TESSA WATCHED AS Juice and Rat played with Sawyer, the two bikers looking significantly less intimidating as they sat on the floor and disguised their voices, small action figures in their hands. In Sawyer's hand was the one Happy had given him ages ago, still his absolute favorite.

It was absolutely heartwarming to see how attached her son could get to something just because he had got it from someone he loved.

"You look happy", Gemma said contentedly as she sat down on the couch next to Tessa, patting the young woman's knee. "After tonight it's all over, baby, Happy will make sure of it."

"I am happy." Tessa, humming softly, looked away from the cute scene on the floor and flashed Gemma a tired smile. "I know Happy will make sure of it, I have no doubt about that. But he wouldn't have to do that just for me."

"Are you kidding?" Gemma shook her head with a scoff, pushing a strand of her brunette hair out of her face. "You're his Old Ladyᅳ he would die for you if he knew that would keep you safe. And Cal was not only a danger to you, but also to Sawyer and your baby."

"I know that", the raven-haired girl murmured, smiling sheepishly as she rubbed a hand over her still very small belly. "I would do the same for him, Sawyer and the baby."

"That's how it should be, sweetheart, and nothing else." Pride filled Gemma's chest like it did every time one of the girls behaved like a real Old Lady should. "Are you feeling a little better?"

Tessa was a little confused at first, but then nodded when Gemma pointed to her stomach. "Yeah, I'm not feeling nauseous all the time anymore. I'm just in pain and pretty tired. Have you heard anything from Tara?"

"Tara's fine, she's resting at home and said she'd come over tomorrow", Gemma told her, much more relaxed than she had been a while ago when she talked about Tara. Somehow the two women seemed to get along a lot better. "You should lie down, get some sleep. Sawyer looks tired too."

"Oh thank Godᅳ I have to thank her. Without her, things would have turned out much worse", Tessa uttered, slipping a little deeper into the cushions of the couch at the thought of what Cal could've done to her if Tara hadn't been there. "I actually wanted to wait for Happy.."

"Baby, Happy won't be back until tomorrow morning, believe me. He'll take his time with Cal", Gemma assured her with a wink, patting her knee once again. "Take Sawyer, snuggle up in bed together and if you can't sleep, you can always wait for Happy thereᅳ but at least you're getting some rest."

"You should lie down, Tess." Rat looked up from the game, his features relaxed but with a certain severity. "Happy made it clear that you should be in bed."

"Of course he did", Tessa snorted with a roll of her eyes, the slightest smirk forming on her face. Happy could exaggerate a lot when he was worried, but Tessa still found it sweet. "Okay, fine, then I'll just lie down."

A quiet hiss fell from her lips as she stood up, a sharp pain shooting through her body, and Juice immediately rushed to her side to help her, just as Gemma quickly stood up to support the young woman.

"Do you need more painkillers?" Juice asked, concern flashing in his tone. "I can get you some."

"No, no, it's fine", Tessa waved it off with a faint smile and finally held out her hand as Sawyer ran towards her, clearly worried about his mother. "Come on baby, let's get some sleep."

"Are you okay, mommy?" His voice barely louder than a whisper, Sawyer practically clung to Tessa's hand, nervously sucking his lower lip between his teeth.

"I'm okay, buddy, I promise." Her heart ached when she saw how scared her son looked. "You don't have to worry, okay? The doctor also said that I'll be fine."

Sawyer's horrified look when he saw her with all the bruises earlier would haunt her in her dreams for a while. The way he immediately ran into her arms and didn't let go for ten minutes showed her what an empath her son wasᅳ which could be a blessing and a curse at the same time.

"Can I sleep in your and daddy's room tonight?" He looked up at her through his glasses, his arms now wrapped around her forearm. "And where's Daddy?"

"Daddy still has some things to do, but he'll be home soon", Tessa assured the boy as she gently ran her fingers through his dark-blonde hair. "And of course you can sleep in our room, we would've done that tonight anyway."

"Thanks, Mommy", Sawyer chirped sheepishly, visibly relieved that he could just cuddle with his mommy tonight.

"Go put on your pajamas and brush your teeth", she told him lovingly. "And say goodnight to Rat, Juice and Gemma."

As always, Sawyer did what he was told and bid everyone a goodnight, giving  each one of them a hug before he left the living room to put on his pajamas, which were still in his room, his soft footsteps barely audible.

Tessa waited until Sawyer was around the corner and then faced the others, giving Rat a stern look as he gathered up all the action figures. "I'll clean this up tomorrow, you've done enough already."

Rat cleared his throat, straightening his shoulders. "But Happyᅳ"

"Rat", Tessa warned before the man could protest further. "If I hear 'But Happy said' one more time, I'll show you that I can be just as intimidating", she added with a sweet smile, earning a quiet chuckle from Rat in return.

"Okay, I got it." Still, he put the box that contained other toys aside, leaving the rest in the carpet. "Want me to wait outside or in here until Happy comes home?"

"You stay in hereᅳ and you can also get some sleep", Tessa told him firmly before she was pulled into a careful hug from Gemma.

Sighing, she leaned into the hug, wrapping her own around Gemma's waist. "Thanks for being there and cooking for us."

"Anytime, you know that." When Gemma pulled away, she briefly placed her hands on Tessa's arms and squeezed them encouragingly. "You are a strong woman, I hope you know that."

A gentle blush appeared on Tessa's cheeks, flattered by Gemma's words. Not everyone gets to hear something like that from the matriarch. "I have to be, for my babies."

"Damn right", Gemma smiled proudly as she planted a kiss on Tessa's cheek and waved Juice over, who had escorted her to the Lowman house earlier. "Come on, Juice, they need some rest."

"Call if you need anything." The man with the mohawk hardly dared to touch Tessa, afraid of causing her more pain, so he just rubbed her arm. "And listen to Gemma, try to get some sleep."

"I will", she promised with a small smile, appreciating that everyone was so concerned about her. Then she thought of something and quickly put a hand on his arm to stop him from leaving while Gemma was already waiting at the door. "Juice! Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, what do you need?" With a glimmer of curiosity in his brown eyes, Juice was ready to help.

Slightly nervous, Tessa kneaded her hands. It had taken her forever to finally find the courage to want to look for her mother. "Uh, could you possibly find out any information about my mom? A phone number or address."

"I see what I can do", Juice nodded eagerly with a smile, secretly glad that it wasn't anything bad or dangerous that he had to do. "Do you have her full name? That's all I needᅳ although any other information is helpful too."

"Her name's Elaine Mavis, but it's possible that she had a different name by now", Tessa stated with a sigh. The hope of finding her mother was slim anywayᅳ but it was there. "She's from Texas and lived there until she had me. When we had contact a few years ago, she told me she lived in Montana", she told him, her mind racing but she couldn't think of anything else. "Unfortunately, that's all I have."

Juice made a mental note of all the information, waving it off with a smile. "As I said, even the name would probably have been enough", he assured her. "I'll let you know as soon as I have something."

"That would be nice", she nodded with a quiet hum as she felt some anticipationᅳ anticipation of maybe actually being able to meet her mother in person soon. "Thanks Juice, I really appreciate your help."

"No problem." His smile widened, as it always did when he was able to help someone. His whole mood always changed and could light up a whole room. With a nod in Rat's direction, the Puerto Rican finally jogged to the door, not wanting to let Gemma wait any longer.

A moment later, it was quiet. Two people missing in the house definitely made a difference. For a brief moment, Tessa felt worry creep inside her. What if something went wrong? What if Cal's death could fall back on Happy or her one day?

Sighing, she shook off the nonsensical thoughts that were a product of the stressful dayᅳ nothing more than a figment of her imagination.

"Are you okay?" Rat, who had meanwhile got himself a beer, handed Tessa a bottle of water that he had also brought from the kitchen. "If you need anything..I'm here."

"And I appreciate that", Tessa replied, feeling the tiredness in her bones. "I'm really just tired, that's all. Good night, Rat."

He nodded understandingly, flashing the young woman a small smile. "Good night, Tess."

Clutching the water bottle in both hands, Tessa shuffled through the hallway and towards the bedrooms. Since Gemma had already helped her shower earlier, Tessa was ready for bed and could snuggle up with Sawyer, who she found in the bedroom.

Tessa chuckled as Sawyer's small figure almost got lost in the large bed. "I see, you've already claimed your side."

The boy nodded eagerly, a sheepish smile on his lips as he lifted the blanket and revealed a small collection of sweets that he had secretly snatched from the kitchen earlier. "And I got some snacks. They always help me to feel better."

"Awe baby." Tessa quickly crawled under the covers, right next to Sawyer, and leaned against the headboard, stretching her arm out so Sawyer could snuggle up to her. When he was all snuggled up against her, she planted a kiss on his hair. "You're the sweetest, you know that?"

He looked up at Tessa with pride, clearly happy about her words. "Thank you, mommy."

No matter how tired Tessa was, the next twenty minutes were just for her and Sawyer, as the two shared the candy. Her heart swelled when the five-year-old told her that they had bought something for the baby that afternoon. In return, Tessa showed him the new ultrasound pictures, and seeing how happy Sawyer was about them just showed what a great big brother he was going to be.

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THE HOUSE WAS QUIET as Happy walked through the door. Nothing but a few cars driving by and the chirping of birds could be heard. Kicking off his boots, Happy threw his keys into the small bowl on the dresser that stood in the hallway before wandering through the house. He found Rat in the garden, a joint hanging from his lips as he enjoyed the morning sun.

"Hey." Happy's extra raspy voice and the way he quietly sneaked up startled the younger man. But Rat quickly recovered and straightened his shoulders.

"Hey. Tessa and Sawyer are still sleeping", he informed the killer, whose features were sharp and hard as stone, but something content also crossed his stoic face. "Is it done? Is Cal gone?"

Happy nodded briefly, taking the joint that Rat held out to him. Taking a drag, Happy held the smoke in his lungs for a while, enjoying the peace around him. He hadn't felt such inner peace for ages as he did now, knowing that Mike and now also Cal were no longer a threat to his Old Lady and Sawyer.

"You can leave, I'm here now", Happy told him, his voice tinged with tiredness.

"Okay, let me know if you need anything." With a slap against Happy's shoulder, Rat left him the joint, pushed past him and gathered his things inside before he left to give the family some quality time together.

While Happy took a few more puffs of the joint, the calming effect of which was slowly taking hold, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as his gaze fell on the swing set and the slide. He hadn't regretted for a second buying all these things for Sawyer. They had spent so many afternoons out here watching their son play with Baxterᅳ a sight Happy would always appreciate and cherish.

And soon there would be another little human running around here.

Letting the last bit of the smoke slip past his lips, Happy stubbed out the joint in the ashtray, shuffled back into the house and quietly opened the door to the bedroom, an instant smile spreading across his face at the sight.

His Old Lady and their son snuggled up together, the soft snoring of the five-year-old filling the room while Tessa's arm lay protectively around his small figure, the uninjured side of her face buried in his hair.

Seeing Tessa sleeping so peacefully, despite her injuries, was a reliefᅳ but it was hard for him not to blame himself, even though she was now safe. This shit should've never happened in the first place.

Rubbing a hand down his exhausted face, a quiet grunt sounded from his throat before he took off his jeans and the fresh shirt, which he had put on after he had taken a shower in the cabin, and slipped under the covers, his arm immediately encircling Tessa's waist.

She stirred awake when he snuggled up close to her, his chest pressed against her warm skin as he rubbed his thumb across her stomach, smiling to himself as he felt the slightest bump.

"Happy?" Her voice thick with sleep, she turned her head slightly to look at him, a tired but content smile on her lips now that she could be sure he was fine. "Are you okay?"

"Never been better. Cal's gone, and he's not coming back", he croaked against her ear, pressing his lips to her jawline to plant a kiss against it. "Go back to sleep, baby."

With a soft hum in response, she snuggled closer to him if that was still possible, her eyes closing again as his warmth enveloped her, giving her a feeling of safety.

"I love you, baby", she whispered, tossing around again until she found a perfectly comfortable position. "Thank you for everything you're doing for meᅳ for us."

Happy grunted against her neck, inhaling her scent as he closed his eyes, letting his eyes rest. "I love you too, baby."

Knowing that she was absolutely safe in his arms, that she no longer had to worry that something could happen at any time, Tessa fell back into a deep sleep, hoping that it would stay this peaceful.

word count; 2602

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authors note; hey! for my non followers but Happy Lowman fans; I just published another fanfic a few days ago. It's called A LITTLE LOST and you can find it in my library! 🖤