JUNE SIGHED AS SHE leaned into Happy's arms, her back pressed against his chest while one of his arms was draped around her protectively, even though there was no danger at the moment. She hated not knowing if he would change his mind and leave the kids and her again now that a threat had actually been made against her.

"Hey prospect, clean my wife's car", he barked at the young man, who immediately jumped to his feet and rushed towards the door. "Don't you need somethin' to clean?"

"Hap, be nice to him." June gently hit his chest with the back of her hand as she could almost hear the Prospect gulping even from a distance. The poor guy was still kind of new, so he had to go through this like every other Prospect before him, too. Nevertheless, June offered him a friendly smile. "There's everything you need in the bathroom under the sink."

"Oᅳ okay. Thank you", the dark-haired man, Seth, muttered before rushing into the bathroom, making the rest of the boys let out a laugh.

"You guys can be so mean!" June rolled her eyes, grinning as the laughter slowly died down and only an amused grin remained on their faces.

"Babe, he's the Prospect, you're not supposed to help him", Happy grumbled as he pulled her back into his arms, reaching for his cup of coffee, that stood on the kitchen counter next to him, with his free hand. "He's gotta go through this like everyone else."

"And I understand that and it's entirely up to you how much you want to test him, but", she took a long breath, a crooked smile forming on her lips as she looked up at Happy. "But he can't taste where our cleaning supplies are, huh?"

"Whatever", the SAA grunted, the slightest grin on his face before his features fell back into its familiar, stoic demeanour. "So what do we do about the threat? I'm not going to sit around and wait for something to happen."

"And you shouldn't", Jax answered first, taking a long drag from his cigarette as he slouched wearily in his chair, exhaustion written all over his tired face from the long day. "Nobody threatens my sister, my nieces or a family member in general and gets away with it. But we have to first make sure that the threat really comes from the Argent Devils. We can't just retaliate, man."

"Who else should be behind this?" Juice seethed, not much of his cheerful demeanor left as he waved the slightly crumpled piece of paper in his hand around. "This seems to be their new tactic, threatening our Old Ladies."

"Can I see the letter?" June asked cautiously, her hand already outstretched, clearly worried about her best friend. "And where is Amber now?"

"With her mom, she should be safe there", Juice sighed as he passed the letter to June before running a hand over his mohawk. "They know exactly what they're doing."

"Alright, tell her to stay there for now", June said firmly before her eyes darted over the neatly written lines, a scoff leaving her lips.

'Our bad you lost your precious baby because of us. Last time, there was no intention to hurt an Old Lady; but this time, maybe we want exactly that. Better be careful.'

"How did they get so much information anyway? Like, how do they know Amber had a miscarriage?", she asked angrily, horrified by the bold brutality in the words, which had probably opened up old wounds according to Juice' depressed expression. "Is she okay? Maybe I should go see her", June added firmly.

Her spirit was instantly killed by Happy, his eyes burning into her skull as he shook his head vigorously. "You're not going anywhere without me or a patch, woman, you hear me?"

Somehow, June could only smile at his words. That was all she had wanted; his protection instead of him pushing her away. So she listened without arguing, grateful to have him by her side.

"Okay, then I'll stay here and call her later", she said calmly before looking at the clock with a sigh. "I'll go and check on the kids, Alanna has probably asked Mom a million questions about why everyone is here."

"We'll talk later", Happy croaked against her lips before placing his on them, gently squeezing her hip before slightly pulling away. "You stay in the house, the kids too, understand?"

"Hap, I'm not stupid, I know what we have to do right now. I grew up around the club, forgot that?", she murmured against his lips with a smile, stole another kiss and then shoved the piece of paper back into Juice' hand before squeezing the man's shoulder. "We'll be fine, Amber will be fine", she said softly before leaving the kitchen to the men to check on Gemma and the kids.

ᅳ

THE HOUSE WAS quiet again, the guys were back with their own families or at the clubhouse and Gemma was with Nero for the time being, who now also knew about the threats and would keep his eyes and ears open.

Callie didn't notice the tense atmosphere, the seething anger that was slumbering inside her father and her mother's concern that someone might hurt her babies. Alanna on the other hand was now too old and attentive to hide something like that from her.

"Is somebody gonna hurt us?", the nine-year-old looked up between her parents, no longer able to stay quiet.

It was nice to be cuddled up on the couch with her parents, Callie right next to her, both girls resting in their parents' arms. Alanna's in Happy's as he sat right next to her and Callie snuggled up to June's, her stuffed turtle tucked tightly under her small arm.

"The hell, Lana?" Happy barked softly as the three-year-old also took her eyes off the TV and looked up in shock.

"Who wants to hurt us?", her small voice asked, the girl clearly more scared than her big sister. "I don't want anyone to hurt us."

"Oh baby, no one's going to hurt us", June cooed soothingly as Callie's lip began to quiver, her stuffed turtle pressed flush against her chest and holding on to it like her life depended on it. "Come here", June murmured as she pulled Callie onto her lap and flashed Alanna a stern look. "You could've waited until Callie was asleep, sweetie."

"Okay, maybe that wasn't the best idea, sorry", the nine-year-old murmured guiltily as she looked at her small sister's frightened face. Sighing, she reached out and ruffled Callie's hair. "Sorry Cal, I didn't mean to scare you."

The three-year-old sheepishly sought reassurance from her parents, her head moving frantically back and forth. "Nobody wants to hurt us?"

"No, bug, nobody will hurt you, your sister or your mother", Happy said firmly as he gently pushed Alanna forward a little so he could slide closer to Callie.  Lovingly, he ran his hand over her reddish curls. "I would never let that happen, okay?"

"Are you staying with us again? Forever?" Callie wanted to know, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"Yeah, are we really staying this time?" Alanna also wanted to know, less expression on her face but more emotion in her soft tone. "I don't wanna have to leave again, Dad."

"Me neither, Daddy", Callie added so quickly that her words almost tumbled over each other. "I like my room here!"

"See, we've all missed you..and our rooms", June said with a small laugh, reaching for Happy's cheek. "We need youᅳ I hope you finally understand that now."

Happy's throat felt dry, a warm feeling in his chest as he heard how much his girls needed him, the guilt of making June leave still gnawing at him. He should've never left his family, never.

"Of course you'll stay with me, I'm not letting you guys leave again", he promised with a croak, his voice tinged with raw emotion.

He pressed a kiss against June's palm, his own resting on the back of her hand as he pulled Alanna into his arms and placed a kiss on top of her head. After changing his position to a more comfortable one, Callie climbed onto his lap and straight into her father's arms, making Happy's heart leap as he finally had both of his kids back with him, in his arms.

"We love you, dad", Alanna murmured against his shoulder after she had snuggled up properly. "Thanks for making up with Mom", the girl added quietly.

"I was an idiot, I had to come to my senses eventually", he murmured against her hair, a genuine smile forming on his lips. That was all he needed. "Let's keep watching the movie, okay?"

He just wanted to distract his kids, especially because he knew what was going on in Alanna's head, his older daughter had always been an overthinker just like him. Sometimes he wished she hadn't inherited that very trait from him. But he loved her just the way she was.

And Callie, Callie was a mix of June and him, at least until now.

"Yes please! Can we watch another movie then?", the three-year-old asked sheepishly, the innocent joy back in her brown eyes.

"Oh, another one, huh?" June snorted a laugh as she too snuggled up to her little family after reaching for the bowl of popcorn, her head resting on Happy's shoulder, still touched by the moment between a father and his daughters. "I think we can make an exception tonight."

"Really?" Alanna's eyes lit up, the lost family was definitely something she wanted to make up for. "Can we watch Halloween Town afterwards?"

"Uhm, of course! I wouldn't have accepted any other choice", June replied in a 'duh' tone as she popped a handful of popcorn in her mouth, making Happy and Alanna snort a laugh.

Callie just giggled as one popcorn landed on the warm, beige blanket that covered all their legs, which she immediately picked up to shove it in her own mouth, humming happily. "Yes, Halloween Town please!"

"God, she really is like you", Happy barked a laugh as he looked back and forth between June and Callie, no doubt that the two are mother and daughter.

"Hey, you say that like it's a bad thing", the former Teller pouted before a grin broke out on her face. "I mean, who doesn't love Halloween movies and popcorn?"

"As long as you're happy, I can live with Halloween movie nights and popcorn", the SAA rasped with a grin as he placed his arm around his wife and shifted into an even more comfortable position, making sure to keep his kids close.

"We'll watch a real horror movie later, I promise", she chirped promisingly, laughing softly as Happy hummed contentedly.

The kids' eyes were glued to the TV again as Hocus Pocus, their absolute favorite fall movie, continued to play. Despite the scary situation, June wanted to fully enjoy such moments without thinking too much about what could happen.

Maybe it was a little careless in others' eyes, but she trusted Happy that she and the children were safe with him.

ᅳ

HAPPY SEEMED ALMOST paranoid the next morning as he kept looking out the kitchen window, giving him the perfect view of the street, his eagle eyes sharper than ever.

"Babe, there's no one outside. They'd be stupid to just wait until one of us leaves the house", she said softly as she set a still steaming cup of coffee in front of him before she landed on the counter with a soft thud after she jumped up to sit on it, letting her legs dangle. "How did the war between you guys and the Argent Devils even start? You never told me."

"Long story", Happy sighed as he finally took his gaze away from the window, his eyes scanning his wife who was already dressed in her ballet outfit, ready for her first dance lesson of the day. "I thought I told you you weren't goin' to work today."

His brow was raised, his tone stern but tinged with concern as he pushed June's legs apart by placing himself between them, his calloused hands resting on her thighs. "Until the bastards are history, I want you to stay home, June."

"Hap, are you crazy?" June scoffed softly, not having any of that shit. "Look, I understand that your're worried, but we can't lock the kids up at home for weeks, Amber and I can't close the studio for that longᅳ do you know how much of a loss that would be for us? How many parents would cancel their contracts?"

"Fuck that, you're more important to me than money, woman", Happy shot back grimly, his fingers lightly digging in her flesh as he pulled her closer to him. "It won't take weeks, I won't let that happen. I want the fuckers dead soon, all of 'em."

And he would love to take his time with each one, especially the one who had the balls and made the threat to his Old Lady.

"Why don't you just come with me, huh? Amber's still with her mom anyway and I could use some entertainment during the breaks", she suggested, smoothing out some wrinkles on his white shirt with her palms. "Or do you have to be at the clubhouse later?"

"And you think a guy who looks like me should be in a ballet studio with a bunch of kids? I think the parents will cancel the contract faster than you can count to three once they spot me", he said with a gruff laugh that vibrated through his chest, causing June's heart to flutter. "If you really wanna work, I'll talk to Jax and come with you."

"Really? That would be great, for the kids especiallyᅳ they need the distraction right now", she sighed softly, chewing on her lower lip for a moment. "Especially Alanna. She can't see too much of all this, baby. She's suffered enough in the last year."

"I won't let anything get to our kids, little girl", he croaked, rubbing his hands against her thighs, his jaw almost permanently tense like every other muscle in his body since yesterday. "The bastards won't be a threat anymore soon, we'll make sure of that."

"I expected nothing less, baby", she whispered with a small smile, leaning her forehead against his. "And now tell me, we still have a few minutes before the kids get up. How did this stupid war start?"

Happy sighed, but he also knew that June wouldn't give up. They had decided, at the beginning of their relationship and again before they got married, that full disclosure is what they wantedᅳ which was an important point for June and for him too. Keeping secrets and keeping his old lady away from everything never really ended well.

So he finally gave in and told her how the Argent Devils just wanted to prove how big their balls were and that they could easily destroy the Sons and Mayans. A pure power struggle over Charming that would soon end, even with the help of the Mayans if necessary.

word count; 2551