Madison sat impatiently in Tara's office at the hospital, bouncing her leg up and down, biting her nails. Juice, who was told by Happy not to take his eyes off her for a second while he was out, sat in the cafeteria and waited until she was done with whatever she needed to do.

Five months had passed since the kidnapping and slowly, really slowly, she seemed to be getting better. The weight she had lost back then was now back on her hips and mentally she could slowly deal with the events that had happened. It was easier for her to sleep at night again, which didn't mean that she wasn't plagued by nightmaresᅳ but it was a lot better than a few weeks ago.

She had also noticed that Happy was slowly, even if it happened very slowly, able to relax a little more. Still, he didn't let her step outside the door alone, too worried that something might happen to her again. In general, he was always close to her or made sure that she was with him in the club as often as possible. And when neither was possible, it was usually Juice or Rat who got the order to keep her company. And anyway, Gemma showed up her apartment almost every day to make sure she was really okay, to make sure her daughter was still there.

One could say that almost everyone in her family had suffered a slight trauma from the kidnapping and the brunette felt incredibly sorry for that. Nobody should have to suffer because of her. But maybe she would soon have news that could give everyone some joy.

Her head jerked to the side as the office door opened and Tara walked in with a straight face. However, she couldn't pretend to have bad news for long and waved the sheet of paper in her hand with a grin.

“The results just came back”,she announced, her grin fading and forming into a smile. “You are indeed pregnant. That means I'm going to be an aunt.”

“No shit?” Madison's eyes widened with excitement, her smile stretching from ear to ear when she heard that she was indeed pregnant. Her hand automatically went to her stomach, which was the real reason why she had taken a test in the first place.

She didn't have her period for three months, however she showed no other signs of pregnancy and she, like everyone else, just thought it was psychological. It wasn't until Madison noticed that her stomach had been looking slightly bloated for a long time that she became suspicious and simply got a pregnancy test from the pharmacy, which turned  out positive.

“I'm going to be a mom, I can't believe it”, she exclaimed happily. “Can we do an ultrasound? I would love to know how far along I am. And I want to be able to give Happy something if I tell him.”

“Of course, I would have done an ultrasound anyway”, Tara nodded vigorously, putting a hand on Madison's shoulder, who was still bursting with joy. “I'm sure you're going to be a great mom.”

“We'll see. I hope so”, the brunette chuckled nervously and let Tara lead her to another room where the doctor performed the ultrasound. At the sight of the embryo, which was already larger than expected, tears welled up in her eyes. Tears of joy. And when Tara let her hear the heartbeat, she started bawling. Just because she was so overwhelmed and after the exhausting last few weeks, it was finally something nice. A glimpse of hope.

Now Happy just had to be just as happy. Would he be ready for a child? Did he even want a family? The two had talked about what felt like every subject on earth, but never about starting a family of their own. Nervousness and insecurity suddenly rose in her, which Tara also noticed after she had printed out the pictures and handed them to Madison after she was fully dressed again.

“Wanna tell me what's on your mind?”, the older brunette carefully inquired.

“What if Happy doesn't want kids?”, she asked uncertainly, running the side of her index finger over each ultrasound image. “How far along am I anyway? Is there still a possibility, well, for an abortion?”

Not that she seriously thought about it, secretly she would never have the heart to do it a second time. She just hadn't seen any other way the first time, but now she had it all. A good relationship, a family that would support her, money was not a problem either. Although Happy brought most of the money home, she also made enough in the TM office, where she had been working again since a few weeks. Although the apartment would be too small because there was no extra room. But they still had Happy's house across the street that they could move into.

Basically, they fulfilled all the basics to start a family and to offer the child a good life.

Tara rolled her chair closer to Madison and rested her hands in her lap, a sympathetic look on her face. “As protective as he is toward you, so will he be towards the little worm inside there. Maybe he's shocked at first. But hey, you made Happy Lowman fall head over heels in love with you, no one has done that before. So I'm sure he can imagine a family with you, too.”

“And an abortion is no longer an option; you are now eighteenth weeks pregnant. Apparently you got pregnant shortly after you were back home”, Tara quickly added, squeezing Madison's hand. “Come on, I invite you to lunch in the cafeteria.”

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Wendy and Juice had joined Madison and Tara during lunch in the cafeteria. The small group mostly talked about the next party at the club and if Jesse was already thinking about moving to Charming.

“Well, he's thinking about it, but it's not quite that simple. Work and stuff”, Madison explained sheepishly.

Up until now only Happy, Jax and Gemma knew what Jesse was really doing and it should stay that wayᅳ but that didn't mean she didn't trust the others, it was just safer that way.

“That sucks. I'm sure he'd like it here”, Juice chimed in, popping a forkful of rice into his mouth. “Is there no chance he can do the job from here?”

“Uh”, the brunette scratched her eyebrow and shook her head. “No, I don't think so. But who knows, maybe he'll move here one day anyway.”

“That would be great, especially right now.” Tara gave Madison a meaningful smile, which the younger one returned.

“Huh, is there something we don't know about?” Grinning, Wendy raised an eyebrow, poking at her food with her fork. “Maybe a wedding soon?”

Nope, far from it. Madison only smirked slightly as Wendy thought more about marriage than pregnancy. But she wanted to tell Happy about it first before telling anyone else about it. Well, except for Tara, whose help she needed to make sure she was pregnant.

“Oh that would be great. We haven't had a SAMCRO wedding in ages”, Juice grinned broadly.

“Guys, Happy and I are not getting married. Not yet”, Madison chuckled and shook her head in amusement. “I promise that you'll find out soon what this is all about. Give me a few more days, okay?”

“That sucks”, Juice moaned impatiently. Sometimes when she spent time with him it felt like she was spending time with Jesse; the two had a frighteningly close resemblance when it came to their personalities.

“Oh poor Juice”, the brunette teased her best friend, earning a playful glare from him, but they both let out a laugh a second later. “As I said, only a few more days and you guys will know, too.”

“You're really teasing us here”, Wendy winked, finally pushing her plate aside. “But we have patience. Hey Tara, what about the weekend? When exactly do you want me to pick up Abel? And if you want, I can take Thomas with me too.”

“Would you? That would be really great if you could take both boys”, Tara nodded relieved. Since Gemma and Madison wanted to get everything for next weekend's party over the weekend, she needed to find someone else for Thomas. “And maybe Friday first thing in the morning, does that work for you?”

“Yeah, sure, that's perfect. Maybe I'll take the boys to a zoo”, Wendy thought out loud, humming contentedly.

Madison's mouth twitched before a smile crept onto her lips. She found it amazing how well Tara and Wendy got along and helped each other when it came to the kids. Still, she was curious now.

“You have to leave for the weekend? You and Jax?”, she finally asked, glancing at Wendy's plate, which wasn't empty yet. “Hey, are you still eating that?”

“Girl, you're hungry today”, Wendy chuckled, pushing her plate towards the brunette, then it clicked in her head. She looked at Madison wide-eyed, her grin as wide as her face. “No way! Are you, you know?”

Wendy specifically didn't say it because of Juice, simply because she didn't know if it was okay for Madison, whose cheeks were flushing like she'd done something cheeky. A sheepish smile formed on her lips as she nodded.

“Holy shit!” Wendy leaned slightly over the table and looked sincerely at the younger woman. “I'm happy for you. He doesn't know yet, huh?”

“Who doesn't know what yet?” As usual, Juice was the last to understand and looked confused at the women, all three of them chuckled softly.

“If you don't find out by yourself, you'll have to wait a few more days”, the brunette sing-sang with an amused expression.

“You women are mean, just so you know”, the Puerto Rican murmured into his glass, which he then took a sip from.

“You'll survive”, Tara commented amused, turning back to Madison. “Back to your question; Yes, Jax and I have the weekend planned out. We wanted to drive up to the cabin and spend the weekend  there, just to have some time for ourselves again.”

“Oh, that sounds nice”, Madison smiled, glad that her brother and Tara wanted to take a little trip just for themselves. Then she looked at Wendy. “Hey, if you need help with the boys you can still come by the club. Then all three of us can keep an eye on the two rascals. And Lyla is there with the kids, too.”

Wendy nodded appreciatively. “I think I'll definitely come by, help you guys out a little, too.”

It wasn't until Happy called about half an hour later to let her know he was back home that she and Juice left, dropping her off at Madison's apartment, where Happy was already waiting for them.

ᚔ

While Madison was cooking the pasta for dinner and prepared the salad, Happy took care of a few papers, for which he needed some of Madison's bank account details.

“Can I have your credit card for a moment? I need to check something”, he called from the hallway while he was already  walking towards her bag. After she yelled that it was okay, he searched in her bag for her wallet, but stopped in his tracks when he spotted something else.

Only as Madison ran out of the kitchen after she remembered what she had hidden in her bag that he realized that he probably shouldn't have seen the ultrasound pictures already, which he was now holding in his hands.

Suddenly his mouth felt dry, his throat too, and he found it hard to swallow. Neither he nor Madison said a word while his gaze was fixed on the embryo in the photos. Only when the brief shock subsided did he raise his head and eyed his girlfriend who was biting her lip nervously and kneading her hands.

“You're pregnant”, he more or less stated, his raspy voice low, a hint of nervousness in it.

Was Happy Lowman actually nervous about having a baby? Yes, and Madison could totally understand that. Even though she was happy, the thought of becoming  a mother made her nervous.

“Yes, I'm eighteen weeks pregnant”, she told him in a soft voice, but she still stood there, petrified. She wanted to give him a moment. “I actually wanted to surprise you with it after dinner.”

“So far already?” He raised an eyebrow questioningly and couldn't believe they hadn't noticed until now. Well, then his eyes fell on her breasts with a clear of his throat. “Although I knew something had changed there.”

The brunette followed his gaze, then smirked and rolled her eyes after looking down at her breasts herself. “Of course you noticed that. You men really are your own brand”, she laughed softly.

“Hey, don't judge me. It's not my fault they grew this much”, he answered with a smirk and took a few steps towards her until the distance between them was gone. “Are you happy, little girl?”

“Yes. I was shocked at first but I think we'll manage it”, she beamed excitedly and put her hands on his chest. He still seemed pretty composed. “What about you, baby?”

With his hand on her hip, he pulled her against his body, still holding the ultrasound pictures in his other hand, which he was looking down at. His chest filled with pride. That was his child in these pictures and at the same time a fear spread through him. The fear to fail as a father, just like he failed with Madison when he couldn't protect her from Steven.

He let go of her abruptly and swallowed dryly as the cold panic gripped him, but he didn't show it. And only now did he realize how much the kidnapping still haunted him. Madison's confused, almost worrying look didn't make it any better and Happy had to get some fresh air, maybe take a ride on his bike.

“Lock the door behind you, don't open it for anyone”, he ordered sternly before placing the pictures on the dresser, then grabbed his helmet from the hook by the door and left the apartment without further words. He had to get rid of this nagging anxiety before he could sit down with Madison and talk about it.

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authors note; hey guys! Feel free to check out my new Happy story. It's called DARK PARADISE. I'll leave the cover below. 🖤