IT HAD BEEN FIVE DAYS since June had returned from her trip to Bakersfield and since then not a day had gone by that Happy hadn't called her at least three times a day to ask how she was doing and whether she was taking her medication. The last two days he had even brought her dinner. Once from her favorite restaurant here in Charming, and once from one that he knew Alanna and Callie would enjoy.

And these gestures did a lot to June. This was the man she had fallen hard for back then, the man who made her heart beat faster. It was the little things that June valued so much. Things that she had to live without since they had split up.

Sure, she could've been stubborn and stayed with Happy like Tara had stayed with Jaxᅳ but she just couldn't. If she had stayed, she would've just constantly thought about the kiss between Happy and that bitch. The fact that it was all just staged to push her away didn't matter.

He was the one who wanted to push her away, to finally get her to leave him because he couldn't leave her. And that's exactly what she did. But the weekend in Bakersfield, the sheer worry and fear in his eyes every time she felt a little weaker, didn't let her go.

He took care of her the whole time, just as he did back then. Basically, he never really wanted to lose herᅳ and that was exactly what she had realized.

So, should she fight for him? Their marriage? He wanted her back, he had told her that clearly and unambiguously. But only as soon as the danger had been eliminated, as soon as the Argent Devils were gone. But did she want to wait that long? Just to fear that he would push her away again the next time there was danger?

No, she had to know that it wouldn't happen again. June had to know that he would stay by her side, even if there was danger. So if he really wanted her back, then it would be now and not when the danger was gone at some point.

But right now she didn't want to put any pressure on him nor her and wanted to take things slowly. One step at a time.

To show how grateful she was for his help, for not leaving her alone for a second over the weekend, she decided to ignore the regular visiting hours. The kids needed their dad and he needed his kids. So fuck the rules.

As she backed into her usual parking spot at the club, she turned off the engine and took off her sunglasses, her eyes landing on Alanna.

June gently pulled the headphones off the nine-year-old's head and smiled warmly when she finally had Alanna's attention. "Can you do me a favor, sweetheart?"

Unsuspecting, the girl shrugged her shoulders, nodding. "Sure, what is it?"

"Be nice to Dad, okay?" June pushed a strand of brown hair behind Alanna's ear, whose features darkened slightly. God, she looked so much like Happy when she did that. "Look, I know you're still hurtingᅳ but he misses you, so much. Give him a chance to make up for his mistakes, would you?"

"What's the point if nothing changes anyway?", she asked, the corners of her mouth pointed downwards. "He won't come home just because I'm nice to him."

June glanced over her shoulder and to the backseat, but Callie was still dozing in her car seat. So June could talk to Alanna without worrying that the three-year-old would hear them.

"Baby, he loves you. He's your father and that will never change. And who knows what the future holdsᅳ maybe things will turn out differently, better, than you think", June told her, her tone soft.

"Means what exactly?" Alanna pressed, her slender body now turned toward her mother as an eyebrow shot up. "What happened in Bakersfield, mom? You and dad...you haven't spent this much time together in ages. But since that weekendᅳ it's like you're getting closer again."

Well, shit. The kid was smart. Not that June was surprised, Alanna was just as observant as her father and could practically sense things without her having witnessed them.

Sighing, June let her head fall against the headrest of her seat, scratching her eyebrow. "I'll tell you the truth if you promise me not to worry unnecessarily, okay?"

"Whatᅳ Mom, what happened?" Of course the nine-year-old was worried. But then the penny dropped before June even said anything. "Was it something with your heart?"

June's heart bled when she heard the sheer worry in Alanna's cracking voice, so she quickly grabbed the girl's hands, squeezing them. "I'm okay, baby, it wasn't a heart attack. But it could've ended worse", she trailed, chewing her lower lip. "But Happy was there and reacted immediately. And believe me, he was so scared he totally lost his shit and almost his mind."

"You should've told me about it!" Tears filled Alanna's eyes as she unbuckled her seatbelt and in the next moment snuggled into her mother's arms, who welcomed her openly. Sniffling, she hid her little face in June's chest, glad that nothing worse had happened. "I don't want to lose you, Mom."

"You won't, sweetheart", the former Teller whispered, clearly affected by Alanna's heartbreaking reaction. "Do you understand now why I want you to be nice to Dad? He loves us just as much as he did back then and he'd still do anything for us."

"I'll be nice", the nine-year-old mumbled against her mom's sage green top, which now had one or two scattered tears on it. "Next time, please tell me right away if you're not feeling well. I'm old enough to help, mom."

"Thank you, baby, I appreciate it." June timidly cupped her daughter's face in her hands and smiled weakly. "It's not your job to worry about me or to take care of me. I only told you about it because I want you to know how important we are to your dadᅳ that's never changed."

"It still sucked that he left", Alanna muttered with a frustrated sigh while clutching the Polaroid camera around her neck, but the fact that her dad was there at that exact moment and prevented something worse from happening to her mom changed her perspective a little. "Will you pick us up tomorrow before or after school?"

"I know, Lana. And he knows that too", June assured her as she gently squeezed Alanna's face before placing a kiss on her forehead. "After school, then we'll finally look for a new school backpack."

"I like that", the nine-year-old smiled as she quickly wiped her cheeks dry. "Please take care of yourself, mom."

"I will, I promise", she said seriously before she released her daughter and got out of the car with her.

At the same moment, as if he had tasted the arrival of his family, Happy stepped out of the clubhouse. And to say he seemed surprised was an understatementᅳ after all, the last time June had been here at the club was ages ago.

At the same time, he was also alarmed when he finally reached the car, tossing his toothpick to the side. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. I just thought you might wanna see them more often again", June shrugged her shoulders with a small smile while she leaned against her car, her forearms folded on top of the still open car door. "If you want they can stay with you tonight, you'd just have to drop them off at school in the morning. But I can alsoᅳ"

"No, I can do it", Happy nodded immediately, swallowing the small lump in his throat as he was relieved to see that June and the kids were fine. "Since when don't you care about the visiting hours?"

June just shrugged her shoulders with a faint smile. "I want this to work, Hap. They need you."

He didn't answer, instead he just nodded, gratitude flashing in his dark orbs. As Alanna strolled around the car, the SAA tensed up, expecting his daughter to still not want to spend time with him.

But when Alanna shot him the first genuine smile in over a year and wrapped her arms around his waist, Happy's throat released a nearly shaky breath as he wasted no time in pulling his daughter into the tightest hug possible.

June rested her chin on her forearms, which were still resting on the top frame of the car door, and watched the scene in awe, feeling her heart swell with love.

"Like I said, I'll pick you up from school tomorrow, okay?" June knew she didn't have to tell her daughter to behave. Alanna was one of those children who knew from a young age how to behave at home and outside. So she just stretched her arm forward and stroked Alanna's cheek after the two had pulled away from the hug. "Call me before you go to bed, I wanna say goodnight."

"I will, mom", Alanna promised, her eyes glassy but a genuine, happy smile on her lips. You could see that she needed the hug just as much as Happy did. "Love you."

"Love you too, sweetie." June watched as Alanna walked towards Jax, who just came out of the clubhouse, a cigarette hanging between his lips which he threw away before he hugged his niece and shot his sister a smile.

June, however, just glared at him, even though she was secretly glad that he and Maria had come up with the plan. But he had to know that he can't pull this kind of shit behind her back.

"Jesus, still mad at me?", he asked, amusement lingering in his cocky grin. "I apologized. Even Happy isn't pissed anymore."

"Well, a simple 'sorry' isn't going to help this time", she called across the property, a snort coming out of her nose as Jax just rolled his eyes and chuckled. "You better get back inside before I kick your ass."

"As if you would", Jax teased. But they were still siblings, loving to provoke each other in a loving wayᅳ most of the time at least. "I'll see you later?"

"Maybe, don't know yet", she shot back with a cheeky grin. "If you bring me donuts and a coffee, I might let you in."

Now Jax snorted, but never without losing his grin. "I'll think about it."

June gave him the finger, in a loving way, and got one from Jax in return, whereupon Alanna gasped in mock shock.

Shaking his head, Jax threw an arm around his niece, ruffled her hair and led the whining nine-year-old, who was now busy pushing her hair down, inside.

"He's such an ass", June muttered, chuckling before her eyes met Happy's again. A smile spread across her lips as she noticed him looking at her with nothing but admiration. Another thing she missed. "Should I leave Callie here too or just Alanna?", she asked, resuming the conversation.

The sunglasses sitting now on top of her reddish, chin length hair, perfectly styled as always, the sun adding an extra shine to her piercing blue eyes, the smile on her pale peach colored lips grew when she saw Happy's lips twitch into a smile also.

"You think it's okay if I spend a day just with Alanna?", he asked almost cautiously, not wanting to seem like a father who only preferred one daughter. But after the hug, after his baby seemed to finally allow him to get close again, he just wanted to show her that he was there for her, that he was still the same. "You look good by the way, June."

"Thanks, Hap." June's cheeks turned a light shade of red, causing her to sheepishly tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She quickly waved it off to distract from her reaction. "No, I think it's actually a good idea if you spend time alone with Alanna."

"Yeah, I guess", he croaked, taking a step closer towards his wife, his intense gaze always on her. "Would you come over tomorrow night? I'll cook for us and we'll just talk, that's all I want. If it's going too fast for youᅳ"

"I'd love to come over", June interrupted his rambling, pushing her body up on her tiptoes before she planted a kiss against his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow", the SAA croaked, smiling to himself as he watched June slip back into her car. He glanced at the backseat so he'd at least see Callie, but he didn't want to wake her. Then his eyes met his wife's blue ones again. "Call me if you need anything, you hear me?"

"You tell me that every day, Hap. Don't worry so much", she replied softly. "Can you tell Mom to call me later? We need someone to watch the kids tomorrow night."

"Sure", Happy assured her, tapping the roof of her car before stepping aside as June started the engine. "Drive carefully and tell Callie she can call me later."

"I'll have her call you", June promised with another smile before she closed the window and left the property.

Her plan was definitely to come by more often again from now on, also to finally spend more time with the other members again.

word count; 2253

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authors note; so, this was planned to be a short story only but I really enjoy writing this one. And I think I should be able to work on two stories. So, my question, would you like this one here to be a longer story? Please let me know. 🤎
By the way, I just published my new Happy fic WEST COAST recently. You can find it under my published stories. Feel free to check it out, I'd appreciate it. 🫶🏻