounding us. I laid into them, but of course they didn't listen. Well this last week Aiden got himself into a mess. Luckily he got away before he was arrested, but there were rumors going around that he had been there where a shooting had happened. Sure he was there, but he never fired a shot. It was another MC member. I had a talk with my younger siblings too for all of them to be watching what they done in the meantime.

None of them were happy when I told them I was thinking about moving away from here. I told them though this was a chance at us sticking together to not have to be worrying about the younger ones being taken away. Over the years I had gone too easy on them I figured, and that was why they were wild and carefree. Then I stopped and thought about it. I had been the same way. Worse even. When I had to be, I was hard on them. Especially when times had gotten tough. More than anything I made sure they knew I loved them, and would do anything for them. The house we lived in was falling down on us, and no money to fix things up. The older boys and I were able to make enough to pay the bills, and put food on the table. The money from the state was only used on my youngest siblings. The way it was supposed to be. When each of the younger ones turned sixteen we scrounged up enough money to buy them their own bikes. Our baby sister is the last to turn sixteen.

I did talk to Aite about possibly moving up to Washington, and asked her to go with me. I hadn't quite gotten to the point yet where I was ready to ask her to marry me. Maybe one day, but the time wasn't right just yet. One of these days I’d love to have my own family with her, but with still having my siblings it was just too much for me to even think about. She had talked to her parents about it, and her parents stepped in offering my brothers and I jobs in their bounty hunter business. After discussing it with Aiden and Wolver we decided to go for it. It would make the kids happy too not having to leave their friends.

I hadn’t been back to the cemetery since the funerals, and I figured it was past time for me to do so. I pulled into the cemetery, and parked my bike. Slowly I took off my gloves and helmet, setting the gloves in the helmet which I set on my bike. I sat there a few minutes, and smoked a cigarette. I headed there after I got off work at the station. There were a few other people around visiting graves, but I ignored them for the most part. Taking my time I finished the cigarette knowing Aiden had ordered pizza for supper so I didn’t have to worry about it. Getting off my bike I stubbed the cigarette out with the toe of my steel toed boot.

Taking a deep breath I headed over to my parent’s graves. There was a bench there that the club had put in as dad had quite a few friends still in the club. Sitting down on it I put my elbows on my knees and put my hands together rubbing the palms for a few moments. I was there for quite awhile telling them how things were going, and how the kids had grown up. Sure they had been lousy parents, but I knew deep down they’d both loved us in their own way. They had definitely been in love with one another. It was a love I felt for my own girl, and hoped to be with her till we were old and gray with grandchildren someday.

As I sat there and talked it felt like a weight was lifting off of my shoulders that I hadn’t even realized had been there. The guys in the club would think I was crazy if they were to see and hear me right now. They only saw the cold side of me. The hard side. Not the soft side that I reserved for my siblings, and my old lady. That was something they would never see. I did have a reputation for having a cold heart. I was good to my old lady as well. Never laid a hand on her, and I never would. Sure we had an occasional argument. What couples don’t? We always had fun making up. I told my parents about each of my siblings as well as myself. I hadn’t even realized the time that had passed as I noticed the setting sun. I let them know I was keeping our family together, and thanks to the Drakos family things were looking up. At last I told them goodbye. A goodbye I hadn’t given them before. I felt at peace when I was pulling out of the cemetery, and heading home. A peace I hoped would last.