A gentle breeze blew through the air as Sage and Happy made their way to Tig's hose, pushing the stroller in front of her in which Violet was sleeping peacefully. With all the thoughts swirling around in her head, Sage had asked Happy to walk instead of driving so she could get some fresh air before the heat would bear down on Charming again later.

She had to get used to the summers in California again after being used to a mild summer in Seattle for years. She had also rarely visited her mom in Arizona during the summer months; she felt too uncomfortable in the blazing sun and excessive heat. But Sage didn't like winter either.

Constantly sweating or freezing your face off weren't particularly pleasant, which is why spring and autumn were the redhead's favorite seasons. Violet, on the other hand, didn't seem to have a problem with summer. The newborn didn't mind the sun shining in her stroller one bit.

Despite the situation, a smile appeared on Sage's lips as Violet made a small noise while the baby slept peacefullyᅳ as she did mostly when she was outside. Walks had a miraculous effect, as the new parents had already discovered.

For the last five days, when Violet hadn't been much of a sleeper, Happy and Sage had taken turns even going for walks at night. Although Happy took over, he would never let his Old Lady go out alone with their daughter at nightᅳ even if they lived in a quiet, relatively safe neighborhood.

"You think she's dreaming or somethin'?" Happy frowned thoughtfully as he looked into the stroller, the tiniest of smiles on his lips as Violet stirred again and made a noise that sounded like a strained sigh. "What is she so stressed about?"

Sage chuckled softly, her green eyes shimmering in the sun as she looked up at him. "Umm, do you think babies have it easy?"

"Of course not, they're just being pampered from top to bottom. How could that be not exhausting?", he replied with a teasing grin as he draped his arm around Sage's shoulder as they strolled down the street to Tig's house. "Are you okay, little girl?"

Sage didn't miss the concern in Happy's raspy voice, his face also twisted in worry. She knew that he didn't sleep a second last night, instead he lay awake next to her, Violet in the middle of the two of them, and thought about all the shit that had happened.

"I'm okay", she assured him softly, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Knowing that Fawn is getting what she deserves gives me a bit of peaceᅳ even if she will be released again at some point."

"You know as much as I do what is going to happen once she's released", Happy grumbled, pulling her closer to his side. "Jax won't let her get away with thisᅳ nor should he. That bitch deserves to die."

"So you think he'll reallyᅳ" Sage didn't finish her sentence, instead she sighed softly. "I still don't understand how she could do this. I have so much hate for her and at the same time I don't know if I want her to die."

"Because you still care about her. You are sisters after all." At least that was the logical explanation, not the emotional one.

"I don't think that's the reason", Sage thought out loud, sucking on her teeth. "I think it's more about my parents. I don't give a shit about Fawn, she can rot in prisonᅳ but I know my mom will suffer, Fawn was always secretly her favorite. When Hayley was born mom was here a few hours later, but she still hasn't said anything  about visiting even though she knows that I just gave birth to her second granddaughter. And Dad, although he probably understands it better, will also struggle with this."

"How can Fawn be anyone's favorite?" Happy shook his head with a scoff. "And your momᅳ maybe it's better if she stays away."

"Well, you would always love Violet no matter what she did, right?" Sage asked simply, not trying to defend what Fawn did though. "And yeah, maybe it's better if Mom stays in Arizona."

As they came to a stop at Tig's house, she pushed back the top of the stroller before she could scoop Violet into her arms. Happy took over and leaned the small bundle against his chest, one arm placed under Violet's curled up body, his other hand supporting her head.

"Violet will never be like Fawn", he said seriously, his gaze directed at his Old Lady who only nodded slightly.

Gently and with a hum, she rubbed her hand over Violet's back as the baby was slowly waking up. "I know that. Still, you would still love herᅳ just like my parents will always love Fawn. I just know that Dad is a lot more disappointed."

"As he should be", the SAA grumbled, looking down at his daughter. No way in hell his babygirl would turn into a monster like Fawn was, he wouldn't let that happen.

As the door opened, the couple looked at Ima. Compassion and empathy in her eyes. "Hey, come in. Tig's in the living room, just walk through."

After Ima stepped aside, Sage slipped through the door, followed by Happy with a fussing Violet in his arm. With her tiny hands she explored her father, gripping the fabric of his white shirt with her tiny fingers before she started fussing again. But the killer had figured by now how to calm his daughter down.

"Fatherhood looks good on him", Ima said in a whisper to the redhead, a weak smile on her face as she nodded her head in Happy's direction as he walked through the arch in the hallway that led into the living room.

"It does, he's a really great dad", Sage replied proudly. She stood there for a moment and watched as the men greeted each other. Tig's misty eyes brightened when he saw his granddaughter.

"How is he? Honest answer, Ima", Sage asked the blonde in dismay.

Sighing, Ima ran a hand through her blonde strands. "He's angry at himself. And I think he's going to struggle with the fact that he couldn't stop what happened for a while."

Sage didn't need to hear anything more. Almost imperceptibly, she gave Ima a curt nod and then walked into the living room, where she asked Happy to give her a moment alone with Tig. The redhead placed a quick kiss on Happy's lips before he left the room with Violet and Ima.

Then Sage got straight to the point, the corners of her mouth turning downwards. "You know you couldn't have prevented anything, right?"

"I don't know. I should have set more boundaries with her from the start." Tig weakly pulled his shoulders up only to let them slump down again the next moment. Sage had probably never seen her father so desperate and it broke her heart.

"That's bullshit", Sage interjected gently, reaching for her father's hand before sinking down onto the brown couch, pulling Tig with her. "Fawn wouldn't have accepted any boundaries, you know that as well as I do. And none of us ever expected her to go that far."

"But she didᅳ because she's never really had any boundaries", Tig reasoned with a deep sigh slipping from his lips.

He felt his heart beating wildly against his chest as another wave of anger ripped through his body. "You could have a four year old son, I could have a grandson!"

"I know that", Sage said calmly, but secretly all her emotions were boiling up again and causing her chest to tighten painfully at the thought of a four year old boy being part of her life. "But we can't change it anymore. That's why I hope that she will end up in prison for a long time. That won't bring my child back to me, but she will also have to live without her child."

Tig nodded silently before ruffling his black curls, standing up. Rubbing his hands over his face, he let out an almost hysterical sounding laugh. Like in the movies when someone is about to lose their last nerve.

"How could she do that? How could she do this to us?", he asked simply, not addressing anyone in particular. "She should have known what this was going to do to our family."

"It's Fawn, dad." Sage sighed deeply. It was a sentence that had slipped from her lips so many times in her lifeᅳ as if Fawn's mission in life was to complicate the lives of others. "I think we underestimated herᅳ underestimated how ruthless she can be when she wants something."

"Yeah, no shit." Shaking his head, Tig rubbed his face again, over and over until his skin was already irritated and red. "I don't think I'll ever be able to look her in the eye again."

"Nobody says you have to." Dawn entered the room, her voice still full of tiredness. "She deserves nothing but contempt for what she did."

Sage immediately saw that her sister must have just gotten up and the dark circles under Dawn's eyes showed that the eldest Trager hadn't really gotten much sleep either. Tig was rightᅳ this was something that was weighing on the entire family.

Rubbing her eyes, Dawn plopped down on the couch next to Sage and immediately put an arm around her younger sister, worry crossing her otherwise joyful face as Dawn looked down at Sage's bruised knuckles. "How are you doing, sweetie? Is there something I can do for you?"

"No, I just have to let all of that sink in first. But thank you." Still, Sage gave her sister a weak, grateful smile as she snuggled into Dawn's side. "What now? I mean, can I really go to the cops and report my own sister? We normally don't go to the cops."

"She'll turn herself in, Jax already called earlier", Tig said with a sigh. Then he squeezed himself between his two daughters, with an arm around each of them. "You're still reporting her. She has to face the consequences for her actions, even if as a father I probably shouldn't say that."

Dawn huffed out a snort. "Oh please, Dad. She's had years of princess treatment from Mom, no matter how many mistakes she's made. So maybe she'll at least learn something this time."

"Maybe, maybe not." Tig cradled the girls closer, hugging them before he placed a kiss on both of their foreheads. "But no matter what happens, we'll get through this together. I'm here for you girls."

Sage lifted her head slightly, smiling weakly at her dad. "And we're here for you, dad."

"We know you need us just as much, daddy", Dawn added, also looking up at Tig, whose piercing blue eyes were filling with tears, yet he kept them inside.

"I love you, both of you", he said sincerely, looking at one then the other before staring back at the space in front of him while holding his two daughters in his arms, just like he used to when they were little. It had always been that way. Him, Dawn and Sage. Fawn was never interested in being part of the trio, even as a child.

Restless thoughts filled his mind. Should he have tried to be a better father to Fawn? Would things have turned out different then? Could he have prevented Sage from losing her child? But if everything had turned out differently, would his daughter be truly happy now?

Sage was happy with Happy. In fact, Tig had never seen his daughter happier. She probably never would've started dating Happy if things hadn't happened the way they did. She wouldn't have Violet now and might still be in an unhappy relationship with Jaxᅳ but she wouldn't have had to suffer the loss of her baby.

Tig's head threatened to explode. The moment Dawn and Sage snaked their arms around his stomach and put their legs over his lap to really cuddle with him, just like they used to as kids, and then Ima coming up behind him to run her fingers through his curls, all thoughts got quieter and for the first time since yesterday morning he felt some peace.

ᚔ

After Sage just gave her statement and was told by Eli Roosevelt to sit in the back for a moment, which she did along with Happy.

Happy hadn't left her side once since they left Tig's house and made their way to the station, leaving Violet with Ima and Dawn while Tig was waiting  outside the station. Even now Happy held her hand in his, letting his thumb glide constantly over the back of her hand, making sure he wouldn't touch her bruised knuckles too much. Inflicting pain on her was the last thing he wanted.

Exhaustion was written all over Sage's face as she rested her head on Happy's shoulder and stared ahead, just so she wouldn't have to look at Fawn, who had now taken her previous seat across from Eli Roosevelt.

Jax stood next to Happy, his arms crossed with a murderous look on his face. As hard as his facial features were, his jaw was so tense that they could almost hear him baring his teeth.

The hatred Jax felt towards Fawn was clearly visible, his whole body language radiated nothing but hate and even Eli hadn't dared say a clever word to Jax today. Instead, there was a hint of empathy, perhaps even compassion, in the lieutenant's gaze.

"Can you confirm your sister's statement? Is what Miss Trager just told me true?", he asked the woman with the dark blonde hair, his searching, piercing gaze directed at Fawn while he played with the pen in his right hand. "You have the right to consult a lawyer if you don't want to say anything, Miss Trager."

"I don't need a lawyer, not yet", Fawn said quietly, immediately straightening her shoulders. Wrinkling her nose, Fawn cleared her throat and finally started to confess everything, just as Jax had told her to do.

"Everything my sister, Sage Trager, just said is true. During her pregnancy, I drugged her with strong sleeping pills. I mixed them in her food or drinks, whatever was there, after I developed feelings for her then-partner and my now-husband, Jax Teller", Fawn paused for a moment as she ran out of breath. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, not wanting to continueᅳ but she did anyway because she simply had no other choice. "I didn't want anything serious to happen to the baby or my sister. It was never meant to come to that. But, in the end, I am responsible for the death of my nephew."

It wasn't just Eli who was silent. The entire room was filled with an awkward silence. The thick tension in the air that could be cut with a knife made it hard for Sage to breathe and caused her to start to hyperventilate a little.

Panic wasn't a nice feeling. The way your breath was squeezed out of you, like someone was sitting on your chest, holding your throat in a vice-like grip. Tears gathered in her green eyes and it all just became too much for her.

Helplessly, she clawed her fingers into the jeans fabric around Happy's leg and looked up at him for help, unable to express herself.

But luckily Happy knew her well enough and knew what to do. Knowing that he had to remove his Old Lady from the situation, he got up. After gently pulling the redhead to her feet, his gaze landed to the lieutenant.

"She has to get out of here", he insisted adamantly, his arm moving around Sage's waist to support her. "Are we done here? Can she go home?"

"Well", Eli looked down at his notes for a moment, then past Fawn to look at the red-headed woman, whose face had lost all color. Then he nodded curtly when he noticed the panic flashing in the young woman's eyes.

"She can go. But she must stay in town until the trial", Eli told them firmly.

Happy just grunted, not in the mood to form a detailed answer. Getting Sage out of here as quickly as possible was more important to him. He took another quick look at Jax, who nodded in agreement and turned to the two of them.

"I'll come by later and let you know how it went", he told them, but there was no point in keeping Sage here now.

"Yeah, okay", Happy nodded curtly, already halfway out the door when Fawn jumped up and stopped the two of them for a moment, quickly grabbing Sage's arm, who only let out a soft whimper.

"Sage, wait please." Her tone sounded desperate as Sage slowly raised her gaze and looked into Fawn's blue, dull eyes.

"What do you want?", the redhead spat at her sister, still holding onto Happy for support.

"I'm sorry. For everything. For what I did to you, my nephew. Iᅳ", Fawn's voice cracked, a sob following. "I hope you can forgive me for this someday."

"Forgive you?" A bitter snort escaped Sage's throat, her gaze so cold Fawn had to swallow. "I hope you rot in prison and get some of your own medicine."

Sage was about to leave, but Happy stopped her for another short moment. His dark eyes bore into Fawn's, Jax' murderous glint nothing compared to Happy's.

"Come close to my Old Lady again and I'll kill you before you can end up behind bars. And if you ever try to contact her or bother her, be prepared to deal with me after you're released", Happy got in her face, his voice lowered so that Roosevelt couldn't hear what the killer was spitting at the blonde. But that didn't make Happy any less scary. On the contrary, he seemed even more intimidating than usual.

"Fair enough", Fawn let out a shaky breath, tears burning in her eyes. Kneading her hands nervously, Fawn stepped back, almost falling over her own feet after Jax dragged her back by her sleeve.

"Leave her alone", he hissed warningly. Only when Eli looked at him carefully did Jax let go of Fawn, but pushed her back into the chair before giving Sage an apologetic look, looking after the couple as they left the room with a shake of their heads.