After another five hours of driving after spending the night in a motel between California and New Mexico, Madison supported  her hands on Happy's shoulders to get off the bike easier. With her hands supported against her lower back, she arched it a little and stretched her body.

“Are you okay?” She was scrutinized by Happy, who took off his sunglasses after dismounting his bike and hanging both helmets on the handlebars of his bike.

“I'm okay, stop worrying”, she said with a loving grin, looking up at him as he stepped in front of her and placed his hands on her hips.

Before they left Charming Happy had told her to let him know immediately if it became too strenuous for her on the bike so that he could stop and she could get into Izzy's car, who always stayed behind them the whole drive.

But Madison wanted to drive with Happy. She wanted to be snuggled close to him while the wind brushed her faceᅳ it had always had a calming effect on her. And Happy's fear that something could happen was unfounded, after all, an accident could just as easily happen with a car.

“Mhmm”, he just grunted and pressed a kiss to her lips, which she returned with a pleasant sigh and wrapped her arms around his neck. “It felt good to have you behind me again, little girl”, he rasped against her ear and placed a few kisses on her neck.

“Not here where everyone can see us, Hap”, she chuckled, gently pushing him away, whereupon he just growled softly before she placed her hands on his chest, a mischievous grin spreading across her lips. “But you can repeat that while we wait for my dad and Diane outside the church. I bet they'll sink into the ground in shame when all their 'friends' see their daughter making out with a biker, and visibly pregnant.”

He raised an eyebrow and let out a laugh. “You’re really mad at your dad, aren’t you?”

Which he couldn't blame her for. If it were up to him, he would prefer not to tell Adam about the baby. No child needed a grandfather who had no respect for his own daughter and didn't even ask about her after she was kidnapped.

Happy had a huge anger built up inside him towards Adam, which threatened to bubble up at any time, especially if he would meet Adam in person. In his eyes, Adam didn't deserve his daughter, nor did he deserve to be allowed to be a part in her life anymore.

However, the other part of him also understood that Madison wanted to tell him about his grandchild, that she secretly still had hope that he would finally give her the affection and attention that he had never given her before.

“Uhm, hello? He never called me once. I’m pissed”, she snorted, but immediately smirked again. “So yeah, I’d like to make it a little difficult for him.”

“Count me in. Like I'm missing an opportunity to make out with you”, he whispered as he placed more kisses along her jaw. “We can also do this inside the church if you really want to piss him off.”

“Hap!” Laughing, she shook her head and looked at him, amused about his suggestion. She knew he wasn't joking and would do it though. “I want to piss him off, not give him a heart attack.”

“Fine, but it would be kinda hot”, he winked, that mischievous grin still plastered on his face. To prevent his pants getting tighter, he changed the subject. “Now can you finally explain why Izzy wanted to come along so badly?”

“Nope”, the brunette shook her head and smiled sweetly, now she was the one who pressed two soft kisses against his jawline and sighed pleasantly. “Ask her yourself, baby. I think she would find it nice to spend a few hours with you alone. When I'm with Jesse later, we can watch Rico and you can go somewhere with her and just talk, do stuff siblings normally do.”

Since Happy wasn't the one who talked much about his past or talked much at all, she let Izzy tell her how the two of them grew up back then and, in contrast to her brother, Izzy was definitely more talkative. That's why Madison knew how close the siblings were and that Izzy could always rely on Happy, but that they hardly spent any time together anymore like they used to.

“Did she say something to you?”, Happy asked, frowning.

“Well, not exactly. But you can tell that she would like to spend some time with you more often again”, the brunette replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders. “And I get it. Now that I can't do as much with Jesse anymore, I realize that I actually miss it and would like it to be different again.”

Sighing, he ran a hand over his face and nodded understandingly. Even though he didn't show it, he also missed spending time with Izzy. She was still his little sister who he would do anything for, but they were both getting older and at some point had their own life. Both sides had little time left and they probably should change that again.

“We'll get Jesse to move to Charming, little girl”, Happy said quite confidently and pressed a kiss on her forehead, knowing that she missed Jesse a lot. Then he looked past his girlfriend and at the car that parked behind his bike. “There’s Izzy.”

“I hope so, but I can’t force him.” Her smile seemed sad, but she would accept Jesse's decision, no matter what it was. She also looked at Izzy, who was getting out of the car and waving at both of them with a smile before lifting Rico out of his seat.

“Talk to her, baby. Spend some time with her”, Madison smiled, kissing him again before strolling over to Izzy to help her with Rico and the bags that were all stored in her trunk.

ᚔ

Here she stood, in front of the church where she knew that a service was taking place in which Adam and Diane were certainly involved. For as long as she could remember, the two of them had never missed a church service, except when one of them was sick.

She chewed nervously on her bottom lip while leaning against Happy, who in turn was leaning against his bike and had his arms wrapped around her from behind, one hand soothingly rubbing her bump.

In the meantime she had already changed at Jesse's house and was now wearing a dress that was tight at the top and loose at the bottom, but her baby bump was still clearly visible. Her hair was in a high ponytail, which was definitely more comfortable than wearing it down in the oppressive heat here in Albuquerque.

“Do me a favor, little girl”, Happy spoke up before pausing for a moment to think of the nicest way to put it. “Don’t get your hopes up, we know what an asshole your father is. He doesn't care about his own kids, it's possible that he won't care about his grandkid either.”

Okay, that was probably a bit harsh, but it was the truth. And he didn't want to see his girlfriend completely devastated again just because her father wasn't interested in her.

“Don’t worry, I’m not getting my hopes up”, she lied, looking up at him with a weak smile after turning around in his arms.

“Stop lying to me, woman”, Happy sighed, who could clearly see that his Old Lady was lying. If she didn't get her hopes up, she wouldn't be so nervous right now.

“Sorry”, the brunette mumbled with a sigh and leaned her forehead against his chest. “I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I still wish he would at least show some interest in his grandchild.”

“I know, babe”, Happy nodded, cupping her face in his hands and forcing her to look at him. “But even if he rejects you again, you now have a big family that will always have your back.”

God, how much she loved this man. And her love for him grew more every day. No matter how she was feeling, he always knew how to cheer her up, calm her down or comfort her and she was incredibly grateful for that.

“I know that, Happy, and I'm really grateful for that, especially that I have you”, she whispered, smiling, before flinching briefly when the church bells rang. “I guess they'll be out soon”, she added in a murmur.

Due to the nervousness, no, it was fear that she felt, a thin film of sweat formed on her forehead and her breathing quickened. Even though she had just drunk half a bottle of water ten minutes ago, her mouth and throat felt dry, making it hard to swallow.

“Just stay calm, babe”, Happy whispered in her ear, his raspy voice relatively gentle and soothing compared to usual, his hand always resting on her back.

“I'm trying”, she mumbled through her clenched teeth.

A whole swarm of people, mostly over fifty, came out of the church, with a few children and slightly younger people in between, but mainly couples the same age as her parents who came out of the church last at the end of the swarm and took their time to talk to the priest.

Madison never liked this artificial laughter and let out an annoyed snort. Why was it so important to her parents to leave a good impression on everyone? Where was the fun in life if you were always just trying to impress others and convince them that you were perfect? Which her parents were by no means.

And yet a smile formed on her lips when she spotted her youngest brother, boredly kicking rocks with his foot, causing Diane to scold him twice.

“Is that your younger brother?” Happy asked, nodding at the brown-haired boy who had to be around twelve or thirteen.

Madison nodded wistfully. “Yes, that's him. Sometimes I feel really bad that I didn't visit him more often. Instead, Jesse and I allowed Adam and Diane to manipulate him in the same way they tried to manipulate us.”

“Hey, it wasn’t your job to take care of that. Besides, the two of them would never have allowed that anyway”, Happy grunted, squeezing her side gently. “Did you always have to go to church with them, too?”

“Yes, I know, but still”, she sighed, but she still felt guilty for leaving Jake behind. “Mhmm, I had to go every Sunday, sometimes even during the week. I’m telling you, I’ve been to enough church services, and I'll never go to another  one for the rest of my life.”

Happy just chuckled. “Good, because you can’t get me into any church. And our child doesn’t need that stuff either.”

And even though he accepted other religions, there was no way he would do that to his child and he was sure Madison felt the same way. His kid should grow up normally, without pressure from any pastors or churches.

“I didn’t plan on that either. And our kid will probably never see the inside of a church, don't worry”, she laughed, but her parents’ religious behavior had apparently actually caused her to get a church trauma.

“Madison? What are you doing here?” Diane's voice sounded anything but enthusiastic after the little family approached the couple.

“Visit my father”, the brunette answered dryly, then something happened that she absolutely didn’t expect.

Within seconds she was in her father's arms, who was holding her close. One arm wrapped tightly around her petite body while his other hand rested on the back of her head and pressed her ponytail against her neck, whereupon he repeatedly stroked her hair.

At first she was so shocked that she didn't even know how to react. Hug him too? Push him away? Or just stand there awkwardly? But as the smell of her father's familiar perfume filled her nostrils and all the memories from when she was a little child and had received hugs more often flooded her mind, she couldn't help but wrap her arms around him, too.

It took all her strength not to start crying. She had wished for this kind of affection so often and had never gotten it. Then why now?

She quickly pulled away from him before she would actually start crying and cleared her throat quietly. The brunette slowly stepped back until she felt Happy behind her, who slipped his arm around her waist. He also seemed quite surprised by the unexpected affection coming from Adam.

Only Diane's eyes brimmed with jealousy and contempt. This didn't go unnoticed by either Happy or Madison, who couldn't suppress a satisfied grin, but it quickly faded when she looked back at her father, who looked genuinely touched.

“I’m so glad to see you.” His voice wavered, thick with emotion. He carefully tried to reach for her hand and only when he was sure that it was okay with her did he reach for it. “I was really worried about you, sweetheart.”

“Oh yeah? Then why didn’t you call once?” Disappointment simmered in her voice, which threatened to crack at any time. “You didn’t reach out to me! Do you know what a shitty feeling that was?!”

Confused, he looked at his daughter, who was glaring at him. Rightly so. He had been acting like an asshole towards her and Jesse for long enough. And he deeply regretted abandoning his children like that just because he was never able to stand up to Diane.

“I have written letters to you more than once, Madison”, he clarified immediately, squeezing her hand gently. “I didn't know how to put what I wanted to say to you into words, so I wrote you a letter. When there came no answer, I wrote you another one three weeks later. And two months ago I sent the last one. But then again there was no answerᅳ”

“What? I never received a letter from you, Dad”, she interrupted, clearly confused. But she saw that her father wasn't lying, for the first time in ages she saw genuine sympathy and remorse in his eyes.

“I wrote you some, I swear, Madison”, the older man insisted, sounding almost desperate. Now he also reached for her second hand. “I checked the address every time.”

“There were never any letters”, Happy chimed in, his eyes piercing like daggers into Diane, who was visibly nervous. And he quickly realized why. “Maybe you should ask your wife what happened to the letters.”

“Adam, we should go. I won't let this..scumbag insult me again.” The fact that Diane immediately felt so attacked and wanted to leave right away was just further proof that she had something to do with the disappearing of the letters.

Angrily, Madison clenched her jaw, pulled her hands out of Adam's grasp, and stepped toward Diane, getting so close that their faces were almost touching. “I already told you to be careful what you say about Happy. Call him like you just did again and I promise you I won’t hold back anymore, bitch.”

Happy couldn't help but smirk proudly. Madison became more and more like Gemma and he could tell she was a lot more confident now than she was back then. He didn't really care what Diane called him, but if she would get too disrespectful he would do something about it.

“Sweetheart, stop. You shouldn’t get too upset”, Adam said, pointing at his daughter’s stomach, looking sincerely proud. He wanted to know more, but first he had to get other things straight. He looked disparagingly at his wife, who didn't say a word anymore.

“Is he right? Do you have anything to do with the fact that the letters never reached Madison?”, he asked through clenched teeth. “The truth, Diane, don't even try lying to me.”

“God, yes! I couldn’t allow you to let her back into our lives just because your guilty conscience plagues you!” Diane's face was as red as a tomato as she angrily nudged her husband's shoulder. “You’re way too soft. Tell me, how are you ever going to be the man of the house if you let a junkie and a slut influence you like that?!”

“Call my Old Lady a slut again and I'll bring you very quickly very close to the guy you pray to every day”,  Happy snarled from behind Madison and immediately pulled the brunette against him, protectively wrapping his arm around her waist.

“You bitch”, Madison snorted, shaking her head before massaging her temples as she felt her head starting to hurt from all the drama.

“That's really low, even for you, Diane”, Adam said with a sign and let out a bitter laugh. “Go home, we’ll talk later.”

“Oh, shut up”, Diane grumbled in Madison's direction before staring at her husband in disbelief. “I did this for you, to protect you!”

“Go, now!” Not only Jake but also Madison gave Adam a surprised look when he raised his voice against Diane for the first time. Usually she was the one who did this all the time, making him feel like shit.

“Fine, whatever. You can sleep somewhere else tonight!” Like a pouting child, Diane turned around and dragged the twelve year old boy with her by his sleeve after he waved at his sister, who looked after him with a sigh.