Here she was, back in Albuquerque. What she immediately noticed was that there was no feeling of home. Not even a spark. On one hand, it was a bit sad. Shouldn't people be attached to their hometown? Getting nostalgic as soon as they visit the town they grew up in? Maybe she hadn't been gone long enough. Or maybe she just had no connection to New Mexico.

There was one good thing; that way it would be easier for her to drive back to Charming after loading her furniture into the truck. Jesse had already done her the favor of tossing all of her clothes and personal belongings into boxes that Rat was currently carrying into the truck and stacked the boxes on top of each other to leave room for the furniture.

“So you guys are together and he has a house, why are you moving into your own apartment then?”, Jesse asked with a raised brow, at which the brunette just rolled her eyes.

“Because most couples don't usually move in together after two weeks of dating, Jesse”, she replied with a chuckle.

“She's already with me all the time”, smirked Happy, who had caught a few words while stowing a part of Madison's bed in the truck.

“Yes, because I don't have any furniture yet. When we get back you'll be free of me and you'll have your bed to yourself again”, she said teasingly.

Happy's eyes narrowed slightly as he stepped towards her, his arm now wrapped possessively around her waist. “You'd better rethink that sentence. You're not going anywhere”, he rasped against her lips, from which he stole a kiss, which Madison returned with a soft sigh.

“I'm not paying rent for the apartment for nothing, baby”, she murmured against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. “But you're always welcome in my bed”, she whispered seductively.

“Yo, guys. Get a room”, they heard Jesse say who just shook his head and decided to help Rat fill the truck with Madison's  furniture, which was still better than watching his sister make out with her new boyfriend. And before things were said that were definitely not intended for a brother's ears, he preferred to help the other guy.

“He's fucking sensitive”, Happy stated amused and gave her but a good squeeze.

“I agree”, the brunette chuckled and pecked his lips once again. “But that's what I love about him. Come on, let's get on with this shit so we can go back home soon.”

“Are you sure you don't wanna stay for a few days?” Almost tenderly he brushed some strands of her hair out of her face, which he tugged behind her ear.

She nodded curtly at his question. “I am. I'll come back another time to visit Jesse longer but Izzy really needs me for Rico. I don't want to let her down.”

In fact, she had grown fond of Happy's sister in such a short time. Every time Madison babysat Rico, Izzy made sure to bring either a small snack or an iced coffee for her brother's new girlfriend on her way home. It wasn't much, but it was still something that always brought a smile to Madison's face.

Sometimes they just spent an hour or two in Izzy's apartment after she came back home and just talked about the most random things, but mostly about typical girl things. It was only through Izzy, Tara and Lyla that Madison realized how much she had missed talking to friends like that. Here in Albuquerque she only had Jesse and his circle of friends, who were all men. Which was cool, but it did her good to have some women around again.

“Thanks, little girl. She really needs you right now,” Happy grunted, caressing her cheek again. Though he didn't say it often, he was grateful for Madison's help. Without her, Izzy would be in a really shitty position right now. “Besides, Rico is crazy about you.”

“I'm happy to help her. Besides, she pays me for it, which she really doesn't need,” she sighed. Especially now that she was dating Happy she felt bad about taking money from his sister. But she really needed it at the moment. However, she then smirked. “Well, I hope so. But the little guy is really cute.”

“And stubborn. Just like his mom and grandma” Happy added with a shake of his head, but there was still a small grin on his lips that made Madison chuckle.

"But in a cute way. And you're also stubborn as hell. Seems like it runs in the family, huh?”, she defended the toddler with a laugh before she and Happy got back to work. She was glad that her apartment was on the first floor and that they didn't have to walk a lot of stairs.

⸺

After almost another hour, her apartment was empty and everything was neatly stowed away in the truck, which fortunately had enough space for everything. If that hadn't been the case, she would have just left some things here.

“Thanks guys, it would have taken me forever without you guys”, she gave everyone a quick smile and put her hands on her hips. “I'll quickly clean the floors and windows, you can go eat something at the diner around the corner, I'll join you guys later.”

“We're not going to eat without you”, Happy determined, putting a toothpick between his lips before he sat down on the bench that was on the sidewalk.

“Just leave it, the apartment is clean. Let's go get something to eat together before you leave again”, Jesse suggested, who looked clearly down about the fact that his sister was leaving already again.

“If you want, I can clean up and you can go to the diner”, Rat interjected, after all he was the prospect and it would certainly score him some points if he would clean the Tacoma Killer's Old Lady's apartment.

“Do that”, Happy nodded, beckoning the brunette with two fingers, who shot him a warning look. “Don't look at me like that, little girl, it's part of his prospect time. All of us had to go through shit like that.”

Even if she knew what the duties of a prospect were, she felt bad about having her apartment cleaned by someone else. However, Rat had already disappeared to do just that.

“No, one of his jobs is to carry your ass after you, not mine”, she corrected her boyfriend, squeaking softly as he pulled her onto his lap.

“And you're my Old Lady, so you're mine and if I want him to clean your apartment, he'll do it”, he rasped with a smirk, his hands resting on her hips.

“Okay, I got it”, she rolled her eyes, chuckling. “By the way, I finally have an idea for my tattoo and how I would like it to look.”

“Well, it's about time you finally got my crow so everyone knows who you belong to”, he growled softly and let his hands run down her sides, whereupon he elicited a contented sigh from her. “Tell me about it later and I'll design something when we get home.”

“Sounds about right”, she hummed before leaning in to kiss him.

“I'm still here in case you forgot”, Jesse chimed in, casually sitting down next to Happy on the bench and smirking at the heavily tattooed biker. “And the tattoo means what exactly? How are others supposed to know that she belongs to you because of a tattoo?”

Just as Happy was about to reply, his eyes narrowed as two elderly people approached the three after practically jumping out of their car. And the two didn't look happy at all⸺ the opposite was the case.

“Who are they?”, he asked, his voice hoarse, nodding in the direction the two were coming from.

“Oh shit.” Jesse was on his feet in an instant, adjusting his hoodie jacket that was half hanging off his shoulder. “Our parents.”

“Perfect, why not”, the brunette groaned in annoyance and slid off Happy's lap to mentally prepare herself for a lecture. Her head was already pounding, even though they hadn't even started yet.

“Madison Aurora Pinkman!” Oh great, they even used her full name and the brunette, who was in her mid twenties, suddenly felt like a teenager that screwed up all over again.

“What did I do this time to deserve to be called by my full name?”, she asked, a certain provocativeness in her tone. Jesse let out a laugh, but Happy immediately stepped next to her side with a slightly intimidating look on his face.

“Watch your tone, young lady”, Adam warned, his voice already shaking with anger.

“Yes sir”, again there was a good portion of sarcasm in her voice. She had lost respect for her parents a long time ago, after all they never showed any respect towards her or Jesse. So why should she respect them then?

Diane stopped right in front of her stepdaughter and stared at her intently. “What do you think you're doing? Moving to Charming without telling us?”

“How do you even know about this?” She snorted, crossing her arms. There was no way Jesse had told them about this, he wasn't going to snitch. But who else told them?

“One of your old classmates kindly pointed this out to us when he met us in the grocery store. He asked how you liked Charming and if you'd come back soon”, the small blonde woman hissed, looking quite angry.

Madison gulped, her gaze wandering to Happy who immediately realized something was wrong and put his hand on her back.

“Did anyone know you were moving, baby?”, he asked with a deep growl.

“No, nobody”, she just murmured as a feeling of fear slowly crept into her bones and made her feel uncomfortable. Wrapping her own arms around her body made her feel a little better.

“Baby?” Adam snorted, flashing a look of disappointment at his daughter. As always, he had nothing better to do than to judge other people who weren't like him and Diane. “Don't tell me that's your boyfriend, Madison. How low do you want to sink?”

“Watch what you say, dad.” Her head jerked towards her father almost as fast as one would think she might suffer whiplash. “You didn't even realize I left Albuquerque almost two months ago. You have no right to judge me, Jesse, or my friends and family. And yes, that's my boyfriend.”

Offended, Adam scrunched up his face in disgust. Of course Madison was right, her parents were judgemental assholes, but Adam and Diane were so far from reality that they didn't see it themselves.

“We had a lot to do! Unlike you I work all day, your mother takes care of the house, we have to take care of Jake, who has to go to his extra classes five times a week, and then there's the church association. So don't you dare to blame us for not noticing”, the older one barked at his daughter and pointed his fingers in her face. “And I don't accept this man by your side.”

“Calm down, yo! Stop coming up with excuses all the time. We all know you guys can't stand Mads and me, don't keep blaming us for everything”, Jesse snorted after getting in his parents faces.

“Oh stop it, Jesse! This here is not your problem right now”, Diane grumbled, pushing her son aside to face Madison again. “What do you think people will think of us if we accept a man like.. that by your side?”

Madison snorted, continually amazed at how judgmental her parents could be. “I don't really care what you or others think of it. I'm happy, really for the first time in my life. And do you know why? Because he and the rest of my family cares about me. Not like you did!”

Diane gasped, one hand on her chest. “Don't you dare talk to us like that! We're still your parents, young lady! You'll end this relationship, do you understand me? And you're going to move back.”

“What's wrong with you, lady?” Happy's growl came from next to Madison, who placed a hand on his arm after realizing how angry he was. “You should learn how to fucking respect your kids and then, and only then, you can ask for their respect.”

“Think you can intimidate me?” Diane asked nonchalantly, her eyes boring into Happy's. “My daughter will not date a criminal.”

“She already has a criminal brother, why not dating one? Life's more fun hanging around criminals”, Jesse asked, his tone provocative, adjusting the beanie on his head. But Diane only gave him a side eye.

“If you talk to my wife like that again, you've got a problem with me”, Adam warned Happy, making Jesse laugh again. Happy could put Adam Pinkman in a wheelchair with just one right move, if not kill him, and Adam really had the nerve to disrespect someone with the nickname 'Tacoma Killer'.

Madison struggled to keep Happy from lashing out. But his tense body and how his chest was heaving showed how close he was to losing his shit. She got in front of him and glared at Diane.

“I'm an adult and I certainly won't listen to you guys. My place is in Charming and I pray that there will come a day when Jesse moves too and you idiots will finally realize how shitty you've treated two of your children. You can't forbid me shit”, Madison hissed at the blonde, who pressed her lips together in anger, hating how much her stepdaughter was cursing.

“You don't talk to your mother like that”, she warned under her breath.

“You have never been a mother and you never will be. My mother is in Charming and is happy to have me around and accepts me like⸺”. And there it was, a hard slap in the slap. Her head snapped to the side and her cheek tingled, then started to burn.

“Stupid bitch”, Madison mumbled, bringing  a hand up to her stinging cheek. Now it was almost impossible for her to stop Happy, who pushed past her and stepped so close to Diane that she almost tripped backwards over her own feet.

“Touch her again and I promise I'll forget you're a woman. I don't give a shit if you're her mother on paper or not, that's not how you treat her, you understand me?!”, he spat at the woman menacingly, not caring what the neighbors would think.

His chest rose and fell rapidly, a murderous gleam in his eyes. He didn't give a damn who Diane was. If she touched Madison again or disrespected her, he would act⸺ in his own way.

“Get away from my wife”, Adam whispered threateningly, but nobody really took him seriously. He just seemed pathetic. Adam put his hands on his wife's shoulders and looked at his daughter in disgust. “You are no longer part of this family if you choose this man!”

“Hey, this is the best thing that can happen to you, Mads”, Jesse mocked and then looked at his parents. “What do I have to do so that you finally reject me completely?” Probably just tell them the truth about him being a meth cook.

“Shut up, Jesse”, Adam said annoyed, looking back at his daughter, whose cheek was glowing red. In his eyes, she deserved the slap.

“Finally, it took you long enough”, she sneered, but inside it hurt her that her father could reject her so easily. She didn't really care about Diane though. “I would always choose him over you so don't bother to ever call me again.”

Without another word, she walked around the truck, fighting back tears as she fished inside her leather jacket for her pack of cigarettes. She had expected a lot, but not that she would meet her parents exactly today.