JUNE BLINKED A FEW TIMES against the bright light that surrounded her. She heard the beeping of a monitor between muffled voices that slowly became clearer, just like her vision. Groaning, she grabbed her head as she felt the dull pain that ran through her neck and into her shoulders.

"She's awake", she heard a raspy, determined voice say. Definitely Happy's. "June, hey!"

A large hand closed around hers and the bright light finally dimmed a little when Happy's head hovered over hers shortly afterwards, his scrutinizing gaze resting on her. "Can you hear me, little girl?"

"Yeah, I hear you, loud and clear", she murmured, her voice just a croak. Only now did she feel how dry her throat was. Slowly her eyelids fluttered open, her green orbs meeting his, with concern filled, brown ones. "What happened?"

"You had chest pains and passed out in the car", he explained, raw emotion lingering in his gruff voice. "Fuckin' thought you were having a heart attack."

Slowly the memory flooded back and June just grimaced as she thought back to the pain that she had felt before but was now no longer there.

"I guess I didn't have one, did I?", she asked softly, secretly hoping she didn't. But the room she was lying in looked like a normal examination room and she was still wearing her clothes. Well, most of them. "Okay, I didn't have oneᅳ thank God."

"No, you didn't", Happy confirmed, though despite the relief to see her awake, his face twisted into a stern grimace. "But what the hell were you thinking not taking your meds regularly? You wanna die or something?"

"Oh, I'm glad I'm still alive too, thanks for the compassion", June muttered, sarcasm dripping from her tongue with each word as she slowly tried to sit up. "How do you even know that?"

"Slow down", the SAA told her with a grunt and immediately grabbed her arm to support her, not even thinking to take his hand off her back when she finally sat. "This shit wouldn't have happened if you had taken them, we both know that."

For a moment he just studied her. Even in a moment like this, her chin length hair a little disheveled and her mascara slightly smeared, didn't change how pretty the woman was. When she then looked up at him through her big, innocent doe eyes and let her shoulders slump, he couldn't be mad at her any longer. Despite that, he was still partly angry, but less than a few minutes ago.

"I didn't forget to take the pills on purpose, I swear", she said sheepishly, lifting her hands innocently. "Between all the stress, work and everyday life, I sometimes just forget. Shit happens."

"The hell, June?! Take this a little more seriously, would you?" Happy barked, making the nurse who was rolling the EKG to the side flinch slightlyᅳ not that the Tacoma Killer cared. "Why don't you fuckin' open your mouth and say something when shit gets too much for you?"

"Seriously?" Heaving a bitter snort, the former Teller shook her head, feeling pretty stupid for arguing with her ex in only a bra. Sounded like a damn soap opera. "What would you have done, huh? Take the kids with you? After you wanted to get rid of us? Suddenly you could've taken them?"

"Don't start this shit, June", Happy warned, a low growl rattling through his chest. Right now was definitely not the right moment for this discussion. "That's something completely different, woman. Of course I would've taken our kids to live with me if that would've saved you from almost having a damn heart attack! Or Gemma could have taken them for a few daysᅳ"

June interrupted him by shoving him in the chest, not caring that there were other people in the room. "I can take care of my children myself, I don't need help! What kind of mother would I be if I pushed my children away just because things got stressful?"

Happy's eyes darkened as June pushed him, even though he didn't move an inch. "Don't fuckin' push it, June. I'm just worried about you, believe it or not."

"Okay, I think that's enough." An older man approached the arguing couple and cleared his throat to get their attention, his friendly smile directed at June. "You wouldn't be a bad mother just for asking for help, Mrs. Lowman."

June's breath hitched in her lungs. No one had called her Mrs. Lowman in ages, and hearing it now caused a dull ache in her chest. She missed it, as much as she hated to admit it.

"Maybe not, but I could've had a heart attack anyway", she murmured, but with a hint of stubbornness in her tone. "I'm forgetful sometimes, I'll be more careful in the future."

"You should, next time it might not turn out so well", the doctor advised the young woman, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "You were close to a heart attack, if your husband hadn't brought you here in time, it could've turned into one."

June stole a glance at Happy, his features hard and stoic, and yet the twitch of the muscles in his jaw gave away that he was anything but calm inside.

"I'm sorry", she said sincerely, the words addressed to none other than Happy. "I didn't mean to scare you, I mean it."

She felt his hand slip up her back and stop between her shoulder and neck. He gently squeezed the spot and bent down a little to place a kiss on the top of her head, a gesture that could've made her melt into a puddle. A gesture that said more than words could.

When he then even pulled her into his side, she just let him do it and allowed herself to do what she needed in that moment and snuggled into the soft fabric of his hoodie, inhaling the familiar scent.

The doctor clearly preferred this sight, of course. "I'm going to discharge you now, normally nothing else should happen. However, you absolutely have to rest a bit over the next few daysᅳ and you can't forget to take your medication."

"She won't, I'll make sure of that", Happy croaked, ignoring June's look that practically screamed 'oh yeah?'. His stubborn ass wouldn't leave her side until he was sure she didn't need his help anymore.

"Okay good", the doctor hummed contentedly as he wrote something down on his board, a form that he finally handed to Happy. "Here is another prescription for your wife's pills, a slightly higher dose that she will need in the next few weeks", he explained, his instructive gaze landing on June. "After you've finished this pack, please just go back to taking your normal dose. Can I rely on you to do that, Mrs. Lowman?"

June nodded weakly. At the moment she felt like a small child being lectured. But somehow it was her own fault. "Yes, I promise. I'll pay more attention in the future."

"Okay, then you are hereby discharged", the doctor informed her, flashing her a friendly smile. "Of course you can stay a little longer if you are still too weak."

"No, I'm okay", June said as she slipped off the lounger. Since she was still a little wobbly on her feet and had to find her balance first, she clung to Happy's hoodie, even leaning against him. "Can you give me my shirt, please?"

June shot a small smile in the doctor's direction as he bid them a goodbye and left the room shortly afterwards, followed by the nurse who gave Happy a weird look.

"You really scared that one", June noted, giggling as Happy helped her slip into her top. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothin'", the SAA shrugged, but the small grin on his lips told June that this wasn't true at all.

"Mhm, sure, you probably barked orders at her in your panic", she teased him lovingly, but she wasn't wrong and she knew it. When Happy was panicking, he could be even more frightening than he already was. "You also did that when we had to go to the hospital with Callie, the poor nurses were scared to death of you."

"I just told them to do their fuckin' job and take care of our daughter instead of drinking coffee outside", Happy gruffly grumbled, not feeling guilty at all for scaring them back then.

"And that's exactly why I fell in love with you again and again", June admitted with a soft hum before she realized what she had said. Clearing her throat, she scratched her eyebrow awkwardly, the tiredness still sitting in her bones. "Can we leave? I hate hospitals."

Happy nodded curtly without responding to June's first words, but they stuck in his mind and gave him a spark of hope that he could still win his wife's heart back.

With the prescription in one hand and his arm around her shoulder, Happy led her out of the hospital and to her car, where he helped June get in. Only when he had picked up the new pack of pills from a pharmacy did he head back to his mom's house, his mind buzzing with a thousand different thoughts.

ᅳ

THE COUPLE SAT in the living room in silence, eating a bowl of stew that Maria had left in the fridge with a note saying Happy and June could help themselves.

Maria's and Jax' plan had worked, even though the near heart attack was probably definitely part of the plan.

Happy's mom was still out with Isabel, her sister, and wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning, and June had already left Jax a message on his voicemail telling him that she would kick his ass tomorrow. Of course, her brother continued to skillfully ignore her.

If Jax or anyone else knew that she was in the hospital, she would probably have countless missed calls and messages. She had asked Happy not to say anything, the others would only worry unnecessarily and be cling to her as soon as she got backᅳ and that was the last thing June needed right now.

In the background, a cartoon was playing on the TV that was not only Happy's favorite but also Callie's. Even June knew almost every episode by heart by now, she preferred watching the cartoon instead of a show that required her to stay concentrated.

"Did you tell my mom to back off?" June broke the silence first, almost something amusing in her tone as she watched Happy's lips form into a smirk. "Already thought so", she added, chuckling.

"Did it help?", he asked as he shoved his empty bowl aside and tapped the empty space next to him on the couch.

"I think so, we've talked it out." June hesitated for a moment, but then slid from her place on the carpet to the empty space next to Happy, raising an eyebrow as he placed her legs over his lap. "What are you doing?"

"Just relax, okay?" Unfazed by June's skeptical looks, he leaned back and pulled off her socks before he started to massage her feet. "Did she understand that she's overstepped boundaries?"

At first June wanted to pull her feet back, to tell him that it wasn't a good idea to get this close. However, a pleasant sigh immediately slipped past her lips as Happy's hands began to work wonders. As if he had special abilities, she immediately managed to relax under his touch.

"I hope so, not really sure yet. Thanks anyway for talking to her." Without resisting any further, she laid her head down on the back of the couch and simply studied Happy. His hard yet relaxed features, his sharp jawline covered in salt and pepper stubble and the way his chest rose and fell with every breath.

"You're staring", he said, smirking slightly as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. Now he was the one who could say those words.

"Fuck, sorry..", she mumbled awkwardly and shifted a little in her seat until she found a new, comfortable position. "Iᅳ thank you for today, Happy. The situation probably would've been much worse without you."

"Just promise me you'll take your damn meds from now on", Happy insisted sternly, his eyes trained at her as his hand movements stopped. He didn't miss the sudden change in expression on June's face.

From calm to depressed. "What's goin' on with you, June? And don't even think about lying to me, I'll know anyway. You're one of the most organized people I know, you'd never forget your meds."

June took a long, deep breath, shrugging her shoulders. "After the breakup, I somehow lost control over everythingᅳ I lost myself."

Her words, almost a whisper, nevertheless contained so much emotion that even Happy had to swallow.

"I know that in a few weeks, or even days, I'll be swimming in that dark pool of negative emotions again. This has been happening over and over since we've broken up and.. and somehow it's harder for me to take care of myself recently", she admitted softly, a somewhat sad smile gracing her lips. "I function for the children, make sure they have everything they needᅳ but my well-being..somehow I no longer care."

Happy stared at her, not sure whether he should yell at her and shake her awake, tell her that she needed to start thinking about herself again. Instead, he pushed her legs off his lap and pulled her closer by her arm until she was sitting halfway on his lap, his hand buried in her hair and resting against the back of her head to hold her in place.

"The kids need you, Juneᅳ more than anyone else. And..I need you", he croaked, the lump in his throat almost cutting off his breath. The guilt that weighed on him, that lay on his chest, became almost unbearable. "It was never my plan for you to suffer like this. I thought you could just hate me after seeing me with some bitch and move on after a while."

"That's really stupid man logic, you know that, right? Could you just move on after all these years?" June asked with a huff, unable to compose herself while she was so close to Happy. Her forehead fell against his with another sniff, her eyes closed to hide the unshed tears. "It hurt even more. Yes, I hated you, so much in that moment, but everything became only worse afterwards. Knowing I'd lost you, knowing I was alone with our kidsᅳ it hurt so bad."

"You never lost me, I was always yours, June. And no, I could never move on", he murmured against her hair after he'd cradled her body against his chest, her head now resting on his shoulder while her body sat curled up on his lap. It broke his heart to hear her cry, but at least she let him in. "I was stupid to think it would make sense to push the kids and you awayᅳ but it just made sense in that moment."

It was weird to hear Happy talk so much, but then again, it wasn't. Happy wasn't a talkative person, except when he was around June, or with their kids. Generally, he was a completely different person most of the time when he was with themᅳ much more relaxed and able to let his guard down.

"You really hurt us with that, Hap, and I mean really hurt us", she choked out, letting the sob escape her throat before she wrapped her delicate arms around his waist and nuzzled her face against his chest. Just for tonight she wanted to feel his closeness, to feel safe. "And it still hurts to see you knowing that you're not mine anymore."

With a deep breath, Happy closed his eyes, her last words still echoing in his head. "I'll get you backᅳ and if it's the last thing I do."

"Happy..", June began quietly, but she was too tired to start a new discussion. Or maybe she just wanted to live in her little bubble a little while longer and believe that one day they could be that perfect couple they once were again.

When Happy wrapped his arms around her and also shifted to a more comfortable position, but without moving too much, June closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

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