As she ran a hand over the packed box that was on top of the others, a soft sigh escaped her throat. Cassie had taken many looks around her apartment ever since they started packing to move to Charming, California, while her brothers and Happy carried the furniture into the moving truck. Happy offered her and Benny to move into his house. Since they shared the apartment here in Tacoma for years already it was nothing new to move in with him. Actually, it was more of a relief for her to be around him more often again. And Benny had a safe place to live, that's what was most important for her. Yet, it felt still weird leaving all this behind.

It wasn't that she wasn't excited, because she was⸺ California had everything she ever dreamed of. Nice weather most of the time, that outside festival feeling with all the deserts and palm trees, more hospitals where she could go back to work as nurse, more opportunities for Benny to get a decent degree, and she would see Happy more than once in a few months again. This was probably one of the main reasons why she was so excited.

Yet, it was still a new start where she had to leave everything she knew behind. Tacoma was her home since the day she was born. All family gatherings and outdoor activities took place within Washington. Cassie couldn't remember ever being outside. Except once to pick up her younger brother from Stockon. Otherwise, James was always the one who did it. Her whole life had taken place here, all the core memories that had accumulated happened right in this city.

Especially the memories she had with her dad made it hard for her to leave. Bryan loved Washington, especially Tacoma, with his whole heart and always wished his children would stay with him in this town. Since James followed into his footsteps by joining the club, Bryan had no doubts that the rest of his kids would stay, too. The siblings had been always close, he made sure of that. And now all three of them were leaving⸺ at least they left together, that's what he would've wanted.

"Hey, what's going on with you, hm?" James sat down on one of the boxes, earning a skeptical look from his sister.

"You do know there's stuff inside that can break, right?", she asked with a smirk, her tone mocking. "I'm fine, just getting a little emotional now that everything's packed up."

"I get it", he told her honestly as he put a hand on her leg after she sat down too and patted it gently. "It may looks like I don't care but it isn't easy for me to leave either. Shit, our whole fucking life happened here."

A small smile formed on her lips as she heard him say those words. It meant that she wasn't alone feeling all emotional. She wasn't being overdramatic.

"When Happy told me you were asking for transfer I panicked. A part of me wanted nothing more than to get out of this town and see more of the world but the other part wanted to stay to fullfil dad's wish. And now, two weeks later, I'm excited to finally move", she told him, the look in her eyes telling him she was telling the truth.

"That's great, Cas", he nodded slightly. "But I have a feeling there's still something bothering you."

Cassie waved it off, the small smile on her lips slowly faded. She didn't want to tell him about Kayla's tantrums even though Happy told her many times that he should know. She hoped once they were in Charming and she would go back to work Kayla would calm down a little.

"Do you think I'm a junkie?", she asked bluntly. That's all she wanted to know⸺ what her brother thought of her. His opinion was the most important to her and if he'd share the same opinion Kayla had, she'd stay here and let them live their life.

"What the hell, Cassie?", he asked with a shook of his head, even a scoff leaving his lips.

"I know you called Happy because you're worried about all the weed I smoke", she said calmly as she ran her fingertips over the tape that held the box together, avoiding his gaze at all costs. "I just wanna know if you think I'm an addict like your wife does."

"No, I don't think you're an addict. But I'm still worried about you. It's not just the weed that worries me⸺ it's the heavy partying. You're not careful enough when you're out, you don't pay attention to your safety and you hardly let me get close to you anymore. That's what worries me and I hoped Happy would have more luck." James, sighing deeply, ran a hand over his face.

"I didn't know Kayla thought you were a junkie. That explains the tension between you guys", he added eventually, nudging his sister's arm with his elbow. "Hey, look at me."

Cassie lifted her head to look at him as he told her, a hint of guilt flashing in her eyes. She had no idea how much it bothered him that she no longer let him get close to him. She just didn't want to be a burden to him.

"I didn't mean to push you away", she shrugged slightly before she heaved a sigh and scratched her forehead. "Okay, well, I kind of meant to push you away. I felt like I was becoming a burden after I lost my job at the hospital and that's not what I wanted. The job was my only responsibility and I couldn't even do that right."

"You could never be a burden, nor could be Benny. I know I'm not the best big brother sometimes and I'm sorry for that. I lose myself in club stuff sometimes, then I have Kayla and Lily at home. But no matter how stressed I seem sometimes, you and Benny can always count on me", he told her with the slightest smile before he draped an arm over her shoulder to pull her closer. "And loosing the job wasn't your fault, Cas, they just couldn't afford to pay all of their workers."

His words brought tears to her eyes but she kept them inside, not wanting to embarrass herself, even though she knew James wouldn't make fun of her for getting emotional over a few words. But honestly, it meant the world to her to hear she was no burden for him.

"You can always count on me, too", she promised him with a weak smile while she leaned into his side. "Still, it really hurt my ego that they just fired me out of all the people. I worked so hard for this degree, it just pissed me off."

"That's because you were the new girl, and they have no idea what a mistake they made by firing you", he said firmly.

"You have to say this because I'm your sister." A soft chuckle slipped past her lips as she rolled her eyes at his cheesiness. But it made her smile, that's all he wanted.

"No, I'm saying that because I know how good you are at your job. And in Charming you get another chance to prove yourself", he nodded eagerly. The oldest Connor sibling couldn't wait anymore, he had to tell her. "Happy and I talked to Jax. His Old Lady works at St. Thomas, a pretty good hospital in Charming. We asked if she could possibly put in a good word for you and she did. If you want, you can introduce yourself to the management of the hospital next week. That's up to you."

Cassie's eyes grew wide as she heard what her brother and Happy had done for her. Actually, she didn't want to get any further with vitamin B, but it was an opportunity she didn't want to miss. She had heard about Jax, but she didn't know much about him and even less about his wife. But apparently his Old Lady must be pretty cool if she got her a job without even knowing her. Not everyone would do that.

"No way, for real?", she asked with a sparkle in her eyes James hadn't seen in a long time. Her job meant a lot to her, especially because she could help people. Nurses were just as important as doctors. They may couldn't safe lives, but they were able to support the patients emotionally⸺ which was just as helpful.

"Yes, I wouldn't joke about this", he chuckled, shaking his head in amusement at the fact that his sister actually thought he'd joke about such a thing. "And I'll talk to Kayla. I don't know what exactly happened between the two of you but as an Old Lady she's supposed to support the other women in the club, not judging them."

"I don't even know what to say, James. Thank you", she hardly whispered, her weak smile transforming into a wide one before she sighed. "I don't want the two of you to have a fight, not because of me. I just want to keep seeing Lily, please."

"It's the least I can do for you, Cas", he said sincerely. Confused, he looked at his sister and frowned. "Why shouldn't you be allowed to see Lily anymore?"

"Because Kayla doesn't want me or Benny near her. I mean, we might aren't the perfect rolemodels but we would never do anything that would get Lily in danger", the dark haired beauty replied softly. Talking bad about Kayla didn't feel right but she had to fight for herself and Benny so they could keep seeing Lily.

"Fucking great", James groaned and removed his arm from around her shoulder to ran both hands over his face. "I don't know what her god damn problem is at the moment."

When she saw how upset his brother seemed to be, she put her chin on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his torso. It was no secret that her brother's relationship was struggling, but little did she know that there seemed to be so much more problems.

"Talk to me", she muttered, hoping he would let her be there for him for once.

James hesitated for a while, not sure if he wanted to burden his sister with his marital problems. But besides Happy and Cassie, he didn't really have anyone to talk to about things like that. His brothers probably wouldn't understand all of that, since none of them was really capable of having a relationship. Which he didn't mean in a rude way, it was just the truth.

"She cheated on me a few months back", he spoke up after another silent moment and came right to the point. The crack in his voice as he said those words out loud broke Cassie's heart before she realized what her brother just told her. "With our club's lawyer. Our fucking lawyer", a broken laugh left his lips.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry, James. I didn't⸺", she stopped talking since she wasn't even sure what to say about that. The shock was still written all over her face. If there was one thing she didn't expect Kayla to do, it was cheating. "Why the hell didn't you talk to me sooner? I would have been there for you!"

"Because you're my little sister. I'm supposed to be there for you, not the other way around. And I felt like absolute shit, Cassie", his voice cracked once again as he looked close to tears.

Something she didn't know from her brother at all. After their father died he locked away all his emotions, he didn't even shed a tear during the funeral. Instead, he stayed strong and held a crying five year old in his arms while offering a shoulder to cry on for his then fifteen year old sister.

"I want you to come to me with your problems, James! That's what I'm here for. I'm not a kid anymore", she told him desperately, closing her arms even tighter around him. His shaking body told her he was trying his best to control his emotions.

Compared to Benny's and James' problems, her own seemed to be so much smaller. It was such a fucked up situation, which convinced her that everyone of them needed a fresh start more than ever.

"I know that, bug", he sniffled slightly before he groaned in annoyance at his own outburst of feelings. After wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, he wrapped his arms around his sister's shoulders and held her tightly. Once again he was grateful not to be an only child. He never saw his siblings as a burden, they had always been a blessing. "But I still don't wanna bother you with this."

"Stop it. I told you I want to be there for you." She nuzzled her face against his shoulder and shook her head slightly. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Hm?", he hummed.

"Why are you still with that bitch?" She really wanted to know. When she was younger Cassie always looked up to her sister in law and always wanted to be like her one day. Now, after getting to know Kayla's other side, she felt nothing but disgust towards her. Her brother could do so much better.

"Because she begged me to stay, told me it was a one time thing and won't happen again. When she burst into tears and told me that she only wanted me, that she didn't want Lily to grow up with divorced parents, I couldn't leave her", a humourless laugh vibrated through his chest and he tightened his grip around his sister, as if he needed to hold on to someone in order not to get lost. "I can't just let her back in and act like nothing happened. But that's exactly what she's asking for, which leads to constant arguments."

"She doesn't deserve you, James", her breath was shaking from all the anger she was feeling and when she heard Lily's giggling outside, she knew Kayla had to be there too.

She slowly freed herself from James' tight grip and stormed out of the apartment before her brother could stop her.

"Take Lily inside", she told her younger brother, who pulled faces at his niece, making the toddler laugh. His head shot up with a look of confusion and worry but he didn't question his sister, picked up Lily and went inside.

"Where is he going with Lily?", Kayla shouted over the parking lot in front of the apartment complex before walking over to a fuming Cassie. "I told him to stay where I can see them!"

Cassie didn't care what her sister in law had to say. Furious, she swung back and slammed her fist right in Kayla's face. The raven haired woman wasn't a fan of violence, but Kayla deserved it. Actually, hearing the blonde's nose crack was a pretty satisfying sound.

Happy immediately came to Cassie's side when he saw how angry his best friend was and he knew it didn't bode well. It took a lot to get Cassie angry and once she was upset it was hard to calm her down. He grabbed her arm gently and pulled her aside.

"What the fuck was that about, little girl?", he asked while staring right into her eyes.

"That whore cheated on my brother and has the nerve to tell Benny and me to stay away from her family because we are the one's destroying it", Cassie seethed angrily, rubbing her sore knuckles.

Happy's gaze wandered off to the door of the building, watching his other best friend storming out, too. Happy wasn't blind, he saw how upset James looked and the red eyes gave away how hurt he actually was, which infuriated the SAA. His eyes landed on Kayla whose nose was bleeding heavily.

"You told your sister?", she asked, her voice so shrill the neighbors could probably hear her, too. "What kind of man are you who can't keep your marital problems to yourself. It's none of her fuckin' business!"

"Yeah, I did", James replied calmly but his demeanor was anything but calm. "I needed to get this shit off my chest. Afraid people don't see you as the fuckin' saint you pretend to be anymore?"

"Oh please, I don't give a shit what that junkie bitch thinks of me", the blonde scoffed, still holding both her hands over her nose.

"I'd rather be a junkie than a whore", Cassie spat at the blonde and if Happy wouldn't hold her back, she'd hit her sister in law again.

"You better watch your mouth, Kayla", Happy chimed in with his typical stoic yet intimidating look, having a hard time to hold the raved haired woman back. With her petite body and the always sweet and kind looking face no one would expect it to be that hard to hold her back, but it was.

"Oh fuck you, Happy", the blonde groaned, clearly annoyed that everyone was on Cassie's side. "It was a mistake! Haven't anybody of you made a mistake, no?"

Now it was Cassie who had to hold back her best friend. No one, not even her, dared to talk to Happy like that. It was a matter of respect and Kayla was being anything but respectful right now. And disrespect was one thing Happy didn't accept.

"Don't drag them into this", James spat, his voice dripping with venom. He knew if he wouldn't get her away from here either his sister or Happy would loose their shit. "We need to talk, Kayla."

"I'm not going anywhere without Lily", the blonde protested loudly while being dragged to the car by James. Not impressed by her nagging, he told her to get in the car before he would make her. Like a pouting child, the blonde gave up and slipped in her car.

Cassie took a deep breath as she watched them drive down the street, wrapping her arms around her own body. She had no idea what would happen next but she knew things were about to change.

"You got her good." Happy's raspy voice made her shiver and the proud smirk on his lips made her knees weak.

If he was honest, it was pretty hot watching her break Kayla's nose. Maybe it was his penchant for violence and torture, or it was the woman next to him who made everything look hot.

"Not proud of it", she muttered under her breath. "But she deserved it."

"Come on, let's get the rest in the truck", he rasped, putting a hand on her lower back to shove her gently back into the building. He wanted to get this shit done so he could get a shower and bury himself inside her afterwards.