With her heart pounding heavily and her palms sweating, Sage pushed the handle of the shop door down and was greeted by the smell of disinfectant as she spotted Happy cleaning the tattoo loungers like he did every morning before they opened upᅳ and of course again after each customer.

The couple found it extremely important to ensure that everything was sterile and clean so that there was virtually no risk of anyone getting an infection. They absolutely couldn't afford to close their store. In addition, the store was, so to speak, their second baby that they founded together.

Besides Violet and the club, the shop, Lowman's Art & Tattoo shop, was at the top of their priorities. The tattoo area was right at the front of the shop after you walked through the door and had to pass a small counter. Since Happy was tattooing alone, there was only a lounger and a chair, in the middle of the room was a small chair that Happy could roll around with.

All his equipment was stored in a large cupboard that was easily accessible and Happy had everything quickly at hand when he needed it. Tattoo machines, colors, foil, tissues and bottles full of disinfectant. On top of the cupboard, next to a plant in a black pot, was a large folder with Happy's own designs that customers could look at if they wanted a tattoo but didn't know what they actually wanted.

Sage had also gotten a few tattoos over the last year, but rather small, tentative tattoos on her joints or under her ribsᅳ her favorite places for new tattoos. All done by Happy, of course.

Then a large arch led over into Sage's area. One half of the huge room was used for her finished paintings, which hung on the wall or stood on easels, with a few large plants here and there in between to make the room look even more inviting. The other side served as her workplace.

A large table with countless tubes of paint placed next to each other, blank canvases stacked under the table in all possible sizes, and a small, gold lamp stood in the corner on the table in case it would take her until the evening hours to finish a painting.

Her heels clicked against the white, large tiles that spread through both rooms as she walked towards Happy, who took off his rubber gloves and threw them in the trash before taking the last few steps towards his wife when he sensed that she wanted to talk about something.

"Hey, you okay?", he asked with a croak as he slid his arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Violet's with Ima?"

"Yeah, Ima's gonna drop her off here later because she still has an appointment", she said after stealing another kiss from his lips. Uncertainty flickered in her green eyes as she looked up at him. "We need to talk, now. When do you have your first customer?"

"Only in half an hour", he let her know, a little tense as he led her to the black two-seater in front of one of the floor-length windows. "What's wrong, little girl?"

"I know we wanted to wait a little longer", she began as she sat down, turning her body towards him as he sat down next to her, his forearms resting on his knees.

"You're pregnant?", he asked naturally, his hands folded loosely as he studied his speechless wife, whose mouth hung open, the slightest grin on his face. "Don't get me wrong, but everyone has noticed your mood swings by now."

"Iᅳ" Still suffering from the loss of words, Sage simply stared at Happy before she burst out in laughter, dropping her face into her hands before she took a deep breath. "Shit, I was so nervous to tell you about it. But you don't seem to have a problem with it at all."

"Why should I?" Happy asked, frowning before reaching for Sage's hands. "Just because we wanted to wait doesn't mean I'm not happy. We can do this, babe."

The relief was written all over Sage's face as Happy's words took a huge amount of fear away from her. "Of course we can do itᅳ even if it gets tiring at first with a toddler, a newborn and a shop we have to run."

Happy shrugged his shoulders. "Don't worry about that already. We'll let Violet take care of the baby. She'll be old enough then", he added jokingly.

Sage rolled her eyes in amusement. "Sure, we'll let a not-quite-two-year-old take care of a newborn. If you really want chaos then yes, we can do that."

"Pretty big mouth today, huh?" With a swift move Happy pulled her onto his lap, grinning as a squeal fell from Sage's lips. "You think Violet will get jealous or become attached to the baby?"

"Hmm...good question." After Sage's face contorted in thought, she let out a soft laugh a moment later. "I'm hoping for the latterᅳ and I think it will be like that. We'll just make sure we still have enough time for Violet."

"We will", the Killer grumbled happily, running his hand up and down Sage's leg before resting it on her still flat stomach. "Have you seen a doctor? Or have you just taken a test at home?"

Sage shook her head. "At home, I first wanted to know if Dawn's feeling could actually be true."

"We all had a feeling", Happy teased, grinning as Sage's shoulder bumped into his. "What? I'm just saying."

"It almost sounds like I've been a bitch the last few days or weeks", she huffed in mock indignation before looking at Happy warningly, holding a scolding finger in front of his face as he opened his mouth to answer. "You better think about your next words, baby."

"Bossyᅳ I love it", the SAA chuckled with a shake of his head before he returned to the previous topic. "Shouldn't we go see a doctor anyway? Make sure everything is okay?"

And he really wanted to see his babyᅳ just as much as Sage wanted that.

"Yes, of course, that's what I was planning on doingᅳ but I wanted to do that with you. I've already called my gynecologist and the appointment would be next week on Tuesday. Can you arrange that?", she asked gently, slowly running her hand over the back of his head. "If not, I'll make a new appointment, but I want you there."

"Next Tuesday should work", Happy croaked. And even if it didn't, he would make sure it worked out and he could make up some time. "You know, when I think about it, I really like the idea of having something so small again."

A happy smile spread across Sage's lips. "It's a really nice thought. I know Violet won't understand it yet, probably not until we bring the baby home from the hospitalᅳ but I just know she'll be a great big sister."

"The best big sister", Happy corrected her with a grin before he stood up with her, placing his hands under her ass as he led them to the back of the shop to make the most of the free twenty minutes they had left before his first customer would come in.

ᚔ

As the couple sat down together in the crowded waiting room, Violet placed on Happy's lap where she jumped up and down happily and squealing, half her hand in her mouth, Sage felt her phone vibrate in the pocket of her light blue jeans again.

The calls from the unknown number slowly got on her nerves and began to ruin her day, although today she was just enjoying the anticipation of finally seeing her baby for the first time.

At an opportune moment when Happy was busy grabbing Violet a snack from her bag that was standing between her chair and his, the still blonde glanced at the screen, letting out an almost unnoticed groan.

Almost unnoticed.

"What's wrong?", she heard Happy ask immediately, already feeling his eyes on her. It was almost impossible to hide anything from Happy.

"Promise you won't freak out or assume anything if I tell you what's going on, okay?" She looked at him pleadingly while keeping her voice low, after all not everyone had to hear their problems. "I just want to enjoy the day."

Happy's expression darkened, and he wasn't a fan of having to promise not to freak out. If Sage was going to demand that, it was something that would probably worry the fuck out of him. But he didn't want to ruin the day, not today.

"I promise", he grunted, his gaze still deadly serious. "But if it poses danger to you or Violet, I can't promise anything."

"Fine", Sage agreed, muttering. Did she have any other choice? "I've been getting calls from an unknown number constantly for two days. I only answered once but no one said anything. Since then I've just ignored itᅳ but it's getting annoying."

Happy could tell that Sage wasn't only annoyed, but that she was also scared, even if she tried to cover it up. But her dry swallowing and her suddenly lowered head still gave it awayᅳ and he didn't like that at all.

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me about it right away?", he hissed quietly, but a few heads of other patients snapped up who just shook their heads or simply looked back down at their beauty magazines.

"Hap, stay calm, you promised", Sage urged in a gentle tone, one hand tightly wrapped around her phone while the other stroked Violet's cheek as the one-year-old stopped babbling for a momentᅳ apparently because she also noticed the sudden change in mood.

"How am I supposed to stay calm, Sage?", he asked with a scoff, although he was really trying to stay calm as he looked into Violet's big eyes as she patted his face with her tiny hand. Sighing, he looked back at Sage. "How often do you get the calls? And you really didn't hear anything when you answered?"

Sage's features softened. She would be just as worried, so she had to be sympathetic to Happy's worries too. "No, I really didn't hear anything the first time..just background noiseᅳ but I can't say what it was. There were definitely some muffled voices in the background."

"Okay, let's look into this", Happy decided, everything else was out of the question. "We're heading to the clubhouse after the appointment and the park so Juice can check your phone, maybe he can tell us more."

"Okay, sounds like a good idea", Sage agreed soothingly, giving Happy's mind some peace. She looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it right away. I was convinced that some teenager was just pulling a prank."

"Could be, but I want to be sure, little girl", Happy emphasized with urgency, earning a nod from his wife. Sighing, he stroked her cheek. "No more secrets, Sage."

"No more secrets, I promise", she repeated, sighing in relief as he shot her a small smile. "Who do you thinkᅳ"

A somewhat bored voice that called out interrupted the blonde. "Mrs. Lowman, Dr. Blanchett will see you now."

"We'll talk later when we get home and Violet is in bed", Happy croaked against her ear after they stood up together, Sage shouldering her bag. "First I want to see our baby."

An immediate smile crossed Sage's face as she walked with Happy into the doctor's office, rubbing her hands together excitedly. "Me too. To be honest, I can't wait."

"Me neither, babe", Happy winked at her and when they entered the room, he also felt his heart beating faster.

He was going to be a father again, those were some really great news.

ᚔ

An hour later there was a shit-eating grin on Happy's face as he held the ultrasound picture in his hands and tried to see something on it. He didn'tᅳ but he still claimed the opposite.

"I'm sure it'll be a boy this time", he nodded quite confidently, grinning even wider as he heard Violet fussing as she squinted her eyes at the sun. Apparently she wasn't a fan of the weather today. "Why is she fussing so much today?", he asked with amusement  in his tone as he reached out his hand to run it over Violet's head full of red hair.

The one-year-old immediately beamed at him, also because half of his large hand protected her face from the sun and no longer blinded her.

"Apparently the only thing bothering her is the sun", Sage stated with a chuckle, balancing her daughter on her hip. "We forgot her sun hat, she'll probably never forgive us for that."

"Oh, our first fatal mistake as parents", the Killer chuckled as they headed towards the playground. Since it was in the park and had shady spots, it was the perfect plan for a hot day like today. "Want me to go home and get her sun hat?"

Sage just waved him off. "No, there's cool spots without sun in the park and she's wearing sunscreen, so that shouldn't be a problem."

Still, Sage wouldn't stay out too long. Violet's skin was just as pale as Sage's, so it was just as sensitive when she was in the sun for a long time. Just like her mother, she didn't tan but immediately turned red and unfortunately, despite sunscreen, sun protection and other aids, Violet had already gotten one or two light sunburnsᅳ with the second baby Sage hoped that he or she would have Happy's light brown skin.

Happy just grunted with a nod and carefully put the ultrasound picture in his wallet, folded in half just once.

"What makes you so sure it will be a boy?", she asked, amused and curious at the same time. But she also had a feeling.

Happy shrugged his shoulders with a grin as they entered the park and the large trees immediately provided shade. He had taken the day off and also told Jax that he would only be available in an emergency today. "I don't know, I just have a feeling. What's about you?"

"That's what I call a detailed explanation", she mocked, earning a gentle slap on her ass that made her chuckle. "But I also have the feeling it's going to be a boy."

Reaching the playground, Sage set the one-year-old down in the sandbox and placed her bag on one of the vacant benches. With three other children spread out on the playground, it was pretty quiet. The judgmental, sometimes worried looks from the other mothers which Happy received for his frightening appearance, the couple ignored, unimpressed.

Although sometimes Sage really had a hard time not punching those stupid, judgemental looks off their faces.

"Ignore them", Happy told her, taking her chin between his fingers before leaning down to kiss her.

Sighing, Sage smiled into the gentle yet almost  possessive kiss, her hand searching for his cheek. She tenderly ran her thumb over his stubble as Happy slowly brought the kiss to an end and winked at her. "Fuck them, little girl. It doesn't matter what they think of me."

"I know..but it still pisses me off", she mumbled with a sigh and gave one of the women another angry look before putting on a smile again, watching as Violet crawled towards the slide. "I should help her."

"No, just sit and relax..you're here with her more often than I am anyway." Happy's announcement was a loving command, no questions askedᅳ and Sage noticed that Happy really wanted to spend time with Violet.

So she didn't argue and flashed him a smile. "Okay, thanks baby."

As if whoever kept calling her was watching Happy leave the bench to help Violet slide, Sage's phone vibrated again in her pocket. With a quiet snort, she pulled out the device and pressed her lips togetherᅳ out of curiosity, however, this time she wiped the green dot to the side and pressed the phone against her ear after staring at the text 'Unknown caller' for a few seconds.

"Who the hell are you and what do you want?", she hissed quietly, her body turned slightly to the side and away from the playing children so she could hear better. "This isn't funny anymore. Stop calling me."

"I'm done being everyone's bitch here, Sage", Fawn spat on the other end of the line, desperation mixed with immense anger in her tone almost making her sound insane. "And I'll make sure you'll feel how I've felt for the last year. Always sleep with one eye open from now on."

"You fuckingᅳ", Sage spat, but Fawn hung up, stopping her cursing.

Sage's blood froze in her veins and at the same time she seethed with anger inside. The blonde slowly lowered the phone from her ear, looking around franticallyᅳ but no one but the other mothers were here.

Fuck this, she wasn't going to let Fawn drive her crazy. Sage quickly grabbed her bag, threw her phone in there and rushed towards Happy.

That was something she couldn't keep away from him.

ᚔ

authors note; soo, only two or three chapters left! By the way, of you're a mystery/paranormal/horror story fan, please check out my new story WITCHES OF NEW ORLEANS. It would mean a lot to me. ❤️