Jax watched as the couple took a seat on a table after Cassie got them something to eat from the kitchen that Gemma had made only a few minutes ago. They ate in silence, which wasn't unusual, but the brunette didn't seem too happy. It seemed like something was bothering her and Jax wondered if it was about the pregnancy.

Now that he knew from Tara that Cassie didn't plan on keeping the child, he assumed that was the reason for her bad mood. Hesitating for a moment, he decided to sit down with them. Turning around the mug with the fresh coffee, he gave them a small smile.

“I heard you're pregnant”, Jax rubbed his neck, raising his hands in surrender when Cassie's head snapped in his direction. “Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone, darlin'.”

“You better don't”, the brunette muttered under her breath while she glared at him. Just because she told Happy that she'd keep the baby didn't mean she wanted everyone to know already.

Happy didn't miss his Old Lady's reaction and if it was up to him he would tell everyone right away. For the time being, however, he was glad that Cassie wanted to keep the child at all, so of course he accepted her wish to keep the news secret for a few more weeks. It just annoyed him that Tara had apparently already told Jax about it and he wondered who else knew.

“So your Old Lady can't keep a secret for a day?”, the SAA grunted.

Jax sighed, shrugging. “I don't know, man. She thought she did something good and wanted to let me know.”

“Cassie asked for one fuckin' thing.” It was obvious how annoyed Happy was that Cassie's request wasn't honored. He still held a grudge against Tara after what she did, as did everyone else in the club, so he didn't understand why Tara would break someone's trust again.

“I know, and I'll talk to her again, bro”, Jax assured him eagerly.

“Let it go”, Cassie spoke up, disappointment lingering in her tone, yet her voice was soft and held no judgement. “I don't think she did it for her own benefit. She was probably just hoping that you would see that she was really trying.”

Both of the guys stared at her while she peacefully kept eating her breakfast. Somehow she couldn't eat the bacon, it caused the acid from her stomach to rise up her throat, which is why she put the few slices of bacon on Happy's plate. The scrambled eggs and pancakes weren't a problem though.

“Did you just defend my wife?”, Jax raised a brow in surprise, earning a shrug from the brunette.

“I'm not defending her, I just said what I was thinking”, she retorted quickly. “Look, I won't forget what she did, I couldn't. But I'm glad she was there for me yesterday. And it didn't seem forced to me, she really wanted to help.”

Happy placed a hand on top of her thigh before he finished his breakfast and took a long sip of his coffee, thinking about Cassie's words. Maybe Tara wanted to help but that didn't change the fact she encouraged Cassie to get an abortion⸺ that was the thing that bugged him the most.

“Maybe she wanted to help”, Happy shrugged. “But she still should've kept it to herself.”

“She should've”, Cassie agreed and let her hand rest over his after she finished her plate, too. “But as long as she only told Jax I don't have a problem with it.”

“Why don't you want the others to know?”, Jax asked without sounding reproachful, just interested.

“I'm still a little away from the twelve weeks, so a lot can still happen. Also, I haven't even seen a doctor yet. Even though everything speaks for a pregnancy, we can't say for sure that I am pregnant”, Cassie explained, giving Happy a loving look, knowing that he was still afraid she might change her mind. “Want me to make an appointment later? Maybe we'll get one this week.”

Happy gave her the slightest smile and squeezed her hand after she slipped her's into his calloused one. He wasn't stupid, no. Happy knew that she did that for him, that she kept the baby so he could get what he wanted. That wasn't what he wanted though. It was important to him that she wanted the baby as much as he did, and he hoped that when she would hear the heartbeat for the first time, that she'd would change her mind. Otherwise, he had no choice but to give her the Okay to have an abortion.

Not that she needed it, but he knew she wouldn't do it without his blessing.

“Don't you think we can ask in the hospital if a doctor has time for an ultrasound?”, Happy grumbled making her think about his question.

“I mean, it should be possible.” Cassie looked at the clock hanging above the bar and downed her orange juice quickly. The brunette stood up and pressed a soft kiss against her Old Man's lips. “I have to leave, my shift starts in twenty minutes. I'll see what I can do and give you a call, okay?”

Nodding, Happy leaned back, grabbed her hand and made her bend down a little so he could kiss her again. Giving her hip a gentle squeeze, he looked up at her. “Drive carefully and don't lift anything heavy.”

Cassie sighed softly. “I work in a hospital, Hap. There's no way around heavy lifting.”

“Just be careful, little girl”, he grunted sternly. He only knew since yesterday that she was pregnant and yet he was already more worried about her than usually.

Something Cassie had feared. And she was afraid he would want her to quit her job until the baby was born. That would only cause problems between them.

“I'm always careful”, she hummed, giving him a sweet smile before waving Jax and Gemma, who just came out of the kitchen, goodbye.

⸺

During her break, which she had at the same time as Tara, the brunette went to the nurses' room, where Tara also took regular breaks, and looked for the doctor. As soon as Cassie entered the room, she spotted Tara at a table by the window in the last corner and all alone. The sight made her sigh and shake her head. Why was it so difficult for Tara to bond with other people? She preferred to sit alone instead of sharing a table with the others and making friends.

“Hey.” Cassie sat down with a small smile and unpacked her snack. It was just a wrap with some vegetables and chicken, at least that didn't make her feel sick.

Tara looked up, surprised that the brunette had taken a seat at the same table. The doctor smiled at the younger woman. “Cassie, hey.”

Judging by Cassie's smile and friendly manner, she assumed Jax hadn't mentioned anything to her yet, which is why she decided to do it before her husband could. She felt bad for telling Cassie's secret, but she was just desperately trying to fight her way back.

“I have to talk to you”, Tara said with a sigh before Cassie could say anything, fiddling with the paper of her own snack. “I told Jax that you're pregnant. I shouldn't have, I just⸺ I just thought that he would finally warm up to me again if he finds out I helped an Old Lady, you know?”

Watching how Tara nervously fiddled with the paper of her snack, barely able to make eye contact, Cassie knew the doctor wasn't lying and felt actually bad. So, Cassie just shrugged her shoulders.

“That's what I thought”, she said before taking a bite of her wrap, she sighed with pleasure, hoping that at least that would stay in her stomach.

“Wait, you know?”, Tara's frown was replaced by a smile while she watched Cassie eat that wrap within two minutes, clearly enjoying every bite of it. “You can't keep much food down, hm?”

“I tell you! I'm glad when I can finally eat normal again”, the brunette chuckled after she chewed and swallowed the last bite of her wrap, wiping her hands on a napkin. “Jax told us before I had to leave. He was just as surprised as Happy that I didn't get angry. At first I wanted to be mad at you, but I couldn't. What you did in the past was wrong and I should be the last one to forgive you for all the shit but, I see how cold Jax is towards you, how much it hurts you. I understand why you told him. Still not cool though.”

Once again, Tara was surprised by so much kindness. She didn't understand how anyone could be as nice and sweet as Cassie. After all that had happened, the brunette was willing to sit down at the table with her and tell her that she didn't hold grudges.

The famous words 'Kill them with kindness' definitely applied here. Tara didn't think Cassie was being so friendly on purpose just to make her feel bad. No, it just wasn't common for Cassie to be rude, arrogant, and contemptuous. What caused Tara to feel guilty again for what she had done. Cassie was blessed with a gift that Tara would love to have. A friendly, outgoing personality.

Tara dropped her eyes and let out a sad laugh, feeling like absolute shit. “I don't even know what to say, Cassie”, she admitted. Lifting her head again, Tara looked into Cassie's eyes, her own filled with regret and guilt. “Thank you for being so kind.”

If the images of Lily being injured and in pain for weeks didn't keep popping up in her mind, maybe it would be easier to forgive Tara. But Cassie wasn't ready for that yet. Still, she wanted to try to get along with Tara while they were at work or at the clubhouse.

“It's okay”, the Connor woman smiled briefly. “Can you do me a favor?”

Tara nodded quickly. “Sure. What do you need?”

“I need an ultrasound but I can't get an appointment with a doctor any time soon. Do you think you could get me an appointment here at the hospital? Maybe even this week?”, Cassie asked with a sweet smile. “That would be amazing.”

Tara let out a relived sigh. The doctor had expected much worse, maybe even something illegal. And after what she did, she couldn't have said no. Getting Cassie an appointment with a doctor was easy, and she was happy to do so.

“Give me a minute.” Tara stood up and left the room making Cassie frown. The brunette wasn't sure why Tara left but she decided to wait a few minutes, her break wasn't over yet anyway.

In what felt like an eternity, but was actually only five minutes, Tara came back to the table and smiled. “You have an appointment with Dr. Summerlin in three hours. Ultrasound plus blood work.”

“You got me an appointment for today? In less than five minutes? Wow, I should think about becoming a doctor”, Cassie joked, a smirk plastered on her face. “Thanks Tara, I appreciate it.”

“The least I can do”, Tara pointed out and brushed a few strands of her brown hair behind her ear. “It almost sounds like you changed your mind and want to keep the baby.”

When Tara voiced her guess, Cassie's smile faded a little. She quickly told her about the conversation she had yesterday with Happy and how things escalated afterwards.

“He wants the baby. You should've seen the look on his face when I told him that I want an abortion. I know this man since, let me think, over fifteen years now and I haven't seen him this disappointed once. I just can't do this to him”, she shrugged, playing with the lid of her mug that was filled with tea since her stomach decided coffee wasn't a good idea anymore.

“So you only keep it because of him”, Tara figured, sighing. “Or does at least a small part of you wants to keep the baby?”

“Honestly? I don't know”, she sighed heavily. “I guess I just have to wait and see what happens. Maybe listening to the baby's heartbeat will change my mind.”

“Yeah, maybe. That would be great”, Tara gave her a hopeful smile. “Just wait and give yourself time. You still have time to change your mind.”

“Yeah”, Cassie let out a soft scoff and ran her hands over her, today make up free, face. She had no idea how all of this would end. Still scared shitless, she couldn't deny that she felt a little excited about the appointment later.

After her break she sent Happy a text about the appointment they had and that she wanted him to be there. Only a moment later a text from him came back telling her that he would be there and that he couldn't wait. A sigh slipped past her lips before she put her phone back in her locker and got back to work.

⸺

authors note; I just want to work on the first chapter of my new story and publish it but I already have two stories to write. I hate to get so much new ideas, lol.