trigger warning ⚠️; detailed violence against a pregnant woman, strong language, implied rape, a guy with lots of issues.

WITH A BIG SMILE, Sawyer walked beside Happy, Baxter on Happy's other side on the leash, always holding his hand as he was told. As unexpected as it was, Happy had become the parent who worried about little things much faster than Tessa, which led to his Old Lady teasing him every now and then when he was fully overreacting over something small.

He didn't know why he was so cautious when it came to Sawyer. Maybe he would loosen up and relax again once Cal was out of the way. But for now, Sawyer and Tessa's safety was the most important thing to him.

"Daddy, can we buy something for the baby?" With an excited glint in his eyes, the five-year-old looked up, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose a little as they slipped. "We can buy her plushies. One, or twoᅳ or lots of them!"

"The baby isn't even here yet, buddy." Happy's amused yet warm gaze fell on the boy, who just hummed and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, we can take a look, see what they have."

"Really?!" Sawyer exclaimed excitedly, which sounded more like a squeak. "Thanks, Daddy!"

Happy just chuckled, squeezing his son's hand. "You're going to be a great big brother, you know that?"

"Of course I will be", Sawyer agreed as he jumped from one slab to the next. "When she cries, I cuddle her or sing to her, and when she wants to play, I do that with her", he explained eagerly before scrunching up his little nose. "But I won't change her diapers."

A gruff laugh rattled through Happy's chest at Sawyer's last words. "Don't worry, Mommy and I will take care of that. But buddy", he stopped to crouch down while turning Sawyer around a little to get his attention. "We don't even know if it's a girl yet."

"I know that", Sawyer chirped with a sheepish smile. "I'll love the baby even if it's a boy. But I just think it's going to be a girl."

"Well, as long as you're happy about both", the SAA grunted contentedly, a smile tugging at his lips as he saw once again how excited Sawyer was to get a sibling. "You're definitely the first to find out what it's going to be."

"I like that", the boy said with a quick nod, feeling quite proud that he would be the first to find out. "Can I have ice cream when we've picked something for the baby?"

"You're just like your mother", Happy grumbled, followed by a chuckle. Apparently ice cream was a big hit in the Laney family. "Fine by me, but then we should get going, we wanted to pick up Mommy later."

Today had been Happy's turn to pick up Sawyer because Tessa had to postpone her lunch break, so the Killer had decided to just spend the remaining hours in town with Sawyer before they picked up Tessa, maybe buy him a few new thingsᅳ instead, it seemed more important to Sawyer to buy something for the baby, which even made the famous 'Tacoma Killer's' heart swell.

And Happy had to admit that he enjoyed the father/son days out, which they did at least once a week after Tessa had suggested a while ago that they should do this kind of stuff, that it would be important for their relationship. And she had been right, as always.

ᅳ

TESSA ROLLED HER SHOULDERS, a deep sigh slipping past her lips. She loved her job, but sitting on your butt almost all day and only getting up when someone needed a blood test or to have their blood pressure taken was definitely taking its toll on her back.

Of course she had taken training and obtained a certificate that allowed her to take blood from patients and do other small preliminary examinations to take some of Tara's work off her hands. The doctor then did the rest herself, of course.

A smile crossed her face as her screen lit up and Happy's name appeared. Since it was a quiet moment and there was only one patient left in the practice, who was in the examination room with Tara, Tessa opened the message and awed at the picture of her son, happy as ever with a cone of vanilla ice cream in his hand.

When she was about to answer, the text already half written, the sound of the bell above the door rang. "One moment!"

"Oh, no rush, I've got time." Tessa's blood ran cold. The device slipping from her hands landed on a stack of paper with a soft thud.

The Laney woman didn't dare look up. Instead, she closed her eyes as if that would make the person disappear. As in, 'I can't see you, so you can't see me.'

Wrong.

A large hand came to rest against her cheek, the rough surface of his thumb sliding over her skin, sending Tessa into freeze mode. His voice was haunting enough, but his touch was a thousand times worse.

A soft whimper fell from her slightly  trembling lips, her body immediately beginning to shake as the sound of his boots grew louder with each heavy step he took around the reception desk and towards her.

"Look at me, whore", he spat, the words sounding as sweet as honey on his tongue with a hint of menace in them. "Tell me, did you miss being called that? Because that's what you are, right? Always have been."

"You have no right to be here", she breathed out, her voice soft and quiet, but still there was something derogatory in it. Her gaze held nothing but disgust as she looked up at him and slapped his hand away when he tried to touch her again. "Keep your filthy hands off me", the girl spat hatefully, shooting up from her chair. "I'll give you exactly ten seconds before I call the cops. Shouldn't you still rot in jail?"

"Damn, I knew you had a fire burning inside you, but that you dare to talk to me like that? I respect that", Cal taunted with a click of his tongue before an eerie laugh sounded from the back of his throat, making a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Yeah, they let me out a day early, they were apparently fed up with me. But baby, are you really going to be stupid enough to call the cops on me? Do you really thinkᅳ",  he closed the distance between the two of them and squeezed Tessa's hand painfully as she put her hand on the receiver of the practice phone. "ᅳ that I would let that happen?"

"You're hurting me", she groaned with frustration, almost feeling her bones break under his firm grip. "What's your fuckin' problem, Cal?!"

"What my problem is?" Cal snorted bitterly, looking at his ex as if she had three heads. "I'm pretty sure you know that your boyfriend and his puppets tried to kill me. Because of those idiots, I had to turn myself in so I could be safe and work on my plan", he hissed angrily, squeezing Tessa's hand hard enough until he heard it crack and his ex dug her nails into his arm with a painful yelp.

"Cal, please! It hurts", Tessa sniffed, her voice cracking at the indescribable pain in her hand. "Do you really think this won't get you into more trouble?!"

He ignored her pleas to let go, instead he just shoved her against the shelf with the many files and wrapped his hand around her throat.

"Oh, and then there's my son", the last words dripped from his tongue like poison. "I won't let you take money from me one day because I haven't paid child support for years! I don't want anything to do with that bastard."

For a moment, Tessa forgot that her airway had just been cut off. Hatred flashed in her eyes when the man in front of her called her son a bastard. Her motherly instincts kicked in and with a quick movement she pushed her knee into his crotch, with such force that Cal immediately sank to his knees, his upper body bent forward painfully.

"You don't call my son a bastard", she hissed through gritted teeth, then crouched down and glared at the man she felt nothing but hatred for. "You disgust me, you know that? And I'm disgusted by myself for being so stupid and letting you touch me. But you know what? At least one good thing came out of itᅳ my son. Mine. And Happy's. Not yours, you worthless piece of shit."

"You fucking bitch!" Cal roared furiously, spit flying from his mouth as he cursed loudly, grabbing Tessa's ankle as she tried to run past him to get to the phone. One hand still wrapped around his sore crotch, he dragged his ex to the floor, causing her to fall and hit her head on the edge of the table. But he didn't give a shit, not one bit. "Do you think you were ever more than a cock warmer for me? That would be fuckin' pathetic if you really thought you were worth more than that. You're nothin' but a cheap whore!"

"What the hell is going on here?!" The door to the examination room was thrown open, and soon Tara stepped out with wide eyes and shooed her last patient out of the office with an apology before storming over to Tessa, immediately sliding to her knees. "Shit, hey, are you okay?"

The brunette carefully took her friend's face in her hands, watching the blood pour out of the open gash and run down her face. Cal's presence caused a huge fear in her, a discomfort that was she couldn't stand but Tessa's condition was more important now.

"Oh, doctor bitch's here too. Right, it's your practice", he said with a low, sinister chuckle as he watched Tara hover over a whimpering Tessa, pulling the gun from out of his waistband. Pointing it at the brunette, his features hardened. "Get away from her. I'm not leaving before she's learned her fuckin' lesson."

"You think I'm afraid of your gun?" Tara asked with a snort, but her pokerface wasn't exactly the best and clearly showed that she was indeed afraid. "I won't let you control her life any longerᅳ I've had enough of guys like you!"

"Awe, isn't that sweet? Two best friends sticking together", Cal mocked as he snorted a hysterical laugh. When the pain in his crotch finally subsided, he pushed himself back on his feet and pressed the cold steel directly against Tara's temple. "I've hurt you before, what makes you so sure I won't do it again? Oh, by the way, how's the wound healing, doc? Bet it left a fat scar."

"Cal, please..she has nothing to do with this", Tessa pleaded, which wasn't usually her style. But it couldn't let Tara get hurt a second time because of her ex-boyfriend. Carefully lifting her head, her vision a little blurred by the unshed tears in her eyes, Tessa stared at her seething ex. "Let her go."

"Well, I could." With a theatrical sigh, Cal leaned back, the position he was in looking rather unhealthy as he let his finger slide onto the trigger. "Or I could teach you a lesson that would actually hurt you."

Tara said nothing more, instead she continued to hold Tessa in her arms after she had pulled the younger girl between her legs a moment earlier and pressed her sleeve against Tessa's gash. But Tessa could feel the doctor's body shaking, how scared Tara really was, and yet she tried to keep a brave face.

"Don't do it, please.." Tessa begged in a whisper, trying her best to convince Cal. Her doe-brown eyes searched for his and her hand gently grabbed his in denim pants covered leg. "I'll do what you want, but let her go."

One of those eerie smiles formed on Cal's lips before he hit Tara's temple with the back of the gun, knocking the doctor out. He wasn't blind, he had noticed how the brunette had discreetly tried to reach into the pocket of her white lab coat.

Cal sucked on his teeth, satisfied. "So, everything I want, huh?"

Tessa swallowed the scream that was stuck in her throat as Tara's body fell to the side like a wet sack, now sharing almost the same wound with her. Only the blood was less, which was reassuring but didn't mean it wouldn't cause any damage.

Hoping her tactic would work, Tessa nodded at Cal's question and slowly slid across the floor on her knees until she was sitting in front of him, remembering how much he had loved to put her in that position. "Anything you want, but not here."

"Mhm.." The backs of his fingers slid over her soft, moist skin, pretending to be convinced by her little performance. Then he dropped his facade, the fake smile vanished and his features hard as stone as he kicked her right in the ribs, sending her to the ground with a loud cry leaving her lips.

Tessa could do nothing but wheeze as she rolled to the side to better protect her stomach. If anything were to happen to the baby, she would never forgive herself.

"Do you really think I'm stupid enough to trust you? You?!" His boot hit her face from the side, her pale skin covered with a small amount of dirt that stuck to her face because of her tears and the blood. Sniffling aggressively, he crouched down, grabbing a fistful of her hair to force her to look at him.

"Shit, taking it like a champ. Not a fuckin' sound from you..that's impressive", he said with amusement, genuinely surprised at how well she took itᅳ which he didn't like. He hated it when someone didn't show the reaction he wanted to see. "But that's no fun, you know? Come on, let me have some fun."

But Tessa knew better. She knew she didn't want to give him the satisfaction he craved. She would rather die than make a sound that might even turn that sicko on. Her face hurt, every part of it, her head was pounding like crazy and a slight touch of dizziness overcame her. But she remained silent, swallowing the pain and fear as the metallic taste of blood spread in her mouth.

"Fuck you", she spat, a little blood oozing out of the corners of her mouth. But at least she still had all her teeth, that was something. "If you want to kill me, just do it. But stop playing games!"

"No", Cal barked, his patience coming to an end. Like a defiant teenager, he slammed her head against the marble tiles beneath her, drawing a soft groan from her as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. "I always get what I want, whore, always."

Without wasting any more time, Cal wasted no more thought and sat on his knees, unbuckling his belt while making sure Tessa stayed where she was. That was the moment she quickly realized what would happen if she didn't gather all her strength. Whimpering, she writhed beneath him as he practically threw himself at her, his entire weight placed between her legs which he had pushed apart, his upper body pressed as close as possible against hers.

"Now, that's what I want to see and hear. Maybe I should've done that from the beginning." His hot breath hit her ear, shortly afterwards his tongue wiped the fresh tears from her cheek with a slow stroke. "Mh...I've always loved the taste of your tears. So pretty when you cry for me. God, I miss that sight."

"Please..please don't.." Tessa begged hysterically, shaking her head frantically to avoid Cal's tongue, her eyes squeezed shut so she didn't have to look at him. She almost choked on the blood that had pooled in her mouth, still not knowing exactly where it came from.

But Cal only found more amusement in it when she started to struggle and almost suffocate beneath him from a coughing fit. With a weird gentleness, he rubbed his thumb into her skin.

"Shh...everything will beᅳ",

Tessa's head snapped back as Cal's full weight landed on her body, almost taking away her ability to breathe. Her own wide eyes met Tara's. With her hands outstretched to the sides, the doctor stood there frozen, sheer shock on her now pale face.

The shards of the broken vase and the flowers that were in it had fallen onto Tessa and scattered around her on the floor, her dark purple top soaking up the water from the broken vase. Within a few seconds, Cal' hair was no longer dark-blonde but shimmered in a rich red from the blood that was coming out of the laceration on the back of his head.

"Tara..can't breathe!" Tessa simply didn't have the strength to push Cal off her alone, her body was too weak for that by now.

As if Tessa's words had torn her out of her paralysis, Tara pulled the man off of Tessa with all her strength, panting heavily as she let the muscle man fall to the floor after Tessa had slipped out from under him.

Tara immediately knelt down next to Tessa, immense concern carved into her features as all the emotions finally bubbled out of her best friend. "It's okay, he can't hurt you anymore. I'm here."

Tara pulled the clearly upset twenty-two year old into her arms, holding her close as her shaking hand reached into her lab coat and immediately dialed Jax' number, her eyes always on Tessa. The thought that something might have happened to the baby broke her heart, but it was just as bad to see her friend so broken, with her arms wrapped protectively around her stomach even though the danger was knocked out.

"You have to come to the office", she breathed into the phone, her own voice still shaking. "And call Happy, Tessa is hurt, I'm calling an ambulance for her."

The doctor didn't give her husband time to answer, instead she hung up and immediately called an ambulance. She was a doctor, yes, a good one at that, but Tessa definitely needed to be examined in a hospital, and by a gynecologist.

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