THE MOMENT he walked through the door two arms threw themselves around his neck, followed by Tessa's legs snaking around his waist after she slammed her lips down on his, causing him to stumble against the closed door.

A deep chuckle of his flowed into the kiss, his hand buried in her hair while the other grabbed her ass to keep her up. Their tongues brushed against each other in slow strokes, drawing pleasant sighs from both of them as the kiss deepened with burning passion.

"Where did that come from, huh?", he croaked against her shiny lips, covered with their mixed saliva, and bit her bottom lip, cradling her body closer.

"I'm just happy", she whispered, her smile more meaningful than anything else. "And relieved that Sawyer and I can stay with you."

"Maybe you should get good news more often", the SAA grumbled with a wry grin, slowly letting his Old Lady sink back down onto her feet. Nevertheless, he made sure that she couldn't move an inch away from him, holding her close with his arm around her waist.

"I could get used to being greeted like this", he added, smirking as a giggle fell from her lips.

With flushed cheeks, she looked up at him, meeting his eyes, and placed her hands on his chest. "Mhmm...me too. You can have that every day nowᅳ until it annoys you."

"You could never annoy me, babe." Grumbling softly, he brought a hand to her cheek, pushing some hair out of her face so he could see more of it. "But honestly, I'm glad you no longer have CPS up your ass."

Tessa, still visibly relieved, nodded with a soft hum. "Believe me, me too. Although I'm still under observation at the moment."

"But you have the CPS lady on your side now, little girl, that makes things a lot easier for us", he effectively argued, lifting a corner of his mouth. "We would've found a way for you to stay anyway."

"So you're sure you want us here? Sometimes it's not easy with kidsᅳ but Sawyer is still my responsibility, not yours. You don't have to worry about me asking for your help all the time", she assured him, lifting her hands in defense. "Nothing will change for you."

"You've really only had shitty guys in your life, haven't you?" Happy asked with an incredulous snort, earning a confused look from Tessa. "You are my Old Lady, Sawyer is your son and is part of youᅳ so we are in this together, Tess. He may not be my son, but I asked you to be my Old Lady knowing you have a kid, so Sawyer is my responsibility just as much."

Happy, as inappropriate as the name was for his stoic demeanor, would never ask a woman to give up her child or keep it away from him. He knew what he was getting into, that Sawyer was part of Tessa's life, making it his duty to take care of both of them in the future.

As tears filled her eyes, a smile broke out on Happy's lips. Rubbing his thumb along her cheekbone, he pulled her head closer and planted a kiss on her forehead, letting her know he was there.

The moment she called him earlier and had told him that she could stay with Sawyer, he felt a sense of relief too. He had never been the relationship type before, now he had even gained a step son and didn't even have a problem with itᅳ on the contrary.

It was hard to read him, he knew that. Hell, he wanted no one to really read him, but he could barely contain his joy at the news as he stood in the middle of the furniture store picking out things for Sawyer's roomᅳ which were still in the store's warehouse so that Tessa wouldn't notice anything.

To put it shortly; Sawyer already meant more to him than he wanted to admit, the four-year-old already had him wrapped around his fingerᅳ which Happy realized when a hint of fear arose in him the moment Cal showed up, afraid the fucker would try to hurt Sawyer; or just as badᅳ trying to get rights for the little boy to punish Tessa for her lie.

Happy had realized a while ago that he would kill for that boy, for his Old Lady's son, and that said it all.

"I think I just fell in love with you even more," the twenty-one year old whispered, visibly touched as she had to swallow hard. "You're really the first man in my life who could seriously be a role model for Sawyer."

With her face nestled into the crook of his neck, Happy wrapped his arms around her small frame and placed his chin on top of her head, grumbling his next words. "I'll try my best, little girl."

With a nod of approval and glassy eyes that Tessa narrowed, she pushed her arms under his kutte and snaked them around his waist, just enjoying the moment.

Happy, running his fingers through her dark strands, broke the comfortable silence after a while. "Sawyer knows about the good news yet?"

"No, I wanted to wait for you to come home", Tessa replied after slowly lifting her head, looking through her brown eyes into Happy's, giving him a small smile. "Shall we tell him together? He's playing in the garden."

"Yeah", Happy grunted with a curt nod, leading his girlfriend, with an arm draped around her shoulder, into the garden where he watched Sawyer play with Baxter on the lawn for a moment, the boy's giggles filling the summer air. "Somehow he's always happyᅳ even though he's been through a lot of shit."

"Yeah, it's almost like nothing can kill his spirit", Tessa said wistfully, resting her head on Happy's shoulder. "He truly deserves the best."

No words were needed, Happy's soft grunt was answer enough, agreeing with her words. Excitement bubbled in the pit of his stomach as Sawyer ran towards the two of them and ran straight into his arms.

"Hey Buddy", Happy greeted him with a big grin after picking him up, just holding him in his arms. "You had a good day?"

"Yes! We were at the park with Abel and Thomas", Sawyer explained immediately, his glasses wiggling on his nose as he nodded eagerly. "And then Mommy and I ate ice cream. We brought you some!"

"You have?" Chuckling, Happy ruffled the boy's brownish-blonde hair, earning a giggle from Sawyer. "Sounds like you had a good day then. Want to hear something that could make it even better?"

Sawyer's eyes grew with curiosity. "Yes! What is it?"

Tessa, who had just finished giving Baxter a cuddle, stood back on her feet and exchanged a quick, excited look with Happy before running the backs of her fingers over her son's cheek. "The woman who was here today said we can stay here."

"Here with Happy?" The four-year-old nervously fiddled with his hands, chewing his bottom lip impatiently. "Forever?"

"Yes, exactly, here with Happyᅳ as long as we want. So that means that this is now our home too", Tessa explained, her tone gentle and loving. "You like that, baby?"

Squealing, Sawyer began to wriggle on Happy's arm, pure joy ripping through his little body. "That's great! Then Baxter doesn't have to decide where he wants to stay!"

"No, he doesn't have to. We can all stay here. You, your mom, me and Baxter", Happy explained again, a deep, genuinely satisfied laugh rattling through his throat as Sawyer wrapped his little arms around his neck, thanking him.

Happy pulled Tessa into his side, one arm resting over her shoulders while the other still held Sawyer tightly. Sharing a kiss with his Old Lady who let out a content sigh, Sawyer snuggled up to Happy.

If having a family really felt like that, Happy wondered why he tried to stay away from all this for so long, being against an Old Lady and all that. Probably because he just hadn't found the right one before Tessa.

But this, this was better than anything he had felt before.

ᅳ

JUST TWO HOURS AGO, Tessa had arrived in Bakersfield with Sawyer, Rat always with her. The Prospect took Happy's order never to let Tessa and Sawyer out of his sight quite seriously, not in the mood to lose his patch because he hadn't watched the Old Lady of the most intimidating biker.

Tessa found it amusing and sweet at the same time, and she got along pretty well with the man who had been following her around the last few hoursᅳ Tessa was just able to convince him to let her use the bathroom alone during a short break at a gas station.

Maria had also immediately treated Rat like a long-standing family member and told the young man to feel at home. And while Rat played with Sawyer in the living room and the two women prepared dinner in the kitchen, Tessa took advantage of that moment to tell the truth to the woman who was the only mother figure in her life.

"Happy and I are together", she blurted out as she casually cut the vegetables for the soup, causing Maria to almost choke on the piece of carrot that had just popped in her mouth.

"You and Happy?" Her eyes almost popping out of their sockets, Maria lowered the knife in her hand, staring at the young woman. "When did that happen?"

"I don't know, it just happened. We both tried to resist, believe me." Tessa took a defensive position, the corners of her mouth slightly pointing downwards as the fear that Maria might had a problem with this was overcoming her. "I know how strange this must be for you. After all, you were with my dad and somehow Happy was my stepbrotherᅳ but was he really though?"

Something about the way Tessa talked herself into rage and the words just tumbled out of her amused Maria, her lips curling into a smile as she listened to Tessa ramble.

"What?", the Laney woman wanted to know as she looked at Maria, confused by the smile on her lips. "I talk too much, don't I?"

"You've always had a tendency to chatter endlessly when you were nervous", Maria commented with a soft laugh, pinching her stepdaughter's cheek affectionately. "I mean, it's a little weird, I have to admit that", the older woman replied with a soft hum before shrugging her shoulders. "But you're not related, and your father and I weren't married and were only together for a few yearsᅳ that makes things less weird."

"So, uh, aren't you mad?" Impatiently waiting for an answer, Tessa chewed on the inside of her cheek, her hip leaning against the kitchen counter as she turned her body towards Maria. "I don't want my relationship with Happy to destroy our relationship, or the one between you and him."

"Oh mija.." Maria, sighing deeply, patted Tessa's cheek. "Absolutely nothing will change between us. Happy and you, if it feels right, then it is and you have no idea how happy I would be if Happy finally finds happiness."

"I'll do my best to make him happy, Maria, I promise." Even though Tessa's words were just a whisper, she sounded more than determined. "I really like him, and he already stole Sawyer's heart, too."

"And I can tell you that you have left an impression on my son", Maria assured the Laney woman, her tone firm. "You're the first woman who's probably made it further than into his bedᅳ and we're going to pretend I never said that."

"Okay, already forgotten. You never said that", Tessa replied, her hands lifted as a laugh slipped past her dark-red lips.

The laughter of the women, as well as the sweet smell of the cake in the oven, reveled in the kitchen, clearly lightening the mood again.

"Oh, and one more thing", Maria said, the knife back in her hand, which she waved around. "If my son breaks your heart, let me know immediately and I'll take care of it."

"Jesus, Maria." Shaking her head, Tessa chuckled, not doubting for a moment that Maria wasn't serious. "Now I know why he behaves so well around you."

"A mother has to do what she has to do", the older woman joked before concentrating on casually chopping the carrots as if she hadn't just found out that her son and her former stepdaughter were a couple.

And Tessa didn't want to dwell on it any further, instead she just shrugged her shoulders with a hum and went back to work too.

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