Debbie's birthday party was a complete success, at least so far. After breakfast at Debbie's favorite diner in town with Happy and Avery, the day continued with a little trip to the playground and in the afternoon the party that Gemma had organized was thrown at the clubhouse.

Of course, Gemma had gotten everything a girl's heart could desire. Colorful decorations, lots of sweets, pizza and fries and a huge table for presents, which after a short time was piled high with presents of all sizes. Which didn't surprise anyone. There weren't too many children in the club and if one of them had birthday, that child was treated extra that day.

The scary looking bikers were actually a bunch of pretty sweet guys who loved children. What Avery was able to discover in the last few weeks that she was allowed to spend here. Although Happy didn't bring her to the club all the time, he brought her often enough to give her a chance to get to know everyone; After all, the group of bikers was also Lyla's family, and therefore also somehow Avery's family, especially now that the redhead would be staying in Charming.

The redhead got along best with Tig, who was currently holding a laughing Debbie in his arms and tickling her sides before letting her off his arm again so she could continue playing with the other children. Tig was special, but that was exactly what Avery liked about him. He wasn't uptight, always nice and funnyᅳ and crazy. He also made one or two attempts at flirting, but only for fun because he had a feeling that Happy had his eyes on her.

And then there was Gemma, who Avery also got along relatively well with. In contrast to her, the matriarch was quite extroverted and had scrutinized her at their first meeting and asked hundreds of questions while they were having a drink together at the bar.

Happy had told her a few days ago that it wasn't easy to get accepted and liked by Gemma Teller and that she could really see it as a compliment that Gemma liked her so much already.

To be honest, she hadn't spent too much time with the others, but she definitely wanted to change that. Lyla hadn't lied when she told her that everyone here was like a big family that was always there for each other.

"Debs, Don't run around while you eat!" Happy's slightly louder voice spoke from behind her before she felt his hand resting on her tailbone, and. A soft chuckle slipped past Avery's lips as the now four year old pouted for a moment before she listened to Happy and sat down with Abel until they finished the slice of pizza they were having.

"I thought you were more fun at parties", the redhead teased the biker, who frowned at her and huffed.

"I can't always be the cool dad, can I?", he asked with a grin. "You like it here, little girl?"

He asked this to find out if she felt comfortable here around his brothers, his family. Whether she got along with the people here. That way he could find out right away whether it even made sense to try anything with her. If she couldn't cope with his life and his family, there would never be a future for them. He saw it with Jax and Tara how stressful it could be when both partners had different ideas about life.

"Right, setting boundaries and stuff like that", she winked with a smirk and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Yes, I do. I like the atmosphere and that everyone here is having fun, even at a kids party", she said eagerly.

Okay, everyone had fun except Tara. The doctor tried to put on her best smile, but even Avery, who had only seen Tara twice so far, noticed that the brunette was quite tense and didn't actually want to be there.

"Good", Happy grunted, satisfied with her answer. Only then did he wrap his arm around her shoulder and led her to the table where Debbie was sitting with Abel, Jax and Lyla.

"W-when can I open the p-p-presents, daddy?" Impatiently, Debbie looked at her father, standing up on the bench and leaning slightly over the table, a mischievous smile on her face. "I w-want to know what I got!"

"Are we a little impatient today, huh?", Jax chuckled. Abel wasn't any different on his birthdays.

"If you want we can open them, bug." With the corner of his mouth raised, he caressed Debbie's cheek instead of ruffling her hair, otherwise he would probably get in trouble for ruining her hair that Avery had made. She was just a girl after all.

"Oh yes!" Beaming, she clapped her tiny hands and obediently sat down on the bench again.

"I'll bring you your presents, sweetie", Lyla smiled, who immediately got up and walked over to the table full of presents. Every now and then she watched Avery and Happy from the corner of her eye and grinned slightly to herself.

It was clear that they both enjoyed each other's company and Happy's arm certainly wasn't just around Avery's shoulder for fun.

"What are you grinning at, huh?" Gemma looked curiously at the blonde, helping Lyla carry the presents one by one to the other table. It was nice to see Lyla smiling more often again.

The blonde nodded her head towards Happy and Avery. "There's something going on between them, but Avery hasn't mentioned anything to me yet. Do you think there's more?"

"Mmhm.."The matriarch watched the couple on the table for a moment as they talked extensively with each other, every now and then one of them let out a laugh. "Maybe not yet, but something is happening between them. I've never heard Happy talk so much."

"And he seems so relaxed. Not so tense and grumpy", Lyla added with her arms crossed.

Gemma nodded in agreement. "True. But your sister seems relaxed too, that's a good thing. After all the crap she's been through, she deserves some good moments."

"Do you think Happy is serious about her?" There was no condemnation in her voice, just concern. She knew many men around here weren't looking for anything serious. "I know Avery. If she falls in love, then she does it with her whole heart. She either wants someone or she doesn't."

"And now you're afraid that Happy might break her heart and she'll fall back into her deep hole?" Gemma asked, waving her hand. "Don't worry about it, baby. She makes Happy laugh, have you ever seen that?"

Lyla just chuckled and shook her head. "No, I haven't. Sometimes he even scares me with his constant intimidating look, even though I know that behind this hard shell there is a really nice guy."

"You see. I think your sister is just as good for him as he is for her. She also has a good relationship with Debbie already", Gemma shrugged slightly. It was obvious how excited Debbie was about Avery and it was the same the other way around.

When the two women walked back to the table, they sat down and made the others aware that Debbie would now open her presents. Within a short time a group of bikers gathered around the table.

"Start with mine, it's the best, sweetie", Tig winked at the four year old, who then giggled and took the gift Tig held out to her.

"Just keep thinking that your gift is the best", Happy countered, smirking, in the meantime he had pulled the redhead closer to him, who leaned into his arm. It felt good, different and much better than having one of the Croweaters glued to him.

"Just because you're her dad doesn't mean you have the better gift", Tig stated with his hands on his hips, a wide grin plastered on his face after Debbie opened his present and looked up at him with big eyes.

"A p-painting kit!" The girl wobbled happily in her seat, Abel next to her immediately curious about the present Debbie got.

"That's so cool! I can't wait for my birthday", he said excitedly, causing amused laughter to fill the lot outside.

Half an hour later, Debbie was done with opening all the presents, all stacked on the table or next to each other. There was everything from stuffed animals to board games and clothes and Happy no longer knew where to store all of it in his house. But he was happy for his daughter and the smile on her face was worth filling his house with toys and stuff.

"Say thank you to everyone, bug", he gently pinched her nose from across the table. Manners were important to him, it wasn't for nothing that Debbie was such a polite child. Kim certainly wouldn't have taught her to say please and thank you; his ex didn't know those words herself.

"T-t-thanks for the p-presents", Debbie exclaimed, beaming at everyone. She then received lots of hugs or a 'you're welcome, sweetie' from all sides.

"Here sweetie, this is from your dad and me." Avery handed Debbie the last wrapped present that she had picked out with Happy the day before yesterday.

Since she wasn't making any money at the moment, she asked Lyla if she could lend her something until she could give it back, because the redhead definitely wanted to pay, too; even if Happy didn't want to accept it at first. However, she was just as stubborn as him and ended up paying half of the price.

"It looks beautiful!" Curious, Debbie tore the wrapping paper off the package and got some help from Jax, who was sitting right next to her, when it came to opening the box.

"Wow, what have you got there?" Gemma asked smiling, pleased to see Debbie so happy.

"It's the d-doll I w-wanted and extra clothes, too!" Debbie squeaked happily after hugging the already unwrapped doll tightly, pressing her against her chest. "I call her Elle!"

"Then her name is almost like me", Ellie smiled, who was sitting next to Lyla and had been watching eagerly as Debbie had opened presents.

"T-t-that's why I c-call her that, because I like your name, too", Debbie explained smiling, happy about Ellie being here because she always played with her and Abel when she was at the clubhouse.

"I'm glad you like it, bug." Happy smiled as his daughter leaned over the table again, this time far enough so that she could place a kiss on his cheek, then also one on Avery's cheek.

"I l-love it! T-thank you Daddy, t-thank you Avery", she beamed, revealing the tooth gap from the first tooth that fell out a week ago. "Can she sleep in my bed today?"

"You're welcome, sweetie, I'm glad you like it." Avery's smile grew as she saw how happy Debbie was with her gift, and how happy she was about tge party and everything else.

"Of course you can", Happy assured her and stroked her cheek before the four year old sat down again, the doll always on her lap.

"Hey, how about we go shopping next time and pick out some more clothes for your new doll, hmm?" Gemma asked the little girl.

Of course, Debbie nodded immediately. "Yes, p-please!"

"Can we go play again?" Abel asked, who was busy stuffing another muffin into his mouth.

"Yes, but leave the muffin here or eat it quickly", Jax told him, who ran a hand over both kid's heads and smirked.

"Thanks, little girl", Happy rasped in Avery's ear after everyone had gone back to their conversations and there wasn't too much attention on them anymore.

"For what?" She turned her head to look at him and her heartbeat quickened as her eyes met his and her face was just inches away from his. Her breathing automatically became shallower.

"Everything you did for her, I appreciate it", he said as he placed a kiss along her jaw and then rested a hand on her cheek, running his thumb over her cheekbone.

At his touch, she sank her teeth into her bottom lip and briefly closed her eyes to enjoy the moment. There was definitely something between the two of them, it wasn't just her imagination. Right?

"You don't have to thank me, Happy. Thanks to you and your perseverance, I am clean so far. And even though there is still a long way to go, it's a start", she said in a firm tone, her look sincere.

The heavily tattooed biker raised a corner of his mouth and continued to caress her cheek with his thumb. "I likeᅳ"

"Debbie!" His ex's shrill voice interrupted him mid-sentence and just thinking about Kim sent a cold shiver down his spine.

"I'll be right back", he whispered before he broke away from the redhead, stood up and followed Debbie, who ran towards her mother.

Apparently it wasn't enough that Kim was way too late, no, she also had to bring her sister with her, who was almost worse than Kim herselfᅳ which was possible but hard to beat.

"You're late", Happy pointed out before getting a toothpick out of his pocket and putting it between his lips, rolling it from one side to the other.

The blonde rolled her eyes in annoyance, chewing her gum exaggeratedly. "Calm down, I'm only an hour late. But now I'm here and I can take her with me."

"You're not taking her with you", Happy snorted, placing a hand on Debbie's shoulder as she wrapped her short arms around his leg. His ex didn't even think it was necessary to greet her kid first, which made his blood boil.

"She's my daughter too, Happy. I can take her with me whenever I want", she answered annoyed and crouched down, briefly pinching Debbie's nose. "Hi baby. Would you like to go on a little trip?"

"I w-w-want to s-stay here, w-with Daddy and Avery. D-do you w-want to see my presents, mommy?" Debbie's eyes sparkled for a second, hoping her mom had enough time to stay here and look at the presents. "Avery m-made me a cake!"

"Avery again, huh?" Kim looked up at Happy angrily, as if he had made a mistake. She didn't answer her daughter's question at all and immediately stood up again. The jealousy was clearly visible on Kim's face. "Is your new chick spending time with Debbie all the time now? She won't talk about anything else anymore!"

"None of your damn business, Kim", he stated coldly, looking down at Debbie, who was looking sadly at the ground and kicking a stone with the tip of her pink shoe. And immediately anger rose in him when he saw his daughter so sad. He could literally feel the eyes of the others behind him, but they all held back for the time being.

"It's my business when it comes to my child", she hissed quietly before she quickly reached for Debbie's hand and tried to pull her towards her and away from Happy. "Come on now, I don't have forever, Debbie!"

"I d-d-don't w-want to! I w-want to stay with Daddy and my friends!" Debbie defiantly tugged at Kim's hand to free herself, her other arm still wrapped tightly around Happy's leg.

"Let her go. If she doesn't want to go, she'll stay here. Besides, I still have two days with her." A low growl rattled through Happy's chest before he picked Debbie up and removed Kim's hand from his daughter's. "If you can't stay here for even ten minutes on her birthday, maybe you should consider leaving her with me all the time."

"She has rights, idiot", Kim's sister chimed in, looking just as cheap as Kim.

"Why don't you just sit down with us?" Avery asked, who was now standing next to Happy. She thought Kim's behavior was absolutely disrespectful, but this was about Debbie, who would be happy if her mother would stay here for a while.

But apparently the suggestion didn't go down well with Kim. "And who exactly was talking to you? Avery, I assume?"

"Don't talk to her like that", Happy warned, earning a snort from Kim.

"Yeah, I'm Avery", she replied with a tight smile, trying to remain friendly. "I'm sure Debbie would be happy if you'd join us."

"Oh please, you just want to impress Happy. Don't use my kid for that", Kim sneered and turned back to Happy. "I can call the cops if you don't let her leave with me. Debbie is coming with me."

"B-but I d-don't w-w-want to!" Debbie's stuttering became much worse in Kim's presence, which said it all. That was proof enough that Debbie wasn't in good hands with Kim.

"I told you you should've had an abortion, then you would've saved yourself this bullshit", Kim's sister sighed, chewing away on her gum while she was fiddling with her long nails. "And you wouldn't have a retarded child now. Let's go, it's embarrassing to take her somewhere anyway."

It was quiet for a moment, only shocked whispers could be heard from a few people. Avery's eyes went wide and soon Debbie was gently pushed into her arms, her eyes moist and her lower lip pushed forward. All the sniffing and puffing coming from her only a moment later not only broke Happy's but also Avery's and everyone else's heart.

"Bring her inside", he told the redhead, who could tell from his breathing alone that the situation was about to escalate and before Debbie would witness even more, Avery just nodded slightly and went inside with the four year old.

Meanwhile, Tara and Lyla had already brought the other kids inside to continue the party to distract them.

"The fuck you just said about my kid?" Happy barked and before Jax and Tig, who had stayed outside just in case, could approach Happy, Kim's sister landed on the ground after Happy pushed her.

"The fuck is wrong with you?!" Kim slapped his arm before she helped her sister back to her feet, who was wailing and holding her elbow, but the pity of the others was limited. "Prepare for the next lawsuit, asshole! It wouldn't be your first."

"You better think about that again! And it's best for you to stay away before I lose my shit completely, Kim", Happy snarled at his ex after he got in her face, the urge to push her too was tempting.

"You better leave, bitch." Gemma, who quickly approached Kim, lashed out and slapped the blonde in the face. However, the pent-up anger didn't diminish. "Nobody makes my babies cry. If I see you here again, you better turn around quickly and run before I see you."

Even though Kim was actually a little intimidated, it was Happy's menacing, intense stare that really scared her and made her gulp. She held her burning cheek in silence and supported her still wailing sister with her other arm.

"The last word hasn't been said", was all the blonde said before she left the yard seething.

"Stupid whore", Happy growled, wanting nothing more than to go after her, except then he would completely lose control and probably do something that could get him some serious jail time. But he knew one thing, he wouldn't let Debbie go back to Kim and this time he had enough witnesses and an actual chance to get full custody for his kid.

ᚔ

authors note; I know Happy wouldn't lay a hand on a woman and maybe it's a little out of character for him to lose his shit with Kim's sister but I think that's exactly how a caring parent would react (or would like to react) after hearing anyone insulting their child. This doesn't mean I'm supporting violence against women [or anyone!] Okay, just wanted to get this out, hope you enjoyed this chapter. I think it was one of the longest I've ever written. 😅🥰