AFTER A LONG NIGHT with little to no sleep, which Happy couldn't complain about, after all, his almost sleepless night had consisted of taking care of his Old Lady and satisfying her and his needs, he stepped through the door of the porn studio to look for Lyla.

He avoided the looks of some women, not interested in dealing with anyone here. Happy had his woman at home, so why dare to look at otrhers? But maybe everyone was staring at him like that because he had almost beaten someone to death in front of their eyes just yesterday.

Still, it was weird. The lone wolf who had never missed his chance for a quick fuck had become a family man who was looking for his Old Lady's best friend to ask her for advice on a kid's room. But Happy wouldn't have it any other way, he liked this new life of his.

When he spotted Lyla next to a set, chugging half a bottle of water, he headed straight towards her and got her attention by clearing his throat.

Lyla spun around, smiling as she capped her bottle and set it aside. "Happy, hey. Can I help you?"

"I think you can", he grunted, glancing around, unfazed by the scenes happening around him on the other sets. "Do you have any of Piper's old stuff left ?", he finally asked, gently pushing Lyla aside so he could talk to her in peace.

"Piper's stuff? What do you need?" The blonde looked up at Happy, a little confused, her hands resting on her hips.

"I don't know." The Killer, not really sure what a four-year-old could really need, rubbed the back of his neck. "Toys, maybe some clothes. I wanted to surprise Tessa and set up Sawyer's own room."

He saw Lyla's eyebrow shoot up before excitement and a grin carved into her features, causing him to roll his eyes with the tiniest of smirks.

"I knew it was serious between you!" she exclaimed, genuinely happy for them. "Come by my place later. I'm off work in two hours and can pack up some things for you. I still have a few clothes and I have enough toys left. I think I even have a few shelves left from Piper's old room. You can have all of that."

"You sure I can have all of that?" Happy asked with a frown, nodding gratefully when the blonde assured him that she wouldn't know what to do with all the stuff otherwise anyway. "I'll take everything you have. How much do you want for it?"

Lyla's hand shot forward, placed on Happy's as he opened his wallet, which he had pulled out of his back pocket.

"I don't want anything for it. Don't even think about giving me money", she told him, a loving severity in her tone as he just snorted, not wanting to accept not giving Lyla any money for all the stuff. "Tessa is my best friend and I'm happy to help. If you really want to spend money, buy Sawyer some new stuff, maybe books or something, he's a pretty smart kid. But I don't want your money."

"I can't just take all your stuff and give you nothing in return", Happy protested stubbornly, but Lyla just hummed.

"You'll make Tessa pretty happy with this, that's enough payment for me", she told him with a genuine smile.

Sighing, Happy gave in, shooting her a grateful look. "If you ever need anything, let me know."

"Thanks, I will", Lyla smiled, turning around when her name was called. "I have to get back to the set. If you need help with the room, give me a call!"

And with that, Lyla spun around on her heels and walked back to the previous set with a slight swing of her hips before taking a seat behind the camera, which was Happy's signal to leave, after all, he had everything he came for.

On his way out, he spotted Ima sitting in a corner, boredly scrolling through her messages while twisting a blonde curl around her finger. Crossing her legs, she was chewing excessively on the gum in her mouth, unfazed by the things going on around her and not even noticing that the heavily tattooed biker with a scowl on his face was approaching her.

Placing his hands on the armrests of the director's chair, startling the blonde as she finally lifted her gaze from the bright screen, a dark grin formed on his lips at Ima's nervous look.

But it wouldn't be Ima if she didn't try her luck anyway. With a seductive look, no trace of the fear in her blue eyes left, she leaned in further and ran her index finger over his chest, biting her bottom lip.

"I knew Tessa wouldn't be able to please a man like you", she purred confidently, batting her eyelashes at him. "She's way too prudeᅳ you need a woman like me. What do you want? Blowjob? Wanna eat me out before I ride your cock?"

"Nah thanks, I already ate at home." If he didn't feel so much anger towards the blonde, he would find her desperate attempts to flirt with him quite amusing. "You know, I can't actually remember a single night we spent togetherᅳ and you know why?"

He watched as Ima's face fell and, with a sour expression, she threw her hair back in a huff, sinking deeper into the chair as he came dangerously close to her until his hot breath hit the side of her face.

"Because your rancid pussy isn't worth wasting my thoughts on", he snarled against her ear, his hands gripping the chair so tightly his arms were almost shaking, his muscles twitching as his dark gaze locked with hers. "If you tell Tessa any of that bullshit that happened between us again and get her all worked up, we'll have another talkᅳ and the next conversation won't be as comfortable as this one."

"Okay! I got it", she mumbled as he came a little closer again, making her swallow. "Jesus, you guys are such divas."

Slowly straightening up, his menacing gaze rested on Ima for a moment longer, her body now slumped in the chair as she was avoiding his gaze at all costs. "You better stay away from Tessa or treat her with respect if you have to shoot together."

With a shake of his head and a snort, the Killer stomped out of the porn studio, feeling lighter after letting his anger out, and got on his bike. Putting on his helmet and sunglasses, his hands slipped into a pair of black leather gloves before he headed to the nearest furniture store to buy some things for Sawyer's room, even though his budget was tight.

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IT WAS LUNCHTIME when Tessa was standing in the kitchen preparing a small snack for Sawyer, herself and Baxter. Happy had called and let her know that he probably wouldn't be back until late afternoon or dinner time.

So the twenty-one year old had decided, after Gregor had called and given her a day off after yesterday's events, to spend a day at the park with Sawyer where she would meet Tara and the Teller boys.

Putting a few more pieces of cucumber and red pepper on the plate, Tessa frowned when there was a knock on the door. Immediately overcome by a feeling of dread, she reached into the drawer with the child lock, grabbed the gun inside and shoved it into the waistband of her tight, black jeans before she headed to the door.

Cal was running around somewhere and certainly angrier than ever. However, there was always a Prospect standing outside Happy's house when Happy wasn't home. She had offered Rat to come in and make himself comfortable, but Happy had given him the strict  task of watching the house from outside.

A look through the peephole in the door made Tessa breathe a sigh of relief. It wasn't Cal, instead the CPS lady was standing at the door.

Oh fuck! Cursing quietly, she frantically pulled the gun out of her waistband and put it in the nearest drawer before quickly combing her long hair with her fingers and checking in the mirror next to the door whether she looked acceptable enough.

Her outfit was fairly neutral, at least more neutral than usual, which was a lucky coincidence.

She greeted the woman with a polite smile after opening the door. "Mrs. Lynn, come in."

"Miss Laney", the woman entered with a curt nod, her scrutinizing gaze immediately wandering through the small entrance area of the house. "I hope I'm not inconvenient."

"No, not at all", Tessa replied. She wasn't thrilled about the visit, but she knew that she had to expect Mrs. Lynn to show up unannounced at any time. "I wanted to talk to you anyway."

"Oh yeah? What about?", the older woman asked curiously as Tessa led her into the kitchen. On the way there, she greeted Sawyer in a friendly manner, who was happily playing with Baxter in the living room. "You got a dog recently?"

"Well, yes", the dark-haired girl nodded as she offered Mrs. Lynn a seat, quickly putting the plates she had used to cut the vegetables just a few minutes ago in the sink. "My boyfriend thought it would be good for Sawyer to grow up with an animalᅳ you know, because Sawyer is an absolute fan of animals."

"And a pet hamster wouldn't have been enough?" Mrs. Lynn asked, not sure whether a pit bull was the best company for a four-year-old. But then she relaxed a little. "It's nice that your partner is thinking of Sawyer. Are we talking about Mr. Lowman?"

With a strained smile, Tessa rubbed the side of her neck, nodding slightly. "Yeah, it just happened. Listenᅳ"

"No", the older woman interrupted with a quiet sigh, her usually strained, hard features suddenly appearing soft and friendly. "I went too far last time by judging Mr. Lowman just because he's a member of a motorcycle club. I wasn't professional and I want to apologize for that."

With her mouth hanging open, Tessa stared at the woman in front of her after she had also taken a seat. "So would it be okay if I stayed here with Sawyer? He's really attached to Happy, I don't want to take that away from him."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Without being biased, the woman waited for an honest answer from Tessa to see how the young woman assessed the situation.

"Yeah, I think so." Tessa's answer came out quickly, clearly showing that she really believed what she was saying. "Sawyer never had that typical family life, you know? All I want to offer him is a stable life with some structure and people around him that he can always rely on."

"Well", Mrs. Lynn began, scribbling some notes in her bookᅳ after all, she was obliged to write everything down. "I don't really have a problem with it as long as Sawyer has his own place to retreat to, his own room, and is not confronted with things that could harm him."

"Do you really think I would let anyone or anything harm my son?" Tessa asked calmly, genuinely interested in what the woman thought of her. "I'm pretty young, don't look like one of those typical soccer moms and I'm not, but Sawyer is my priority and I love him with all my heart. Now that I finally have him back, why should I risk losing him again?"

Mrs. Lynn said nothing, instead she allowed her lips to curl into a smile, genuinely excited by the words she had just heard. "Would you show me the house again? Sawyer's room?"

"Yes, yes, of course." A little unsure of whether it was good or bad that the CPS Lady hadn't given her a direct answer, Tessa stood up and led Mrs. Lynn through all the rooms, just like on her first visit, until she finally stopped in front of an open door.

"This is Sawyer's room. There are still a few of my things in here and it doesn't really look like a nice kids room yet, but I'll take care of it," she explained while the woman was already jotting down a few things as she walked through the room, humming contentedly.

"The room is a good size, enough room for everything a four-year-old might need", she explained, pushing her glasses up a little before pulling her notebook up to her chest, giving Tessa a smile. "I have nothing to complain about. But I expect that the next time I visit, the room will be Sawyer's alone. Do you think you can do that?"

Without hesitation and nodding eagerly, Tessa answered, kneading her hands. "That's no problem. I'll talk to my boyfriend later and then we'll take care of it right away."

"Good." Stepping out of the room, taking another close look at the rooms they walked through back to the bright living room, Mrs. Lynn finally crouched down in front of Sawyer while Tessa made sure that Baxter came to her side.

"Sawyer, hi", she greeted the little boy kindly, who shyly looked at her through his glasses and fiddled with the action figure in his hand. "Can I ask you something? I don't have many questions."

Sawyer looked up at his mom, nervously sucking on his lower lip until she finally assured him with an encouraging smile and a nod that he could answer.

"Yes, that's okay", the four-year-old chirped cautiously, after which Mrs. Lynn nodded at the boy.

"Do you like it here with your mom and her boyfriend?", was her first question.

Not quite sure why someone would ask such a question, although he seemed visibly relaxed and happy, Sawyer nodded quickly. And then the words practically bubbled out of him. "Yes! Mommy always makes me snacks and takes me to the park or visits my friend with me. His name is Abel", he explained, taking a quick deep breath to fill his lungs with air again. "And Happy always plays with me and my action figures or shows me how to work on his bike", he gave Mrs. Lynn the information that Sawyer found quite important. "And he got us Baxter!"

"Oh? That sounds great." Excited by the boy's enthusiasm, a quiet, whole- hearted chuckle fell from Mrs. Lynn's lips. "I can see that you feel pretty comfortable here, huh? Is there anything you're missing?"

Considering hard, with his little head tilted slightly to the side, Sawyer finally shook it, a satisfied smile dancing around his lips.

"No, I have everything", he announced with a shrug, definitely sounding older than he was.

"I'm glad to hear that, really. Thanks for answering my questions", the older woman said sincerely before getting up again, pulling up her shoulders only to let them slowly fall again. "I have nothing to complain about, Miss Laney."

At that moment, Tessa could've hugged the world as a huge wave of relief washed over her. Right now she couldn't even hide her joy, and she didn't want to. "You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that. Sawyer is really in good hands here, Mrs. Lynn, I can assure you of that."

"I can see that." Slipping her notebook into her bag, the older woman reached out her hand to shake Tessa's. "I'm talking to my colleagues, maybe we can stop the visits soon, or at least announce them before we come."

"That would be great, really", the dark-haired girl thanked her, her hand still shaking from all the pent-up nervousness that was slowly leaving her body. "But I have nothing to hide, so it doesn't bother me if nothing changes for now."

"That's the right attitude", the woman praised, shouldering her bag properly. "But it would still be important if Sawyer would attend daycare soon. I know there aren't many places, it's not your faultᅳ but maybe you'll get a place for him soon."

"We're already on the waiting list for three daycare centers in the area, don't worry", Tessa told the woman, grateful that she seemed to be able to understand the situation. "I'll walk you to the door."

Genuinely impressed by how the young woman had life and everyday life with a child under control, Mrs. Lynn followed Tessa to the door and said her goodbyes.

There were definitely worse families that deserved to be under observation, at least Mrs. Lynn thought so. This, as stupid as it sounded, was a waste of time, after all, Sawyer had a loving home.

Once the door was closed, Tessa let out a breath of relief. Leaning against the white wooden door, her hands resting on her knees, she let out a soft laugh. The visit couldn't have gone any better. Tessa had no idea why the woman had suddenly changed her mindᅳ but it didn't matter.

Wanting to tell Happy the good news right away, Tessa called him while she shoved the snack boxes for the park in her black beach bag that already sat on the kitchen counter, adding a few drinks for the kids, Tara and herself.

Her life finally seemed to be going in the right direction, if it weren't for Cal.

word count; about 2950

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authors note; sorry that it took me so long to update this but I started a new original story that really means a lot to me and that I've been working on the last few days. It would mean a lot to me if you could check it out. It's called TAKE ME BACK and you can find it under my published stories. 🥰❤️