Two months after Kelly left Charming, she was finally getting back in her normal routine. Nights were still a little tough, but she was getting through it. Work helped, especially since she had started picking up more and more overtime. She tried to stay busy and avoided spending too much time alone. She'd taken a lateral move at work, getting out of the ICU and into the emergency room. If anyone asked her, she told them she was looking for a change of pace. In fact, she was really wanting to help save as many people as possible since she wasn't there to help Herman.
"Kelly! Hey, I haven't seen you in a couple weeks. How do you like the ER?" John asked, sitting down beside Kelly in the cafeteria. She looked up from her salad and gave him a warm smile.
"I really like it. How are things down in ICU?" She asked, making casual conversation. He laughed and poured ketchup on his hamburger. Kelly took a bite of her meal and waited for his answer.
"It's normal, Tina is still using made up abbreviations in the charts." They both shared a short laugh. "I was planning on going to The Honest Pint tonight. Would you want to maybe have a drink?"
"I'm actually working a sixteen today and work tomorrow morning." Kelly said, thankful to have a reason rather than just saying no. It was always awkward when she just turned people down and she hated hurting people. John nodded and his smile remained.
"How about tomorrow then?" Of course he would know the rules about overtime. He knew that she couldn't work two consecutive extended shifts. She looked down at her fork and stabbed some spinach leaves. When she looked up to answer, someone walking into the cafeteria caught her eye. Her throat seemed incapable of swallowing and the food in her mouth felt like dry sand. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry. Can we talk about this later?" Kelly asked, standing up and picking her tray up. John didn't understand the sudden shift in her mood. He watched her put her tray on a conveyor and walk over to a tall, bald man with a leather vest and tattoos. John had met her late brother when she started at the hospital two years ago and recognized that the man Kelly was toe to toe with had the same patch on his back.
"Happy? Is everything okay?" Kelly asked, getting close to him so she could keep her voice down. He nodded and she twisted her mouth, wondering what he was doing at the hospital if something wasn't wrong. She'd talked to Mary yesterday and she hadn't mentioned SAMCRO coming up. She liked to think the woman would have given her a heads up. Then again, she was adamant that nothing was going on between them, so maybe Mary believed Charming coming into town wouldn't matter to her.
Happy could see the wheels turning in her mind. She always got a little crease between her eyebrows when she was thinking. He hadn't missed her leaving a table where she'd been sitting with some guy in blue scrubs. That same guy kept looking back at them every so often and it was getting on his nerves. He turned his attention to the way Kelly's gray scrubs covered up the curves that he knew were under there. It pleased him that people at the hospital didn't get a good look at her.
"What are you doing here, Happy?" Kelly finally asked after she ruled out every logical reason. He smirked and she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. He took hold of the bottom of her scrub top and pulled her a little closer.
"Wanted to see you, girl. Your boyfriend gonna get pissed?" He growled, enjoying the color that was rising in Kelly's cheeks. She was at a loss for who he was talking about for a moment. She shook her head and glanced back at the table where she'd left John.
"He's not my boyfriend, not that it's any of your business." Kelly bit back, wanting no part of Happy's games. She didn't want this to start up again. She thought she was doing a fine job of forgetting he existed, up until he showed up. He watched as a frown crossed her lips. She was kidding herself. She missed him, or at least the side of him she'd seen when she went to Charming.
"Everything okay, Kelly?" John walked up when he'd picked up on Kelly's frown. She looked from John to Happy and narrowed her eyes, warning him to behave. Happy looked over at John with a scowl.
"We're fine." Happy rasped, wondering what Kelly could see in this guy. He was short and scrawny with a widows peak. Kelly put her hand on the center of Happy's chest and shook her head with a smile.
"I'm fine, John. He was just leaving." Kelly growled, looking back up at Happy. Happy turned his narrowed eyes over to her and nodded, pushing his toothpick over to the other side of his mouth.
"I'll see you tonight, Kel." Happy said, cupping her cheek with his hand before giving John one last glare and heading out of the hospital. He hated hospitals.
"I'm sorry, Kelly. If I knew you were seeing someone, I wouldn't have asked you out like that." John said with a sheepish smile before headed down the hall towards the ICU. Kelly let her shoulders drop and turned her face towards the ceiling, wondering what in the hell just happened. She pulled her stethoscope out of her pocket and hung it around her neck, grumbling to herself as she headed in the opposite direction as both John and Happy.
Seven hours later, Kelly clocked out after being thrown up on twice and getting blood all over her new shoes. She was tired and wanted to go home and relax, not deal with Happy Lowman. There was a little bit of a chill in the air and the sky looked like it could open up any minute as she jogged out to her car. She got her door closed just as the first drops of rain hit the windshield. At least one thing went right today, she said to herself.
"Sure, just let yourself in, Happy." Kelly said as she pulled into her garage, past Happy's motorcycle. She knew there was no chance that he would be waiting outside in the rain. Kelly also knew the asshole would probably use the rain as an excuse to stay at her place longer. "Hey."
"Long night?" Happy asked, looking up from the magazine he'd already read twice. Kelly nodded and closed the door behind her, making sure to flip the deadbolt before dropping her keys on the counter. Happy could tell she was tired and her scrubs didn't look anywhere as clean as they did earlier.
"Yeah, sick kids and a bad car wreck victim. I'm exhausted Happy, so just say what you came to say." Kelly said, cutting out the small talk. Happy closed the magazine and she resisted a laugh. It was this month's Cosmopolitan.
"I didn't come to say anything, girl. I wanted to see you. See how you were doing." Happy said, standing up and walking towards her. She took a step back, gesturing at her scrubs. "Girl, I've been covered in worse."
"I'm doing fine, Happy. I miss him but there's nothing I can do but deal with it. Please don't do this." She said, putting her head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. She was too tired to fight with him.
"You seeing somebody?" Happy asked, searching her face as she tilted it up to him. He ground his teeth at her rolling eyes but didn't comment on it. It was one of his pet peeves when they would argue.
"No, I'm not. If I was, they wouldn't be a biker that cheated on me with some random bitch in a clubhouse bathroom." Kelly snapped, pushing away from him. Happy growled, knowing he deserved that but pissed that she had to bring it up. He followed her down the hall to her bathroom.
"That was years ago, Kelly. You wanna tell me you weren't fucking that cop you married when we were together?" Happy asked. Kelly turned around and slapped him across the face with a loud pop. He caught her wrist and narrowed his eyes.
"Fuck you! You know damn well I would never cheat on you!" Kelly said, jerking her wrist away from him. She knew in the back of her mind that he let her take her wrist back. He made her so angry when it came to her marriage and eventual divorce. Happy remembered the first time he'd been slapped for that same question.
Tacoma: May 2007
Happy saw Kelly's almost white blonde hair and threw another shot down his throat. He didn't expect her to come to the rally, considering they had broken things off last August. It was common knowledge that she was dating a cop now. The only reason it wasn't a bigger problem was because Kozik was vouching for her and Lee's old lady trusted her. She looked as hot as ever and it pissed him off even more.
"You bring the law with you, girl?" He growled after she ignored him and spoke to several other members and old ladies under the tent. Kelly narrowed her eyes at him, further ignoring him and all but infuriating him.
"Come on, you two play nice." Kozik said, wrapping his arm around his little sister's shoulders and giving Happy a look. Happy nodded, lighting up a cigarette. He was willing to ignore the woman for his brother. Their mutual act of ignoring one another was going well until a sweet butt mentioned a certain piece of jewelry Kelly was wearing.
"Damn, Kelly, don't go swimming with that thing on! You'll sink right to the bottom!" The redhead said, drawing all attention to Kelly. Happy had a dark haired girl on his lap, going to town on his neck and grinding her crotch all over his jeans. He looked past the woman to see the ring on Kelly's finger as she nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Kelly was looking right at him, not saying a word.
Kelly took a step back when Happy stormed over towards her, but she wasn't fast enough. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her away from the crowd, including her brother. She hissed at the tight grip and he let go. They shared a glare for a moment before Happy spoke.
"How long were you fucking him when we were together, Kel?" Happy growled. Kelly's upper lip curled and she drew her hand back, gaining momentum for a solid slap to the side of his face. He had to give it to her, she put some force behind it. Had it been an actual punch, he may have broken his promise to his Ma to never hit a woman. He spit his toothpick out and advanced on her.
"Fuck you, Happy! Out of the two of us, only one is a cheating piece of shit. All those days you'd be out on the road and the three months you were locked up, I never once touched another man! You're the one who fucked that whore in the bathroom!" Kelly yelled, wishing she had enough room to hit him again.
"You took the ink, bitch. I could have fucked twenty other bitches but you were my old lady, Kelly. How's he like that staring up at him? Knowing he's fucking a biker's whore turn him on?" Happy growled, talking out of pain and the buzz he had going. Kelly's eyes were holding back tears and it took some of the heat out of his veins.
"I loved you, asshole! You fucked her to hurt me and you know it! What did you do when I tried to talk to you? You left the fucking state for months! God, I hate you!" Kelly yelled, her tears finally falling. She turned away and stormed away to her car without another word.
Happy lit another cigarette, realizing he'd almost gone through the pack he'd had all week in the few hours since Kelly had showed up. He let out a huff when he saw Kozik walking over to him. His brother had made it a point to stay out of the shit between Kelly and Happy.
"You good, brother?" Kozik asked before taking a swig of his beer. Happy nodded, hoping to avoid a conversation about the fight. "She came here to see you, bro. Told me she wanted to smooth shit over before they got married."
"What the fuck for?" Happy hated feeling any kind of way about Kelly. He'd never meant to get feelings for any woman and now the one time he did, he couldn't shake them.
"That's just who she is. Little bird can't stand hurting people she cares about." Kozik said, shaking his head. Happy scoffed and snuffed his cigarette out with the toe of his boot.
"Can't hurt somebody that doesn't care." Happy said, clapping Kozik on the shoulder before heading back to the tent. He needed more liquor and a good blow job to keep him from killing somebody, specifically somebody with a badge.
Present Day
"I didn't come here to fight with you, girl." Happy said, apologizing in his own way. Kelly knew better than to expect him to say sorry. She swallowed hard and turned back around to look at him.
"Then why did you come here, really, Happy? If you wanted to see if I was okay, you could have asked Lee or Mary. Why?" Kelly was searching his face, just wanting him to tell her the truth. He was never one to lie but he'd give every other partial truth he could to avoid revealing too much.
"I miss you, angel. Wish to hell I didn't." He said, his shoulder dropping a little as he admitted it to the both of them. Kelly knew that when he showed up to the hospitals. He'd never liked them and that dislike had grown into a hatred some years ago. She knew that voluntarily showing up at the hospital without a life and death situation could only mean one thing.
"I don't think the rain is letting up any time soon. You can stay here if you want. I have a guest room." Kelly offered. Happy didn't have any plan on staying in a different room, but he'd take what he could get after having pissed her off. "There's room in the garage for your bike."
"Alright. Take a shower, girl. You smell like shit." Happy smirked and watched as Kelly's tired eyes lit up with a laugh. She nodded and walked into the bathroom, still laughing as she closed the door behind her.
Kelly knew she was in trouble. Having Happy coming to see her and letting him stay wasn't going to end well. She turned the water all the way to the left and stripped out of her soiled scrubs as it heated up. When she started to see steam, she turned her towel warmer on and stepped into the shower. The hot water helped her relax as she mulled things over in her mind.
She wasn't surprised when she walked out of the bathroom to find Happy standing in her bedroom, looking at the newly arranged picture collage. He looked over at her slowly and then back at the collage. She knew there were several pictures of the two of them with Herman. She'd justified including them in the collage because her brother was in the pictures.
"You still burn your skin off?" Happy asked, his eyes on the wall. Kelly looked down at her pink skin and shrugged. After joint showers, that normally meant shower sex, he'd always let her turn the heat up after he got out. She pulled on a pair of silky shorts and a ribbed tank before starting to towel dry her hair.
"Did you bring your bike in?" Kelly asked. Happy turned around, leaning against her dresser with a nod. She nodded and continued toweling her hair. "How long are you in town?"
"Gotta be back on Monday. You off before then?" He asked watching the way her shirt raised a little as she raised her arms to mess with her hair.
"I'm off Sunday." Kelly said, looking forward to her first day not working in almost a month. Tomorrow was the only day that stood between her and relaxing, or at least that had been the plan before Happy showed up.
"Good." Happy said, shrugging his cut off. Kelly raised her brow and paused her work on drying her hair. "I'm not staying in the guest room, girl. Came to see you."
"Happy," Kelly started, thinking about telling him it was that time of the month. She then remembered that he wouldn't care even if it were true. "Fine but if you stay in here tonight then that means we have an actual conversation about whatever this is tomorrow after work."
"You giving me an ultimatum, girl?" Happy asked, pulling his shirt over his head. She folded her arms across her chest and he tried not to laugh. He knew they'd have to talk about shit eventually. "A'ight."
Kelly crawled into her bed and watched him as he stripped down to his boxer-briefs. She couldn't remember a time she'd seen him in underwear that wasn't black. She liked it though. It went well with his ink. She let her eyes trace his body and found herself biting her lip before he even got close to the bed. She left work exhausted but as soon as he was in her bed, she seemed to find a second wind.
"What was that about a guest room?" Happy growled as Kelly pushed the covers down and straddled him. She rolled her eyes and raked her nails over his scalp. He smirked and stretched his neck. Kelly knew he loved when she did that.
Happy grabbed her hips and pressed her down on top of his hardened dick, knowing she wanted him as much as he wanted her. She moaned and he slid his hands up, pulling her tank off so he could get to her ample breasts. Happy always considered himself a leg and ass man but Kelly had just as nice a rack as she had an ass. He pulled her down and took a rosy nipple in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it as it responded and hardened between his teeth.
"Face down ass up, Kel." Happy growled, pushing her off him. She drug her tongue across her lip as she shimmied her shorts off and did as he said. "Still don't wear underwear to bed?"
"I usually don't wear anything to bed. Do you want to talk dress code or fuck me, killer?" Kelly asked, looking over her shoulder at him as he rolled a condom on. He sucked on his teeth and smacked his hand down on her right ass cheek. She flinched and moaned with a wicked grin.
"Don't be a smartass, angel." He said, slamming into her without a warning. She gasped and bit down on the pillow to keep from screaming his name. He felt the way her body tightened around him and growled, loving that he could still push her buttons. He grabbed a handful of her ass and thrusted into her once more before pausing, buried deep within her. "Your ex make you this wet, girl?"
Kelly whimpered as he groped her ass and stayed still, refusing to continue until she answered the question. She tried to move and he held her in place. "No, he didn't. Damnit, Happy. Either fuck me or move so I can do it myself."
"There's that dirty mouth." He pulled back and slammed forward into her, smacking his abs into her ass. "That what you want, Kel?"
"Yes, please, Hap." Kelly was wound up tight and just wanted him to let her find her release. She heard him groan and knew he was done messing with her. There was no doubt it was going to hurt to sit tomorrow but it was worth it. She struggled to catch a breath as he drove her to the edge. He put his hand on the back of her neck and pushed her further into the pillow, shoving her right off that cliff. She clawed at the sheets and arched her back as she tightened around him. Happy joined her in the ecstasy and stilled as he rode it out with her.
"I'm using your shower." Happy said, pulling out of her and watching her body shudder with a satisfied grin. She nodded and cleaned herself up with the towel she'd used from her earlier shower.
"I have to get up early for work. There are towels under the counter." Kelly said, hoping he wouldn't wake her when he came back to bed. He nodded as he walked into the bathroom and turned the bedroom light out. Kelly rolled over onto her side, realizing this would be the first night she wouldn't sleep in his sweater since coming back from Charming.
Happy appreciated the water pressure in Kelly's shower. It was far superior to the clubhouse's shower. He dried off and hung the damp towel on the drying rack before heading back in the bedroom. The sweater hanging on the back of the bathroom door made him pause. It was the one he'd let her wear the night before she left Charming. He brought it to his nose and smiled, knowing she must have worn it because it smelled like her shampoo more than leather now.
He turned the light off before opening the door, hoping to avoid waking her up. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw her sleeping peacefully towards the edge of the bed. Instead of going over and getting in next to her, Happy leaned against the door frame and watched her for a few minutes. She was just as beautiful as the day he'd met her and it made him wonder why he'd let her go.
Before he could get lost in his thoughts, Kelly let out a little whimper and it snapped him out of it. He grabbed fresh underwear out of his backpack that was sitting by the door and stepped into it before getting into the bed behind her. As soon as his arm was around her waist, she scooted back towards him and relaxed. He kissed her shoulder and relaxed, knowing his Glock was on the table beside him.
Kelly woke up to her alarm going off and Happy's arm pulling her closer to him. She stretched her arm and pulled her phone to the edge of the nightstand with her fingertips, barely managing to shut the alarm off before it got louder. She pulled her arm back and rolled over to face Happy. He was keeping his eyes shut, not ready to wake up.
"What time is it?" Happy groaned as Kelly ran her fingers up his side. She laughed and he scowled, still refusing to open his eyes.
"Five. Are you going to be here when I get off?" Kelly asked, pressing a kiss to his lips. He groaned and kissed her back.
"What time is that?" He asked, knowing he needed to go deal with some stuff for Tacoma. It was his excuse for coming up north.
"Seven. I can bring Chinese for dinner." Kelly offered, slipping out of his hold to get ready for work. Happy rolled over to his stomach and turned his head to watch her get dressed.
"Yeah, I'll be here. You ain't gonna bitch about it anymore?" He asked, enjoying the view of her ass as she bent down to find something in her dresser.
"Would it do any good?" Kelly asked with a laugh. She knew it wouldn't and really didn't find the need to anyways. He made a noise in his throat and Kelly looked back to see his eyes on her. "No, Happy. I don't have time."
"Shut up and get over here." He growled, raising the sheets up for her. She couldn't resist the way she knew he'd make her feel and hurried over. "Don't touch the fucking light."
SOA SOA SOA SOA SOA SOA SOA SOA SOA SOA SOA SOA SOA SOA
"Sorry I'm late." Kelly said, rushing up to the nurse's station. Meredith looked up at the normally punctual woman and nodded.
"It's fine. I need you to work the ICU today. They had two call in's and John requested you." The gray haired woman said, motioning down the hall. Kelly nodded and headed across the hospital as soon as she clocked in. John was walking out of a patient room as she walked out of the elevator.
"You okay?" John asked, closing the door behind him and putting the chart back in the door after making his notes. Kelly raised her brow, wondering why he would ask. "Your neck is kind of red."
"Yeah, I tried to get out of the car without undoing the belt. I'm not used to running late." Kelly lied, refusing to tell him that she liked it rough and that a certain biker had met her needs and then some this morning. She had a feeling John wasn't a big fan of Happy considering he'd just asked her out and Happy had made it clear that he'd at least intended on seeing her last night.
"Oh, okay." John didn't want to blow her cover and embarrass her by pointing out that the mark was on the right side of her neck. If it had been her seatbelt, it would be on the left. "Can you take rooms three, five and six?"
"Yeah, that's fine." Kelly said, ready to get her shift started. She went to room three first, reading over the chart before entering the room. The prognosis wasn't good. The patient had several gunshot wounds to the chest and he'd crashed twice since getting out of surgery yesterday morning. She wasn't surprised to see two police officers in the room when she walked inside. It was fairly typical when someone came in after being shot.
"Ingle?" She looked over at the younger officer in the corner and bit her lip. That had been her married name for all of about a minute. She checked the fluid bags that were hanging by the bed and made a couple notes.
"It's back to Kozik now. How are you, Wright?" Kelly asked, knowing he should have known she and Tom had gotten divorced. She moved on to documenting the patient's vitals.
"My bad. I'm good. You taking care of this turd today?" Wright asked, pointing at the man in the hospital bed with his hand shaped like a gun. Kelly ignored his insensitive gesture, knowing she didn't know the full story behind what had landed this man on the wrong side of the law.
"Yeah, they were short handed. I'm normally in the ER." Kelly said, finishing up with the patient and closing the chart. "Good to see you Wright. I'll be back in an hour for his pain meds."
"Can't you skip that shit? He deserves the pain." Wright said with a laugh. Kelly gave him a polite smile before shaking her head and pulling the door closed. She knew that Wright and her ex were on the same patrol team. She hoped he wouldn't run his mouth about seeing her.
Kelly sat down across from Lydia in the cafeteria and drank her first of two bottles of water quickly. She was used to the fast pace of the ER now, but having three rooms in the ICU was exhausting. The only saving grace was knowing they could only keep her for eight hours today. She only had about four more to go.
"You look beat." Lydia said, noticing the way Kelly propped herself up on her elbow that was on the table. Kelly nodded and bit a french fry in half.
"I thought when Meredith told me I was working the ICU, the worst part would be working with John after turning him down. I'm too damn busy to even worry about anything being awkward." Kelly said, partially thankful for that. Lydia laughed and nodded her head. She'd never worked under John in the ICU but knew him from around the hospital.
"Believe it or not, we're having a pretty routine day in the pit. Did you work over yesterday?" Lydia asked, assuming she had since she normally did. Kelly nodded and Lydia shook her head. "More power to you."
"Ugh, I only have twenty for lunch because of their call offs. We need to catch up soon. You know, outside of the hospital, in real clothes." Kelly said with a laugh as she picked up her tray to leave. Lydia laughed and nodded in agreement.
"How about tomorrow?" She asked, standing up with her tray as well. Kelly shook her head and pushed her hair out of her face.
"I have company from out of town. Maybe Wednesday after shift?" Kelly countered, remembering she wasn't working over that night. Lydia nodded and waved as they parted in different directions.
She gave John a wave as she got off the elevator and headed right over to room three, knowing it was time to check the man's vitals and draw blood for the labs the doctor had ordered. She walked right in, not paying any mind to the two officers she knew would still be watching him.
"Hey, Kels." Kelly gritted her teeth at the familiar voice behind her. She turned around to see Tommy Ingle sitting in the chair Wright had been in earlier. She glanced over to see the other officer had changed as well. They must have had shift change while she was at lunch, she told herself. Kelly turned back to the patient and started charting his vitals.
"Tommy. It's been a while." Kelly said, not wanting to seem rude in front of the other officer. She started drawing blood from the man in the bed when alarms started going off. "Shit. Code Blue!"
The room started filling with doctors and nurses quickly as the man started seizing violently. She followed the doctor's orders and pushed drugs through the patient's iv. It was a long and chaotic twenty minutes before the doctor finally called the time of death. Kelly sighed and her shoulders drop. Criminal or not, this man was someone's son and possibly a parent and husband.
She was writing her report about what happened at the nurse's station when Tommy walked up to the desk. Instead of stopping what she was doing, she just kept writing. It wasn't until he'd cleared his throat for the third time that she looked up to address him. He saw the annoyed expression on her face and smirked.
"Damn Kels. You're as good at killing patients as you are relationships. Little quicker on the draw with the turd in there though." Tommy said. Kelly rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the report she was writing. "Aw, come on Kels. He was a criminal. Oh, wait, I forgot. That's what gets you off, right? The low life criminals like your brother?"
"Fuck you, Tom. You don't have a patient on this floor anymore. You need to leave. Now." Kelly said, seeing red. He smirked and Kelly sprang to her feet. "He was twice the man you'll ever be! Go to hell."
"Was? Kels, wait. What happened?" Tom's expression and tone of voice changed upon hearing her speak about her brother in past tense. She didn't stop walking as she threw the stairwell door open. Tom Ingle followed her onto the stairs until she stopped suddenly, nearly making him run in to her.
"Don't act like you care about my family now, Tom. Don't you dare!" Kelly said, pointing her finger at him. He caught her finger and applied pressure, bending it backwards. "Let go! You can't hurt me like this!"
"Remember who you're talking to, Kelly. Don't think I won't bring some boys down to your friends' clubhouse if you say anything." Tom said, releasing her hand. "I'm sorry about your brother."
Kelly waited until he exited the stairwell to sit down on the steps and cry. She hated him for how he'd treated her both past and present but she knew there was no way to get back at him. He had told her long ago that if she ever reported it or told Herman or the club about it, he'd bring charges against all of SAMTAC and tell them she'd ratted. She had never given him any information, accidentally or otherwise but he knew that once you were labeled a rat, it was almost impossible to be trusted.
Thank you again for all the favs and follows. To those of you who reviewed, double thank you! It is really motivational to read reviews, so if you like it, please review! I may post another chapter on Wednesday or Friday, but I'm not sure yet. Reviews would probably be pretty motivational!