Constance McLoud moved to Charming with her two children after her divorce to start over. The last person she ever expected to find was the first man that she ever loved. Happy Lowman has just patched in as a member of SAMCRO. He's always prided hi...
Connie walked out of the school the next morning feeling a little better about life in general. Nate was now enrolled in the eighth grade at Charming Middle School, one more thing to check off of her to-do list. She looked down at Maddie as they walked across the parking lot and smiled.
"How about some breakfast at the diner?"
Maddie looked up and smiled excitedly. "Can I have pancakes?"
Connie chuckled as she picked her daughter up and placed her in her seat. "I don't see why not."
The duo was in the middle of their breakfast when a now-familiar voice spoke from Connie's side. "Good morning, ladies. Mind if we join you?"
Connie looked over to see Jax and Happy standing at the end of their booth, one smiling, one looking broody. Connie nodded as Maddie jumped up and down in her seat.
"Mr. Happy, sit here!"
Connie chuckled and Jax looked shocked as Happy smirked and made a shooing motion for the little girl to move over so he could sit down. Connie moved over for Jax as the waitress came over for their order. When the two men just ordered coffee, Maddie gave them both a reproving look as she climbed into Happy's lap, making herself at home like she did it all the time.
"Mommy says brefast is the best meal of the day."
Happy nodded, looking serious for a moment before reaching over and sliding her plate of pancakes over in front of himself. "I'll just eat yours then."
Maddy held up a hand in front of his face, making Jax snicker. "No. My have 'em."
Connie tried to hide her smile as she pointed a finger at her youngest. "If you're going to eat them, then sit down like a little lady and stop climbing all over Happy. He's not a jungle gym."
Maddie started to argue but Happy cut her off at the pass, using one large hand to turn her head to look at him. "What did Mommy say, bug?"
Maddie heaved a sigh but got off of Happy to sit back in her seat, waiting for him to slide her plate back over to her before shoving a forkful of pancake into her mouth. With her mouth full to bursting, she pointed at the tiger on Happy's arm. "My have a kitty on me too?"
Connie started to speak as Jax just chuckled, but Happy silenced her with one raised brow. "One, yes you can. I'll draw you one sometime. Two, chew and swallow before speaking, bug." He looked over at Connie with a serious face. "We need to have a chat when little ears aren't around."
Jax nodded. "Yeah, we all need to sit down and talk about why you were at the police station yesterday." He grinned then. "By the way, my old lady will probably be over at some point with my mom for coffee and gossip, just fair warning."
Connie shot him a confused look. "Why would your old lady want to talk to me?"
Jax snickered as Happy grinned over his coffee mug. "Tara is my old lady." When she still didn't two and two together, his grin deepened, showing dimples. "We are the neighbors next door."
Connie smacked herself in the forehead lightly, making the two men chuckle. "Well, that makes sense now, although I must admit that it's a very small world."
Jax nodded in agreement. "I said that yesterday when all the dots started connecting."
Connie nodded as Happy spoke up. "And Gemma is his mom. The lady I was with at the store."
"Ahh ok, it's starting to come together now." She frowned at the two men and shook her head. "That all makes sense, but I still don't see what we have to discuss about my current... situation. I'm handling it just fine."
Happy shook his head and gave her that dead stare that always had one of two effects on her. Depending on the situation, it could either turn her on to no end or piss her off. Right that second, she was leaning toward the latter. "That may be, but we'll all discuss it later, Con."
Jax smirked at Happy as Connie just scoffed at his statement. He stood up and Happy followed, causing Maddie to voice her complaints. "Noooo!! Mr. Happy stay!"
Happy leaned in and patted her on the head with a smile on his face, causing Jax to look on in disbelief. "I'll see you soon, bug, but we gotta go." He nodded at Connie, making her squirm under the intense look he shot her way before both men walked out of the diner. As they were leaving, Connie couldn't help but chuckle to herself at the conversation she overheard between the two men.
Jax smacked Happy on the arm and chuckled. "Man, you're whipped by a three-year-old."
Happy shoved the younger man as he put his sunglasses on. "Shut the fuck up, man."
Later that evening, after both kids were in bed, Connie sat at the kitchen table with a glass of wine, looking through old photo albums. She smiled sadly at the pictures from her wedding day, wondering not for the first time how she could be so stupid. She thought they were happy, in love, but it was all a lie. He had just wanted her for what she could do for him, not because he loved her. He didn't even want the kids. Of course, at the time, he had acted over the moon, but the truth, like it so often does, found the light of day.
Her thoughts turned to Happy and she smiled. She wasn't sure why the universe had put him back in her path, but she was beyond fine with it. Connie thought about earlier at the diner and his interaction with Maddie. The usually gruff and silent man had treated her daughter with care and tenderness, something that had obviously shocked Jax, but Connie knew that it was there.
She'd seen it before in the way he had held her in his arms as they talked about their dreams and how the would conquer the world together, two children in love for the first time and sure they would set the world on fire. Then fate had intervened and set them on separate courses, now coming around full circle again. She wasn't sure what was in store for them, but she'd take what came.
