For the past two months, Happy and James had been concentrating on how best to kill the three men without drawing too much attention. They didn't do it behind the club's back, both Happy and James were too loyal to betray their brothers. After an intense conversation, Jax finally agreed that Happy could take revenge on the three men if he found an opportunity. They were at war with the Rivals anyway and they could only dream of peace at the moment.

In a mass brawl between the two clubs, a Sons prospect had already lost his life, leading Jax to see red and demand a dead Rival in return⸺ which he got. At the moment it was a back and forth, neither allowed to enter the other's territory, making it difficult to continue doing business with the Mayans, the Niners and the Chinese. The business meetings could only be held in Charming. Luckily Jax had Nero, who took care of the meetings and made sure everything went on as usual.

Neither Cassie nor Lyla, the children or Gemma were allowed to leave the house without a patched member⸺ the risk that the Rivals had planned an attack on the Sons' family members was too high. This only made Happy even more possessive and cautious and he only let Cassie out of his sight when he had no other choice, and he was glad that his Old Lady wasn't bothered by this. On the contrary, she enjoyed having him around more often, especially now that she was so close to the due date.

But James and Lyla also spent a lot more time together. The eldest Connor made it his job to look after Lyla and her children, making sure they were okay during this exhausting, dangerous time. In the aftermath of Kayla's death and attack on Lily, he had always had her support, and he also knew her feelings towards her. As Cassie had advised Lyla a few months ago, the blonde had been honest and revealed her feelings to James. And while he was flattered, he wasn't ready for anything new then. But over the last two months his feelings towards Lyla had also grown and he couldn't deny that he wanted more with her. So they gave it a try and recently announced that they were a couple now. Yet both of them still lived in their own houses, which would stay like this until both were completely sure that their relationship felt right.

Cassie tried not to let anyone see how nervous this war really made her. The image of Happy being tormented was still stuck in her bones and she no longer knew the feeling of security. Inside she was upset, anxious, worried⸺ she just wanted it all to end so they could calm down again. Happy and her deserved to be able to enjoy the first time with the baby⸺ now that she had finally come to terms with becoming a mother. The fear of failure was still there, but the voices in her head were getting quieter and she was starting to feel more confident in this new role. The baby wasn't here yet, but Cassie was in good spirits and Happy would be the best father anyway.

With a smile she looked down at her bump while she sorted the last clothes for her little boy into the white closet in the baby's room, which she had bought with Happy just a few days ago. Now that they knew it was going to be a boy, they could buy whatever they wanted. Tenderly, she ran her hand over the now pretty large bump as the baby moved inside her again, not noticing Happy watching her while he casually leaned against the doorframe.

“You look happy, little girl”, he stated simply, his raspy voice startling her for a second making him smirk at her frightfulness. “Sorry.”

“It's fine. But you could make more noise next time and not sneak up like that”, she chuckled softly before closing the closet. After walking over to where he was, she snaked her arms around his waist only to get pulled even closer by him, his strong tattooed arms wrapped around her.

“Are you happy?”, he asked since she gave him no answer to his first statement.

“I am. How couldn't I with you by my side?”, she replied honestly, rubbing the tip of her nose against his earning a soft grunt from him. She was definitely the cheesy one in the relationship and she knew he secretly liked her little quirks, even if he didn't admit it. But she wouldn't do such things with him in front of his brothers.

“I don't know, you tell me”, he smirked slightly but then he got serious again and put a hand on the back of her neck, his thumb stretched out to rest under her chin that he pushed up gently to make her look at him. “I'm serious, little girl, I need to know if you're okay.”

Cassie's features softened even more, a faint smile tugged at her lips as she realized how worried he was. “I'd feel better if this war would be over but I know that'll take a while. And I'm a little nervous about giving birth but other than that⸺ I'm good, baby.”

His dark eyes softened as well, her answer satisfying enough. He would also want to end the war by killing every one of the Rivals. But he knew it wasn't that easy and they had to be patient. “I'm proud of you for doing so well, little girl. Not every woman would stick around like you, Gemma and Lyla do. Most women would run away.”

“That never crossed my mind, Happy”, she said softly, putting a hand on his cheek, his black/grey beard tickling her palm. “Can you be honest with me?”

“What do you want to know?” He pulled her to the nursing chair that was in the corner of the room, right next to the window that gave the room a lot of light, even on a cloudy day.

Happy didn't regret paying so much of his money for this house⸺ it was perfect for their little family. It was big enough and had everything they needed. But above all it had a guest room and another spare room. Who knows what the future would bring. But for now he was absolutely content with one child.

“Are you safe?”, she asked after she sat down on his lap, her arms loosely wrapped around his neck while she looked at him with concern in her eyes. “I'm trying to keep my head up to be the strong Old Lady you deserve and need right now. But I can't get a good night's sleep anymore because I'm scared that something could happen to you at any moment. I don't want to be kept away from things that are happening right now. I want to know everything, Happy. Fill me in, please.”

Sighing, he lowered his head against the headrest, ghosting his fingertips up and down her side. He knew that the day would come when Cassie would want to know everything and if he was honest he didn't want to keep anything from her either. But he also didn't want her to worry even more, either.

“We're at war, things get rough. There's not much more to tell”, he told her, his hand now resting on her stomach, the tip of his thumb drawing circles on it. “But you and our little boy are safe, Cassie. I wouldn't let anything happen to you.”

“I know that we're safe, Hap”, she let out a sigh, knowing he wasn't telling her everything. “But what about you, huh? What about these three guys?”

“James and I are on it, Cas”, he said firmly, the soft look in his eyes replaced by a darker one again. “And as soon as we get a chance, we're going to kill them. They hurt you, I'm not letting them get away with it.”

“So they're still running around? Fucking great.” A nervous laugh slipped past her lips, the crippling anxiety coming to the surface once again. “I need them gone, Happy. I can't even think straight anymore because I'm so fuckin' worried about you!”

“Hey”, he quickly grabbed her face as he saw how upset, anxious and nervous she got. Guilt, that's what he felt as he looked into her sad eyes that he could barely see joy in anymore. Seeing him getting tortured back then had apparently traumatized her more than he had thought. “I'm not letting them hurt me again. They messed with the wrong guy, little girl. You really think I'd let anyone take me away from you or my boy?”

Even in such a serious situation, his gravelly, raspy voice made her knees go weak. Even after a year of being together, she still got butterflies in her stomach everytime she looked at him.

“Show them they messed with the wrong person. And make them suffer just like they made you suffer”, she softly whispered against his lips, stealing a kiss from him.

“Are you encouraging me to kill someone?” Smirking, he looked into her beautiful blue eyes. With his hands now resting on her ass, he pulled her closer and kissed her neck, sucking on it until the blood came to the surface leaving a hickey, which made her moan softly.  “That's fuckin' hot, little girl.”

“Not in the baby's room!” She put her hands on his chest, gently pushing him away just a little. After a brief moment, in which she had tried to cool down, she looked at him intently. “And yes, that's exactly what I'm doing. You make them bleed, baby.”

“I will and I'll do it before Callum's here”, he promised before taking a look around the room. He designed the walls himself. Safari animals were painted onto the wall behind the crib and also on the wall across, the baby's name written directly over his bed.

Cassie had done the decorating. There were a few plants hanging from the ceiling that made the room look more like a jungle, matching perfectly with the Safari animals on the wall and the light green curtains. A play corner was already set up, even if their son wouldn't need it for a few months anyway. But his Old Lady was so excited and couldn't wait so she had to do it, which in turn showed him how much she was looking forward to the baby by now. The SAA finally found his place, his home. And he'd do anything to protect that.