"Look, here's daddy." Lyla looked down at the girl that was holding her hand encouragingly, although the little one seemed quite shy. However, that changed immediately when Happy entered the living room.

While Lyla let go of the girl's hand, Avery watched from the couch as the child happily ran towards Happy and wrapped her small, short arms around his neck after he picked her up. The redhead hadn't known that the heavily tattooed biker had a daughter, but how could she? So far they've only had one slightly more personal conversation and that was yesterday.

"Thanks for bringing her", he nodded towards Lyla who just waved it off.

"No problem, she's a sweetheart", the blonde answered with a smile, earning a grateful grunt from Happy.

"Hey bug, I've missed you." The genuine smile Happy gave the little girl that sat on his hip made her automatically smile, too. And not just her but also Lyla. This was a hella weird yet beautiful sight; that's what the redhead thought.

A man that looked like he could kill you with his bare hands and wouldn't even flinch while doing so was holding the sweetest girl and suddenly that stoic, cold and intimidating expression was gone. And the girl wasn't intimidated one bit. Instead she was giving him the widest smile; which, of course, was good. That meant Happy had to be a great father.

"I didn't know he had a kid", Avery whispered after Lyla approached her and gave her a quick hug. Then the sisters stood side by side with their arms crossed watching the killer listening to a three or four year old talking his ear off.

"Yeah, it's a weird sight, right?" Lyla grinned, handing her sister a paper bag from her favorite diner. "Got you a sandwich, I hope it's the right one."

"Yeah", Avery mumbled before looking down at the bag, her mouth watering at the thought of a sandwich. She couldn't remember the last time she had a sandwich from this diner, but her stomach started growling on command. "Oh I love you! I hope I can keep it down."

With a big smile and the bag in her hand, she sat back down on the sofa and patted beside her, hoping Lyla would have some time to keep her company. She looked up as Happy disappeared into the kitchen to give the women a moment alone.

"Enjoy it, I thought you'd love it", Lyla chuckled, leaning back as she watched contentedly as her sister ate the sandwich, a laugh escaping her lips. "You really don't care how you look while eating, do you?"

With a raised brow, the redhead gave her sister a 'duh' look, a smirk on her lips. "I don't have anyone I need to impress with my ladylike manner, do I?"

"No, not that I know of." Grinning, Lyla shook her head, continuing to watch in amusement as Avery practically devoured the sandwich, wiping her fingers on her shirt from time to time. "You look better, not so tired anymore. How are you doing?"

"Better", Avery nodded, who after two more bites placed the sandwich back on the paper and reached for the glass of water that was still on the table from earlier. "I mean, I still wanna get high, the craving is still there. But I'm no longer in pain and I don't have to throw up all the time anymore either."

"That is a start. And you're doing really well. I'm proud of you." Lyla put a hand on Avery's shoulder and sat up straight. "If you like I can take you with me for the day, Piper misses you. Also, you've only seen Kenny and Ellie twice. I'm sure they'd love to get to know you better. And so Happy can spend the day with his daughter."

And so Avery would be distracted. On the other hand, she would also be confronted with several things that could possibly make the craving stronger. But Lyla firmly believed that Avery would do well with a distraction.

"Hey, can you watch her for a few minutes? I got Jax on the phone", Happy asked after he came back into the living room, this time the little girl was hiding behind his legs, curiously peeking at the two women from a safe distance.

"Yeah sure, come here, sweetheart." Lyla waved the girl over with a friendly smile. Knowing that Debbie was a little shy, she searched for the crayons in her bag that Gemma had given her for the drive to the cabin in case Debbie would get bored. "Wanna draw something with us?"

"Come on, bug, they're nice", Happy encouraged his daughter who looked up at him, a little unsure if she should join the two women or not. But then the girl took small steps towards them and finally sat down on the carpet in front of the table.

"Thanks", Happy rasped before he left the cabin to talk to Jax without getting interrupted.

And again, Avery found herself looking after him. Why was it so difficult for her to take her eyes off him? He was handsome, that was no secret, but she had no interest in finding a man; at least not at the moment. And yet she asked herself whether he also had a wife or girlfriend, which was quite possible.

"Take a picture, it lasts longer", Lyla teased the younger Dvorak when she noticed Avery staring after the heavily tattooed biker.

"What?" Avery's cheeks flushed after she tore her eyes away from the door and back at the blonde who just shook her head with a chuckle. "I'm notᅳ I'm not checking him out!"

"You think I'm blind? Your eyes almost fell out", Lyla added with a grin, handing the small girl enough paper. "Any idea what you want to draw, sweetie?"

"A butterfly", Debbie smiled shyly and stuck her tongue out, pressing the tip against her lips as she tried to grab the purple crayon that was on the other side of the table. When she couldn't reach it, she sheepishly looked at the redhead. "C-can you please g-g-give me that one?"

"Of course!" Avery quickly reached for the crayon Debbie wanted and gave it to her, giving her a sympathetic smile.

She had noticed immediately that the girl was stuttering and wondered if it was always like that or because she didn't know Avery and was just nervous. While working in pre-school, she had met several children who stuttered, which wasn't a bad thing at all.

"Thank you", the girl said politely.

"You're welcome. What's your name, sweetie?", Avery asked with a smile, making sure to put the rest of the sandwich back in the paper bag so the girl had more space to draw.

"M-my name is D-D-", the girl gave up with a sigh, lowering her head in embarrassment. That sight literally broke Avery's heart. There was nothing she had to be ashamed of, but Avery could understand the frustration the girl must feel.

"Her name'sᅳ" Avery interrupted Lyla before she could answer for Debbie. She would definitely further encourage the girl to tell her her name herself.

"Shall we try again?", the redhead asked softly, sliding off the couch onto the floor, sitting across from Debbie now, who she smiled encouragingly at. "I'm sure you can do it. Take your time, sweetheart."

The little girl looked up uncertainly, nervously fidgeting with the crayon in her small hand. Eventually she nodded anyway and tried to concentrate. For her age she was already quite attentive and of course noticed when someone made fun of her or was serious about her.

"M-my name is D-D-Debbie", she forced out her name, but smiled when she managed to say it. It was almost as if she was surprised at herself.

"Great job, Debbie!" Lyla clapped her hands with a smile, glad that her sister had interrupted her. Avery sometimes knew better when it came to children who had a disability.

"You did very well!" Avery lifted her hand and held it out to Debbie, who gave the redhead a high five and giggled sheepishly. "See, I knew you could do it. I'm Avery, by the way. Nice to meet you, Debbie."

"Do you w-want to draw w-with me?" Debbie asked, a huge smile now on her face.

"I'd love to!" Avery grabbed a piece of paper and a crayon and just drew whatever came to her mind. With children who stutter, or with children with disabilities in general, you simply need a little patience.

ᚔ

Her breath was shaky as she slowly reached for the picture on Lyla's dresser that was in the hallway. All different kinds of emotions boiled up inside her as her tear-filled eyes focused on the trio of Lyla, Ian and herself in the picture. She clearly remembered the day the photo was taken. It was two and a half years ago on her twenty-fourth birthday.

The world was fine then and she still couldn't believe it would never be the same again. All she had to do was look at the picture and she could almost hear her brother laughing as he tried to save her birthday after one of her ex boyfriends actually dumped her on that dayᅳ per text message, not even in person.

Thinking back to the day Ian had made a fool of himself just to elicit a smile from her, her heart broke and at the same time her chest filled with a familiar warmth. It was one of the best days in her life. God, how much she missed him.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry." Lyla sighed and ran her fingers through her blonde hair as she came back into the hallway and spotted Avery with the photo in her hand. The porn star slowly walked up to the redhead and put an arm around her waist. "Want me to put it away?"

At Lyla's question, Avery immediately shook her head, clutching the picture almost protectively and pressing it against her chest. "No, then we'd just forget about him eventually if we put all of his stuff in boxes."

"That would never happen, you know that", Lyla insisted stubbornly, pulling Avery closer to her, kissing the top of her head. Since Lyla was much taller, that wasn't a problem. "No one could ever forget Ian, Avery."

"I know." Her voice trembled as did her breath and her hands and yet she managed to hold back the tears this time. She knew the kids would be home from school soon and didn't want them to find her crying. "Mom decided to leave his room the way he left it, by the way."

"I know, she told me that when I picked you up", Lyla said softly, leading Avery into the kitchen so she could start preparing the meal. "You see, we won't forget him. Ian is and will always be a part of us, that's not going to change, sweetheart."

Perhaps that was precisely the mistake of holding onto the past too much. But Avery couldn't get rid of her brother's things, and neither could their mom. And yet she knew something had to change.

"Lyla?" Avery asked after sitting down on one of the chairs. She would help Lyla in a moment, but the redhead still needed a moment. Carefully, she placed the picture on the table and ran her thumb over it again.

"Yes?", the blonde asked while gathering all the ingredients.

"What do you think if I moved to Charming? I don't think anything will ever change if I stay in Boise", she admitted with a sigh. With her head bowed, she looked down at her clasped hands, still not quite sure if it was the right decision or not.

Lyla, on the other hand, stared at the redhead enthusiastically and set down everything she was balancing in her arms. Then she pulled the other chair in front of Avery's and sat down before taking Avery's pale, cold hands. With hers she tried to warm them up a bit.

"I'd love to have you here. And I think that's a pretty good idea", Lyla told her sister firmly, nodding eagerly. "And hey, maybe you'll even be able to get back to work soon. And until then, you're welcome to stay with me. For free, of course."

"Really?" Avery looked up questioningly and gratefully at the same time. She was lucky to have a sister like Lyla. In general, except for her father, her family was really great and always supportive. "I promise you I'm really trying to stay clean and I'll find a job here as soon as possible."

"Take it easy, Avery. First, let's make sure you're okay, that you're at least completely clean for a few weeks. Then we'll take care of getting your stuff here and then you can still look for a job, okay?" Lyla waited and looked at the redhead, who definitely didn't want to put too much of a burden on her just yet. First of all, it was important that Avery got her life back under control, nothing else mattered to the blonde when it came to her sister.

"That sounds like a good plan", Avery whispered, lifting a corner of his mouth. Maybe Charming was the right place to stay.