AFTER TESSA HAD FOUND Happy sitting on the porch in front of the front door, Tessa wordlessly reached for his hand and told Elaine to just sit down with the others to get to know them while she would have a talk with her Old Man.

Once upstairs in their room, Tessa closed the door behind them and rubbed her hands together with a sigh, scrutinizing Happy's hard gaze that was fixed on her, a toothpick between his lips as always.

"I guess you're not going to start, huh?" The Laney woman plopped down on the mattress at the foot of the bed and rubbed her bump soothingly. "No 'sorry babe', 'I should've talked to you' or anything?"

"What do you expect from me, woman?" With two long strides he stood in front of her, his brown eyes looking down at her questioningly. Firmly but with a certain tenderness, he clamped her chin between his fingers, forcing her to look up at him. "You'll soon be my wife, you're  carrying our child, and Sawyer is finally thriving. You think I'm going to risk someone else becoming a problem for our family again after the shit with Mike and Cal?"

Tessa's stubborn look softened and seemed more understanding now. Still, she didn't want to let him get away so easily. "And I'm grateful for that, Happy. But you should've talked to me anyway."

"Maybe", the SAA replied stubbornly, lifting her chin a little more. "But I'd do it again if it means it'll keep you safe and you better learn how to deal with my overprotectiveness, little girl."

"Doesn't mean you can do everything you want, Hap." With a snort through her nose, Tessa shot up and looked at him demandingly. "How about you learn to talk to me, huh?"

The sight of an angry 5'4 woman standing in front of an intimidating 6'1, heavily tattooed biker was still pretty cute, though, causing Happy's lips to curl into an amused smile.

"What are you smiling about?", she asked with a scowl, her arms crossed over her chest. "How am I supposed to trust you when I can never be sure when you're hiding something from me?"

"Nothin', it just looks cute when you're angry", he winked, knowing full well that he was only provoking her further. His hands found her cheeks, which he held firmly when she tried to protest, his intense stare keeping her quiet for a moment. "I know I should've talked to you first, but Gemma's idea sounded good to me and I wanted to know who the woman was, Tess."

"You still can't do this shit behind my back. We're getting married, I need to know that we'll tell each other things!" Frustrated that Happy didn't seem to understand her, she plopped back down on the bed, her scowl directed at the carpet beneath her feet. "We promised each other not to keep secrets from each other. You've never broken a promise."

"Tessa, come on, you're making it really hard for me." Allowing a grunt to slip past his lips, he ran a hand down his face before he sat down next to her, removing the toothpick from his lips. "I have no secrets. That was one mistake that I would've told you about anyway soon."

"And why didn't you tell me right away?", she pressed, both eyebrows slightly raised. "I probably would've even found it sweet that you were so concerned about us."

Now it was Happy who lifted an eyebrow and looked at his fiancée, scepticism etched into his features. "And you would've let me spy on your mom? I don't think so."

"Well, I probably would've found it weird at first", the raven-haired woman admitted after a moment's hesitation and a shrug. "But I wouldn't have said no, and even if I had, you would've had to accept that."

Tessa sighed softly as Happy just grunted and stared out of one of the windows, rubbing his nose roughly. After turning a little more towards him, she grabbed his hands, regaining his attention.

"Look, I can live with the fact that you would walk over dead bodies for your family, for us", she began sincerely, her voice soft. "But I can't live with you treating me like some of the others treat their Old Ladies. Hiding things from me or making decisions for me is a huge No-Go."

"Can't you just forgive me?" The stubbornness in his eyes faded as he pulled her onto his lap, his arms wrapped tightly around her as if she might run away again at any moment. "I know I fucked up, baby girl", he murmured against her chin, trailing kisses there until his lips reached hers, smiling as he saw her struggling to remain stubborn. "But it won't happen again. No more secrets, not a single one."

"And how do I know if I can believe you?", she asked grumbling, trying to stay stubborn. But when he flipped her over and pushed her into the mattress before sliding down a little further until his face hovered over her stomach, her tough facade crumbled a little. And once he rolled her black top up and planted a kiss on her bump, she let out an annoyed groan, unable to stay angry at him. "You know exactly what you have to do, don't you?"

"Maybe." A grin formed on Happy's lips as he just hummed and placed another kiss on her stomach, running his calloused hand over her soft skin. "I know you trust me, Tess, otherwise you wouldn't have said 'yes'."

With a slightly more serious expression now, he looked up at her as he rubbed his thumb into her skin in circular motions. "Our family is my number one priority, little girl. Don't fuckin' punish me for putting your safety first."

"You're an idiot", Tessa muttered under her breath as she pushed her body up with her elbows. "No more lies or secrets in the future, you hear me?"

"Yes ma'am", Happy replied with a deadpan look before climbing up further, his body now hovering over hers as he pushed a strand of hair out of her beautiful face. "I'm sorry about keeping this from you, I mean it, baby."

"I know", her answer a soft whisper, Tessa placed a hand against his cheek, sliding one of her legs between his just because it was more comfortable while she was lying on her side. "She's really nice, baby, please give her a chance without scaring her off."

"I'll try", he grunted in agreement. "But I'll still keep an eye on her, and I don't want her to be alone with Sawyer at first."

"Okay, I can live with that", Tessa agreed with a soft hum against his lips. That was a compromise she could accept.

"Thanks", he croaked against her lips before his hand landed on her ass and pulled her flush against him, his lips finding hers for a feverish kiss.

Tessa simply couldn't stay mad at the man she loved so much for long and right now she just wanted to be close to him.

ᅳ

AFTER A LONG, ENLIGHTENING day, Happy and Tessa had decided to let Sawyer sleep in their room. Most of the time they made sure that they had a movie night at least once or twice a week. Especially now that a second child was on the way, the couple wanted to show their son that he was still just as important.

Besides, after all the exciting news and that his long lost grandma was now here, they still had something else to tell him. Which Happy wanted to get off his chest as the movie came to an end and he turned off the TV.

"Hey buddy, we have something to tell you." Happy lifted the boy onto his lap and pulled Tessa closer. "Wanna hear it?"

"More news?" Sawyer's eyes widened behind his glasses, shining with curiosity. "Yeah! What is it? Can I finally get my terrarium?"

Tessa and Happy shared a chuckle before the former shook her head and stroked Sawyer's cheek. "No baby, not yet. You know you're supposed to be a little older for that. Daddy and I can't take care of you, Baxter, a newborn, the house and a terrarium while we still have to go to work."

"Oh, okay", the five-year-old shrugged with a smile, not mad that he had to wait. "What is it then?"

"Do you wanna tell him?", Tessa asked her fiancé, smiling at him as she snuggled up to him.

"Sure", Happy nodded. When he did get a little nervous, he cradled Sawyer a little closer, hoping that the boy wouldn't have a problem with him planning to marry his mother. Even though Sawyer had accepted him as a father figure last year already, there was still a certain fear lurking inside the SAA that Sawyer might have a problem with it. "Your mom and I are getting married, not right away but soonᅳ maybe when your sister is here too."

"Really?!" Sawyer's lips formed into a wide smile that was full of joy. "I think that's great! Then we'll be a real family."

"We already are, sweetie", laughed Tessa softly, finally letting out the breath she had been holding in her lungs. "But yes..you're right."

"I love that!" The five-year-old climbed around on Happy's lap a little and finally wrapped his short arms around his parents, snuggling up to them. "Today is a great day."

"Yeah, definitely not a boring one", Happy said with a huff, smirking as he exchanged an amused look with Tessa.

"Nope, not a boring one", she agreed with a soft chuckle, wrapping one arm around her son, the other around Happy's waist.

After another movie, the evening slowly came to an end and Tessa felt the tiredness creeping into her bones, unable to keep her eyes open any longer.

That's when Happy slipped out of bed, turned off all the lights in the room, locked the door and crawled back under the covers with his already sleeping Old Lady and his son. With his arm resting over both of them, he allowed himself to get some needed sleep, too.

word count; 1711