The moment they passed the Tacoma town sign, Cassie felt a certain warmth spreading through her chest and body. Not because the weather was so warm, on the contrary. It was fall and pretty cool compared to Cali. She felt the warmth because she immediately felt at home. She did that everywhere as long as Happy, Callum and Opie were with her, but this was her actual home, her birthplace, the place where she grew up. God how she missed Washington, especially Tacoma.

The nostalgic smile was still on her lips as Happy parked the car by the clubhouse and eyed her from the side. Seeing how relaxed and happy she was every time they were here made the corner of his mouth twitch up as well. It was as if he could feel how all the tension of the last few weeks, and especially days, had melted away. As if someone had lifted a load from her shoulders.

And that made him think. His priorities had changed and none of his brothers could tell him that it wasn't like that for them once they had families of their own. But unlike Jax, he wouldn't let that distract him and always stay focused when the club needed him. But privately he clearly preferred to spend his time with his little family than, for example, going to parties or sitting in the club all day even though there was nothing to do.

The thought of going back to Tacoma had crossed his mind a few times already. J
He would do it just to see Cassie permanently happy again. But Charming needed every man right now, so it wasn't possible to leave for long at the moment.

“I haven't seen you in such a good mood in a while”, he remarked, running the backs of his fingers down her cheek.

“Because I haven't been in ages”, she replied softly, closing her eyes at his touch that only making her smile wider. “Thanks baby..for bringing us here. I think we both need that.”

Happy nodded with a grunt and shared her opinion. “And Callum is finally getting to know the people who even raised you. They're gonna be proud as hell”, he grinned.

“Right?! I can't wait for everyone to finally meet him.” There was a huge smile on her face and before the two got out of the car, Happy pressed a longing kiss onto her lips that she returned without hesitation.

While Cassie unbuckled the baby carrier and got Callum out of the car, Happy let Opie out of the back and got the two big bags and the diaper bag out of the car. When Lee heard that one of his closest friends was coming to visit along with the woman he'd known since she was a baby and who he had helped to raise, he immediately offered that the three of them could stay at the clubhouse if they wanted too. Since Lee had kept Happy's old room free anyway, as well as James's in case they both came back, they could use that as well.

“You still look as good as you did then, and that after giving birth!” Kozik's big grin and the good mood he exuded immediately captivated Cassie and even Happy.

The blonde walked up to the two of them and scooped the brunette up in his arms only to spin her around, making her laugh. Happy wouldn't let any other man do that, not even his closest friends, but he had absolutely no problem with Kozik doing it. Next to James he was his best friend and would never have dirty thoughts about his Old Lady. Kozik had too much respect for that.

“I missed you”, she squealed, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. “You have to meet Callum! He looks just like Happy”, she added with a warm laugh.

“Oh man, I was hoping he looked like you”, he smirked playfully and let her back on the ground where he hugged her properly again. “Nice to have you home, sweetheart.”

“Cassie!” Lee was the next to emerge from the small clubhouse, which looked much larger on the inside than it appeared from the outside, and threw his arms around the young woman who was like a niece to him. “I missed you, princess.”

Cassie buried her face in the man's chest and wrapped her arms around his waist, her eyes closed as she inhaled his scent. Lee reminded her of her father in many ways and at times it even hurt to see how similar the two were. But she was incredibly lucky to have Lee and got almost sad at the thought of going back to Cali next week.

“Me too”, she murmured against the leather of his kutte, her eyes on the patch meant to honor her father. A gentle smile played around her lips as she ran her fingers over it. “Thank you for letting us stay here. This way you all have enough time to get to know Callum.”

Happy watched the scene between the two, his arms crossed while he almost got emotional himself, which he didn't show. Charming was beautiful and he would die for any of his brothers there, but Charming was never quite as familiar as it is here. The relationship with Lee and most of the other members was just deeper, stronger. And he knew Cassie felt the same way.

“You okay, bro?”, Kozik asked, who had just taken Callum out of the baby carrier and carefully placed him in his arms after Happy told him he didn't have to wait until they were inside.

The blonde looked again at the little boy in his arms, who was observing everything curiously and memorizing the new surroundings, making a small noise every now and then. Grinning, Kozik shook his head at the thought that this was really Happy's son.

“Mhm..I just wish she would be always so happy. But that's not the case in Charming”, he sighed, watching Kozik from the corner of his eye as he made faces at his son and tickled his stomach.

Kozik looked at his friend a bit confused. “Why not? Having trouble in Charming?”

“No”, he grunted. “Not exactly. But it's just not the same. I think she'll always miss Tacoma.”

“Have you thought about coming back?”, the blonde asked, a small spark of hope lingering in his tone. Of course he would love to have his best friend and Tacoma's princess back.

“All the time”, Happy admitted honestly, swapping his toothpick for a new one before throwing the old one into the bushes next to him. “But Charming needs every man right now. Also, we just moved into a new house a few weeks ago.”

Moving to Tacoma would involve a lot of expenses that he just couldn't afford⸺ as much as he wanted to. In addition, it would probably still be too stressful for Callum to get on long trips until the whole move was done.

“Maybe in a few years when Callum is older and more mobile”, he added with a shrug.

“Would be cool, man”, Kozik nodded. “It's just not the same here without you guys.”

As Cassie approached the two of them along with Lee, he smiled slightly and spread his arms out into which she leaned and snuggled against him, a completely satisfied look on her face as he wrapped his arms around her.

“He's perfect, isn't he?”, she asked Kozik with a smile so wide her eyes almost pinched shut. You could see how proud she was of her son, which in turn made Happy, well, happy.

“Mhm..you did a really good job there”, Kozik winked and rocked Callum in his arms. “The girls inside are going to gush over him.”

“I can see he's wrapping everyone around his finger already”,  Happy grinned proudly.

“Hm, so he's just like his father.” Lee slapped Happy on the back with a grin and gave him a brotherly hug from the side so Happy wouldn't have to let go of Cassie.

“Hey! Happy won't wrap anyone around his finger here except me”, the brunette said, laughing, but there was a certain seriousness in her tone. “After all, he's taken.”

The three men just laughed at her words and exchanged a look, earning an eye roll from Cassie.

“Don't worry, babe. I only belong to you and you only belong to me”, he rasped against her ear, causing a pleasant shiver to run down her spine.

“Good”, she hummed. “Let's go in, greet the others!”

The small group made their way inside, where everyone greeted Happy and Cassie with big hugs and celebrated their visit. The men all gathered around Callum and already took the newborn into their circle. The croweaters gushed over the smallest new member and couldn't take their eyes off the baby. Unlike in Charming, Cassie could handle all the croweaters here simply because the vibe here was very different, not so tense that you could cut the tension in the air. She liked all of the girls and the Croweaters liked her and, most importantly, respected her and didn't hit on her man.

⸺

A

fter a long evening of heartwarming talks, good food, and some booze, Happy draped his arm around his fiance's shoulder as they made their way back to his room and pulled her in for a kiss. A giggle slipped past her lips as he deepened the kiss and pinned her against the nearest wall, his hand resting possessively on her hip.

Three hours ago they had put Callum in Happy's foom in the travel cot that they had set up in after the baby got tired. So the two had the chance to have a few drinks together and just have some fun. Neither of them was drunk, but relaxed and in a good mood.

“I love you, little girl”, he grunted against her lips after breaking away from the heated kiss.

With a smile, she sighed contentedly and wrapped her arms around his neck, her body still snuggled against his. She loved hearing those words, especially since he didn't say those words as often as some others. But he showed her in so many other ways how much she meant to him.

“I love you too, baby”, she whispered lovingly, caressing his cheek. “I wish it was like this more often. We haven't had such a nice day in ages.”

“It will be like that again, someday”, he murmured, cupping her cheek in his hand.

“Hopefully”, she replied with a small smile and then pulled him by his hand to their room, where she closed the door behind them and nodded him wit her towards the small bathroom to take a shower after she checked on Callum if he was still asleep. After the long day and the drive, they both needed a warm shower, which they enjoyed, plus some other things, together.