Down Memory Lane

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Jax walked out onto the front porch to find Happy sitting on the steps with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He laid a hand on the other man's shoulder and squeezed.

"You ok, man? That was some heavy shit in there."

Happy shook his head as he lifted it to stare out across the yard. "He laid hands on that baby, man. He tried to kill Connie... Nah, I ain't ok." He stared down at his boots for a moment before continuing. "I lost her twenty years ago, then I found her again. Then, I find out all of this shit."

Jax sighed and sat down beside his brother. "So what are you gonna do now?"

Happy scoffed. "There isn't a question of what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna protect her, any way I have to."

Jax nodded, taking out a cigarette and lighting it before offering Happy one. They sat there and smoked for a few minutes before he spoke, snickering a little. "I've only known her a few days, but Connie... she's stubborn, man. She won't make it easy on any of us."

Happy snorted, shaking his head. "I know, man. She wouldn't be mine if she wasn't, but I got ways around that stubborn shit. This isn't my first taste of that attitude."

Jax chuckled and stood up, glad that his brother was coming back to his normal self. He'd been worried for a minute, wondering just what Happy would be like if he was off the chain. He didn't think he wanted to find out. He'd watched the man torture and kill plenty of men, but those men had never hurt someone Happy cared about. Protecting the club was one thing, protecting someone you love was quite another. "Well, if she's yours like you say, you might want to go in and see to her. She's probably worried that you left, not that she'd let that show. She was crying when I came out."

"Fuck!" Stubbing his cigarette out, Happy stood and strode for the door, walking in to see Gemma holding Connie and Tara nowhere to be found. "Where's Tara?" 

Gemma nodded toward the hall leading to the bedrooms. "Maddie woke up and she went to sit with her for a minute until mama here is ok."

Without another word, Happy drew Connie into his arms and hugged her to him, swaying back and forth and murmuring nonsense in her ear until she calmed down enough to talk. Finally, after several minutes, she lifted her head from where she had buried it in his chest and swiped at the tears on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry. I don't usually cave like that, but this is the first time, other than law enforcement and the courts, that I've told anyone all of it, and I guess I just needed to get the tears out."

Happy shook his head as he kissed her on the forehead. "You got nothing to be sorry for, Con. You needed to get it out, and now that you have, we make some decisions." She looked at him with a frown but he shook his head. "I'm gonna go get Maddie and we'll get her settled in with some cartoons or something so we can all talk some more, ok?"

She nodded and he headed down the hallway. Soon, Tara came walking out and by the time they had another pot of coffee going and Connie had composed herself, Happy came walking out with Maddie in his arms like it was the most natural thing in the world. He sat her on the floor in front of the tv while Connie made her a bowl of cereal and brought it to her. With a promise to behave, Maddie effectively shut out the adults and tuned in to Sofia The First.

They all sat back down at the kitchen table, Happy being the first to speak. "Ok, we have a couple of options here." He took a deep breath and continued. "Our first option, and my favorite, is me and a few of the boys making a trip to Spokane. Quick, clean, done."

Connie stared at him for a moment, the look of horror clear on her face as the other three nodded in agreement with Happy. "That... what you're suggesting sounds a lot like flat out murder."

Happy leveled a look in her direction that had her swallowing hard. "I'm not a choir boy, Con. None of us are. Yeah, I want him dead." He shrugged. "As far as I'm concerned, the prick signed his own death warrant the moment he laid hands on you. I'm not giving him a chance to cause any more damage."

Gemma sighed and leaned toward Connie with a small smile. "Baby, you got a lot to learn about the club, but it's gonna take time. Right now, all you need to know is that any one of these guys would take a bullet for you. What Happy is suggesting makes sense."

Connie shook her head. "I get that, I really do, but he's not a threat anymore. I mean, I have the TRO and... "

Happy snorted and glared at her. "You think that's gonna stop him if he wants to hurt you or one of the kids?" He sighed and shook his head. "Ok, we leave him be for the time being, but baby, I'm telling you straight out, if he comes to Charming, he's not leaving. You get me?" When she nodded quickly, he winked at her. "Ok then, asshole gets to live a little longer. You know how to shoot?"

Connie looked at him in surprise before shaking her head. "No, of course not."

Jax just grinned as Happy rolled his eyes, making the other two women chuckle. "Ok, well, I bet Grandma Gemma would love to watch bug today so I can teach you."

Connie shook her head as Gemma agreed readily. "Oh, I don't know... "

Happy sat forward in his chair and got nose to nose with Connie. "Look, it's simple babe. You don't want him dead, you learn to protect yourself when me and the boys aren't around. Understand?"

Connie blew out a breath before nodding. "Yeah, I understand. I'll get Maddie ready to go."

Happy gave her a smile as she got up to get Maddie dressed for the day. He knew it was a small battle, but he would take all the wins he could get.