*I do not own anything you recognize*

So this is the beginnings of a new story idea I've been working on based on the Meatloaf song Bat Out of Hell. This is completely separate from my Wayward series and takes place after season four of the series. It will be AU as I don't plan on mixing in season five once it premieres. For now it's two chapters but I have ideas on how to take it to novel length so let me know if you guys want to see it continue. Enjoy.

The nursing home is a stark place. The paint was white once but now it's settled into a dirty grey. The red tile roof has seen better days and the portico over the front door hasn't kept rain off visitor's heads for much of the past decade. From the front the place looks like it's on it's last leg and that's okay because most of the residents are too. A few of them are scattered around the front of the old building. Leaning against each other like so many forgotten boards, their eyes tell the story of the time remaining. They've come here to die.

Happy looks on in mild disgust, exhaling the last his of his smoke with a grimace he drops the butt under the toe of a large boot. It's been a year since he moved his ma to the home, a year of watching her waste away and he's not sure how many visits they have left. He can still remember the broken hearted look on her face when he'd helped her pack up the old house in Bakersfield. He hadn't wanted to move her but it was getting to expensive to hire the in home help she needed and when the cancer hit stage four it had been time. The doctors had come to both of them with soft voices and sad eyes, she hadn't fought him after that.

He pushes off his bike and heads for the sliding front doors. There's a blast of cold air as he steps into the bright lobby. The building's shitty exterior hides a well maintained institution. He may have been running short on funds but he was willing to pay what it took to ease his ma into the afterlife with grace. If he was honest with himself he'd admit that his choice of facilities had nothing to do with the quality of their program or the price. He'd picked this place because of her.

Tia Connery had impressed the fuck out of Happy on his very first visit. He can still see the hospice director in her tight little suit, the one she only put on for prospective clients. She'd taken them on a tour and despite the sad exterior of the building Hap had known this was the place. It had helped that his mother was immediately taken with the garden out back. Noreen Lowman was a sucker for any kind of flower. Tia's admission that she was the one keeping the lush spread in bloom was the final straw. Happy had signed the papers without looking at the cost.

He returns the front desk clerk's friendly smile and waits patiently while she pushes the little button under the desk that will let him back into the larger complex. He'd been a bit put off by the auto-locks on the doors but on his second visit he'd gotten to witness an alzheimer's patient attempt to escape. It hadn't been a pretty scene and the locks had suddenly become just another necessary evil on the path to the end. His boots are loud in the hallway and he dodges around an unsteady looking woman with a walker, her face is a mask of wrinkles and she smiles at him toothlessly. He hates that Noreen will never look like that, she's too young to die.

The daisies in his hands are a bit haggard after their long ride in his bike's hardpack and he stops outside the room to try and make them look better. He tugs a few of the stems into place before giving up, Noreen won't expect florist quality from his killer hands. He peers through the door's narrow window and feels his shoulders relax. Even from the hallway his mother looks better than she had during his last visit, she's got some color and though her eyes are closed there's a contented smile on her face. Happy knows that smile is thanks to the other woman in the room. Tia has her back to him but he can see the large book in her lap. He knows when he pushes the door open her light voice will be reading softly. There's no explaining why the director has taken such a liking to his ma but he's not going to complain. He takes one more look at the half crushed daisies and pushes into the room. Tia's voice cuts off whatever she was reading immediately and Noreen doesn't open her eyes but her smile gets just a bit wider.

"Is that my prodigal son returning?" Ma's voice is raspy and Happy glances at the meds by the side of the bed. They've upped her painkiller dosage.

"Hey Ma." He feels out of place in the clean white room but he puts the flowers on the bedside table and presses a kiss to Noreen's forehead all the same.

"Don't hey ma me, you been gone two months boy. A woman could have died in here without you knowing." He shuffles his feet, she's the only woman who can still make him nervous.

"I had shi— stuff to take care of. I'll be around more for awhile though." He glances back at Tia just in time to see her shutting the heavy book; A Tale of Two Cities scrawled in gold ink across the front.

"Mr. Lowman," Tia nods at him, "Noreen we wouldn't have let anything happen to you without your son knowing. He calls in his updated phone number every week." The director smiles encouragingly, "I'll just leave you two to visit. Mr. Lowman if you wouldn't mind stopping by my office on your way out." He wishes she'd call him Happy but all his attempts to change her ways have gone ignored.

"Yea, I'll do that." She nods again and smiles for Ma before straightening her pristine scrubs and turning to leave. Happy watches her tight little ass until his mother clears her throat.

"You leave alone Luis. She's a good woman." He rolls his eyes and settles in the now empty chair.

"What do you know about good women Ma?" He smiles but Noreen cuts her eyes dangerously.

"Don't give me lip boy. You're still not so old I can't whoop you." She laughs at her own joke and he grabs for the water by the bed when it turns into a rasping cough.

"I know. I brought ya flowers. Sorry they got smashed on the bike." He holds out the cup even as he's nodding towards the wilting daisies. Noreen drinks deeply and gives him an indulgent smile.

"You're a good boy, even if you run around with a gun in your pants like a thug. When you gonna settle down Luis? Give me some grandbabies?" He reaches for his waist on instinct to cover his piece and Noreen gives him a knowing look when his hands come up empty. She's always known him too well, he'd left the gun on the bike.

"You don't need any grandbabies Ma." He takes the water from her shaking hand and sits back down. "How you doing today? You been feeling any better with the new meds?" He'd paid a fucking arm and a leg for those little blue pills and he wants to hear that they're making a difference.

"I'm alright, I'm alright. You're too good to me, I know what you do to pay for my care. You're a smart boy, should get a real job." He doubts she has any idea what he does for her but that's okay, it's better that way.

"I can get the name brand ones if those aren't working." He can't afford shit right now but he'll find the money.

"No, no. These are just fine. Ms. Connery says I'm doing real well. She comes every day to read to me. We've gone through all the Bronte's this month. You used to love those books." Her voice is going soft now and Hap knows the warning signs, she's about to drift off. It's been like this since the diagnosis, well really since the treatments. She's in and out of the world in hour increments. He's lucky he caught her awake.

"That's nice Ma."

"You thank that woman Luis. She's been too good to me but don't you go getting ideas. You should see the gardens, she's got the roses in bloom like you wouldn't believe." He doesn't miss the way her voice is starting to slur just a bit.

"I'll thank her. I'll be back to see you again really soon. I transferred to Charming so I'm closer now." Noreen's eyes are closed now but she nods.

He waits until her breathing evens out into sleep before getting up to press a kiss to her forehead. This isn't how he wanted to see her go. He'd always thought she'd live forever and then when he'd joined the SONs he'd been paranoid someone would hunt her down to hurt him. He never thought he'd lose her to an enemy he can't fight. His mother's killer is so small it can't been seen by the naked eye and he feels a bit lost knowing that when she goes there'll be no revenge, no retaliation. He picks up the daisies and drops them in the pitcher of water by the bed. Hopefully some nurse will take the hint and get a fucking vase.

The trek through the facility to Tia's office is familiar and it's not long before Happy is standing in front of her bitchy secretary, Suzie. The large blonde woman has always been disapproving of his presence in the home and today is no different as she gives him an unattractive scowl. He scowls right back and she hits the buzzer on her desk to alert Tia to his arrival. He stands patiently staring at the heavy wood door until it swings open and Tia smiles at him.

"Mr. Lowman, come in. Thanks for making time to stop by." She moves aside to let him pass into the large office and he feels the usual discomfort settle in. The room is well decorated with plush carpet and heavy wooden furniture. There's a huge arrangement of fresh flowers on the back book shelf and she's got her diploma's hung on the walls in fancy gold frames. She's got three of them and none are for high school, it blows his mind. He's not a stupid man but he's certain she's the smartest person he knows.

"Call me Happy." He's told her this a hundred times and if she was any other woman he would have pushed the message in a bit deeper but she just smiles and he knows this is battle he won't win.

"We need to talk about your mother's current situation. She's been doing a bit better but last week the doctors found a new location during a routine visit." He doesn't miss the way her voice goes soft and he braces himself for bad news. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this but it looks like the cancer has spread to her spine. It's my recommendation at this time that we start looking at moving her into the hospice side of things." Tia's eyes are bright and she looks genuinely upset at the news. "I'm very sorry."

"That mean she's dying?" He has no idea what a hospice is.

"It means that time is getting short and I want to make sure Noreen is in the most comfortable position possible to make this last transition." Happy can feel his temper rising at the PC talk but he forces it down.

"How long she got?" Tia winces at the question and her slender fingers start to play with a glass paperweight.

"A few weeks. Maybe a month."

"Does she know?" Ma hadn't seemed upset and he's suddenly panicked that they expect him to break the news.

"Yes. We told her two days ago. She agreed with our assessment but you have complete power of attorney. We need your consent before we can make the change." He nods and rubs a hand down his face.

"Yea, fuck. Alright. Do I need to sign something?" Tia's nodding and he watches as she pulls an already prepared stack of papers from a folder.

"Just here." One perfectly manicured nail points to the bottom of the page and he picks up a pen from the handsome stand at the edge of the desk.

"What changes?" His hand hovers over the paperwork and he looks up at the director for guidance.

"We'll up her pain meds, to keep her comfortable and we'll stop all the chemo and radiation. There's no point in pursuing such uncomfortable treatments. I've arranged for her to be moved to a new room with a view of the garden." His head snaps up at that. He'd wanted to get her a garden room to begin with but the patio'd rooms were double the price and he hadn't had the extra cash. "No extra charge." Tia's voice is soft and he doesn't acknowledge the obvious favor.

"Okay." He puts pen to paper and she pulls the form away as soon as he's done.

"I'll take care of everything." She's penning her own neat signature next to his and he nods. "You should try and visit more often and keep us updated on your contact info. If we need to get in touch with you we will." She's scribbling away on the back of a business card and he's surprised when she holds the cardstock out him. "I know you don't live the most…" she struggles for words, "traditional of lives Mr. Lowman but this is my home address and personal phone number. If for some reason you need to get in touch after hours you're welcome to use them both. I've really grown to enjoy your mother, I want to make sure she goes peacefully with family at her side."

There's nothing but honesty in her liquid brown eyes and Happy takes the card standing to leave without another word. He doesn't look back to see Tia's pity, just stomps out of the nursing home until he hits the bike. The card is tucked in the inside pocket of his kutte but he knows he won't use the info. He's already had it for months.

Reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.