NERVOUSNESS CREPT INSIDE Nola as she sat on Happy's couch and tried to distract herself with one of her favorite TV shows while she ate one tangerine after the other, a whole bowl of them placed in her lap. The only cravings she had developed over the last few weeks were tangerines and spaghettiᅳ two things she could probably survive on without needing anything else.

In less than three hours the court hearing would take place to decide whether she would get sole custody and whether Alden would even have to serve time for all the things he had done to her.

She had noticed that neither her father nor Happy had been happy when they had heard she had reported Alden four months ago, one day after the conversation with the doctor and her father, and she still didn't know exactly why.

What Nola didn't know was that her father and the others had already come up with a little plan to make Alden disappear, to get revenge for what he had done to herᅳ of course no one had told Nola about that, which is why she had no idea why everyone wanted Alden to stay out of prison.

In her eyes, she just wanted to finally do the right thing, to get a man like Alden out of the picture as best she could. The thought that he could also get custody of their baby was horrible, as was the thought that he could do the same thing to another woman as he had done to her.

Alden had to be stopped and Nola hoped that today would finally happen.

Curiously, she stretched her head forward a little and looked around the corner when she heard the key in the door, a small smile crossing her face as Happy came in, two more nets of tangerines in one hand and a bag in the other.

The two had gotten along pretty well for the last four months, living together was easier than she had expected. Okay, Happy was at the clubhouse at least three days and nights a week, depending on how stressful it was or what was going on.

But he spent the rest of the days here and during them Nola tried to squeeze as much as possible out of her roommateᅳ to her surprise, after everyone had told her that Happy wasn't a talkative person, she got quite a lot out of him.

And she too had warmed up more and had talked about the last few years with Alden, how happy and grateful she was to finally be able to lead a somewhat normal life again and had simply talked about the things that were still bothering her. Happy hadn't lied back then, he was actually more of a good listener than a talker.

His answers mostly consisted of grunts, or a gentle squeeze of her hand or arm, recently even her leg as they sat comfortably on the couch, sharing a beer and a soda while watching a movie. Another activity they often did togetherᅳ watching movies or shows together, after all they both had similar tastes in that regard.

Something fluttered in the pit of her stomach every time Happy came closer, when he touched her or she simply listened to his raspy voice. But up until now she had pushed the emerging feelings away, after all she was still married, right? And carrying another man's child.

Although, even if that was just wishful thinking, she sometimes had the feeling that Happy was watching her when he thought she wasn't paying enough attention.

"Do you need help?", she asked, putting the bowl of peeled tangerines on the small coffee table in front of her. "Did you get them for me?", Nola, with a huge smile on her lips, nodded at the two nets that Happy was carrying into the small kitchen with a grin.

"What do you think? Have you seen me eating one of those things in the last few weeks?", he asked, a hint of amusement in his gruff tone. "Still afraid that you'll get tangerine poisoning at some point."

"Oh please, there's no such thing", Nola said with a grin as she followed him, waving her hand before ripping open the nets to stack the tangerines in the fruit bowl. "I didn't know you were coming today. I thought Jax needed you."

Happy shook his head as he began to put away the rest of the groceries, including Nola's favorite sauce. "Nah, said I can check on you, maybe come to court with you if you want."

"Would you?" Sheepishly, Nola looked up at Happy, almost something pleading in her blue eyes before she caught a glimpse of the jar of her favorite sauce that Happy was holding. "And you got that for me too?!"

With an almost excited squeal, she threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek before grabbing the jar and placing it right next to the stove. "Then we'll have spaghetti tonight! We just need to get some ground beef."

"You really think I'd buy the sauce but not the rest of the stuff?", chuckled Happy as he took the ground beef out of the bag, and the pasta too. "I want some after all", he added with a shrug.

Happy couldn't deny that he enjoyed her cooking. He loved coming home and being enveloped by the smell of a fresh meal, no matter what it was. Nola was good at what she did and who was he to turn down a free meal? He also knew that this was her way of thanking him for letting her live here as long as she wanted.

"You're sneaky", Nola gasped in mock-offense, shaking her head with a chuckle. "You're only buying this stuff so I'll cook for you."

"And what if that's the case?" Happy joined in the teasing games, leaning against the kitchen counter with a grin after placing a toothpick between his lips.

Nola shrugged with a sweet smile. "Then I wouldn't have a problem with it either, as long as I get my tangerines and spaghetti."

"You really should ask your doctor if you can eat so many of those things", the SAA snorted amusedly, crossing his arms over his chest as he glanced at her baby bump. "How's the little princess doing?"

He couldn't help but crack a smile as Nola looked proudly down at her belly, which had grown considerably by now. It was something he caught himself doing quite often; watching her rub her bump or listen when she'd talk to the baby, her eyes widening in surprise every time she felt movement.

The first time he had happened to be there too, and Nola hadn't hesitated for a second to grab his hand and place it on her belly so he could feel it tooᅳ and to reassure herself that she wasn't just imagining the kicks.

The more time he spent with her, accompanying her to her doctor's appointments when Bobby or Gemma weren't available, the stronger the strange feeling in the middle of his chest became. He was almost longing to get home after spending a few days at the club and that confused him, sometimes even irritated him.

What made it all worse was the need to protect Nola and the baby with everything he had after she had asked him at the last appointment if he wanted to be there for the ultrasound because she would probably find out the genderᅳ and in fact the doctor had announced that it would be a girl.

"She's fine", the blonde hummed with a smile, lifting her gaze to look at Happy. "You wanna feel? She's awake right nowᅳ my little pumpkin seems to be getting more active every day."

"That's good", Happy grunted, feeling a sense of relief washing over him when he heard that Nola and the baby were fine. At her question, he hesitated for a moment, but then nodded slightly when Nola looked up at him with her big doe eyes. "Sure."

After the blonde walked in front of him and gently placed his hand on the spot where she had just felt the kicks, his throat went dry when he could feel himself how active the little bundle inside Nola was.

A corner of his mouth twitched upwards, and he slowly began to rub his thumb against her stomach, slightly wrinkling the fabric of her black top. "Looks like she wants to keep her mom busy. Could you at least sleep last night?"

Their eyes locked, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth as Nola looked at him with flushed cheeks after she had lost herself in his eyesᅳ which hadn't happened for the first time.

"Uh, yeah..well, she woke me up a few times but that's okay", the blonde stuttered, clearing her throat before smiling up at him sheepishly. "So would you come to the trial with me? I think I could use all the support I can get today."

In addition to Bobby, Gemma would also come, the woman like an aunt to her. In general, she was able to find a good friend in everyone in the club. Chibs, Juice, Tigᅳ everyone treated her like a princess, whereupon Gemma had told her that this was nothing unusual, after all she was the daughter of a member and thus somehow SAMCRO's princess, just like Ellie, Ope's daughter, who wasn't there very often.

Tara had apologized a few weeks ago for her behavior, for wanting to harm Nola's baby. The former Munson woman knew that Jax was the reason for the apology, Tara would never have dared to take the step on her own. But for the sake of peace, Nola had accepted the apology, which didn't mean that the women would become friends in the future, absolutely not.

"If you want me there, I'll be there", he told her, slowly removing his hand from her stomach. "When do you have to leave?"

"I think I'd feel much better with you there, really", she nodded slightly before glancing at the wall clock. "I'm going to take a shower and change, in an hour I'm meeting Ally outside the courtroom so we can discuss everything again."

"Okay, then get ready, I'll wait here and drive you." Even though he hated the cage that Nola now had, he wouldn't risk taking a woman who was seven months pregnant on the back of his bike. "Does Ally have a good strategy?"

"Thanks", the blonde smiled, really grateful that she would be getting so much support today. "Yeah, Ally seems to really know her stuff. I'm glad you guys recommended her to me."

Since Ally was the club's lawyer, there was already a certain level of trust between the lawyer and the members, which is why Bobby had recommended choosing her as a lawyer; which Nola had done straight away. And since Bobby didn't want her to go to work while pregnant, he had covered the costs.

Not that Nola was a fan of it, but she didn't have the money at the moment. Nevertheless, she had gotten a job in a bar three times a week so that she could at least pay for the first things for the baby and the rent once she finally found an affordable apartment, although unfortunately she had been unsuccessful so far.

"I hope she can get sole custody of the baby for youᅳ the fucker shouldn't have the chance to see the kid even once", the SAA grumbled, the anger ripping through him again at the thought.

"He won't", Nola replied firmly, more than determined to fight for her and her child's safety. "I won't let Alden near my daughter, no matter how many times I have to object."

"And I got your back", Happy promised in a rasp, placing a hand on the back of her head. "You have us. Not just Bobby, your sister and your mom, but also me and the rest of the club", with a kiss to her forehead, he slowly let go of her. "Come on, go change so you have enough time to talk to Ally."

His gaze was so intense, his fingers buried in her hair while his hand continued to rest on the back of her head, that Nola was almost sad when he pulled it back and let it sink. But he was right; she had all of them. After talking things out with her mom and explaining everything to Ginny; they had come to Charming right away support herᅳ but sadly neither do them weren't able to stay for long.

"Iᅳ I don't know what to say except thank you", Nola murmured, her heart pounding against her ribcage after he had placed that kiss on her forehead, causing her to stumble over her next words. "Oᅳ okay, yeah..right, I should get ready."

Holding eye contact with him for a moment longer, she slowly stepped back and walked out of the kitchen. The moment she was out of sight, her lips immediately curved into a smile, her skin crawling with excitement as she slipped into the bathroom, still reeling from the brief, intimate moment they had just shared.

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