Disclaimer: I do not own or possess any copyrights in relation to this story, nor am I being compensated in any way ... unless you count warm fuzzies from reviews. Sadly my bank does not accept those as currency.

Fair warning: There is violence, cussin', and sexin' ahead, so read at your own risk ... be prepared for MA/NC-17 content.

Chapter 11

When he woke up Friday morning, Happy needed a few seconds to remember where he was. Stretching and looking around, he wondered how long Rachel had been up. The light coming into the bedroom looked like it was mid-morning. Yawning as he went into the bathroom, he chuckled softly at the note he saw on top of a towel that she had laid out for him.

Dear Sexy Beast,

Unfortunately I don't have many of those manly things you probably need. I do have a spare toothbrush and shaving stuff, they're on the counter.

The Exhausted Girl Who Was Woken Up 3x
P.S. That was not a complaint. =)

Taking care of his business and enjoying the unexpected luxury that was her huge shower, he was as cheerful as he ever got when he walked towards the living areas. Patting Dog, because he refused to call him a sissy ass name, on the head, Happy followed his nose to the kitchen. Leaning against the doorway, knowing she was usually so alert, he enjoyed seeing her unaware of him while she swayed to jazz on the radio.

"Fuck!" Rachel did not expect him to be standing there. When he laughed at her, she mock glared and waved towards the coffee pot. Pulling another set of cookies out of the oven, she slapped at his hand when he reached. "Hands off, these are for the 4th of July, Gemma is a fuckin slave driver. I wish I could remember why I became friends with her. Breakfast is either eggs or pancakes, both with sausage. Your choice."

Dropping a kiss on her head and getting coffee, he leaned against the counter and looked around. She really had a nice place. Happy wondered if he looked out of place with all of his tattoos and attitude in this big cheerful sunny kitchen with a pretty woman baking cookies and a dog sprawled all over his feet. Then he decided he didn't fucking care.

The next couple of months didn't see much of a change in Rachel and Happy's lives. Happy spent a lot of nights at her house and did eventually leave a bag of shit there to make it easier. She didn't laugh when he dug out his Kindle, but after hearing him gripe about how books should feel in his hand, she smiled and led him to her library. When she went to her Wednesday Shelter visits, Happy gritted his teeth and didn't say a word about escorting her. She still had lunch with Tara and visited with Gemma and Luann and stole Abel on a regular basis. He still hung out at the clubhouse and rode down to see his Ma every week.

They had a lot of sex. In a lot of places. She told him if he got tested, she'd nix the condoms since she couldn't get pregnant. Then she showed him her collection of erotica and porn. He slowly showed more emotion around her and she slowly started to trust him not to hurt her. He still didn't talk much and she still teased him. Neither minded. She stayed stubborn and so did he.

They argued quite a bit, but never about the club or what he did. He went on the road and came back. She did her job and lived her life. Peanut decided having another male around was the bee's knees, even if he did have to start answering to Dog too. The cats decided they hated him, unless no one was looking.

Sometimes they would laugh at the fact that their life together was ending up as one big compromise, since it seemed like they were always negotiating. She got an honest to god belly laugh the day she told him during an argument that even her pets fuckin compromised with him. She won that fight.

Neither of them mentioned the change in their relationship to anyone else.

She didn't know why she hadn't told anyone, other than the fact that she enjoyed the secret at first. After a few weeks, she realized that he hadn't really told anyone either. They were both private people, so it didn't mean anything. Then Tara asked during one of their Monday lunches if she would go to a party at the clubhouse on Saturday with her, because the Nomad President was coming to town with some other charters.

Knowing that the Nomad President was also one of Happy's friends, she did wonder why he hadn't mentioned it. Unfortunately he was on the road until Friday and she would rather not have that kind of conversation over the phone, during her nightly 'I'm fine, no one killed me today' call that he insisted she make, where she couldn't see his face. I wonder if he knows I still roll my eyes every time I dial.

He's not ashamed of me, there's a reason. He never was before, fuck he practically made me come against my car in the parking lot during business hours. I just need to ask him. By Thursday, Tara had eventually nagged her into going, saying she needed someone to hang out with since Jax would be circulating, so she definitely needed to talk to Happy before then.

Gemma and Tara had been suspicious when they couldn't get Rachel to talk about her date with Happy or anything else to do with him. All Rachel would say is that they decided to be friends and get to know each other. Which is technically not a lie. She was positive no one had the nerve to ask him directly, but she kept getting innuendo about how much calmer he seemed and that he sure was gone a lot and when he was there, how he wasn't with a different croweater every night. She could have gone without being reminded that it wasn't always that way.

Happy was exhausted. He had planned on getting in late Friday, but heading over to Rachel's anyway. It wasn't always easy to keep his word not to fuck around on the road, but he had. But, that also meant that he was irritable as fuck right now. His Friday night arrival had become early Saturday evening. When he pulled into the lot, he suddenly remembered Quinn was in town too. Fuck, he wasn't going to get over to her place tonight either.

He was happy Quinn was here though. Clay and Jax were practically rabid at each other lately. With the exception of Tig and Opie, both of who were still kissing Clay's ass, the entire charter was trying to smooth shit over. Jax had brought Rachel's custom bike idea to the table and managed to squeak it through with one vote to spare. Happy knew that wasn't the only thing she suggested and hoped Jax left it alone for awhile.

Clay was really riding her involvement in the club hard. Apparently in addition to Jax, she had given Juice some security ideas that he had to fuckin tell Clay were hers. Juice was just trying to praise her, but shit. He knew Clay had tried to give Gemma an order to stay away from Rachel and she told him to kiss her ass in the middle of the clubhouse. He didn't hear what Clay said exactly, but he could take a few good guesses based on Gemma's reaction.

The shit with Zobelle and the Nords and Hale and Stahl was all churning as well. Happy wasn't sure how much longer they could ride this edge without wiping out. Quinn being in town offered some outside counsel to the Pres and VP and gave Happy a way to shield Rachel from any fallout. He couldn't even act pissed that Jax was going to Rachel, because she wasn't his old lady. He liked that she was a smart bitch who got things done, but there were too many eyes focused on her, made him uneasy.

Frowning, Happy hung up the phone. Rachel had told him yesterday she needed to talk to him when he got back, but he rolled in and went directly to Church. Seems Zobelle's boys had gotten tired of waiting and started picking fights, trying to make the club jump into shit without looking. Jax was being smart, telling the table they had to play this cool, do some research.

He missed Clay's face when Juice floated the idea of having Rachel look some things up since she had access to different shit and knew numbers better than he did, because he was staring at Juice incredulously. He did hear the no that was snapped across the table. Jax started to argue, then shot a glance at Happy and stopped.

After grabbing a shower, he tried calling, but got her voice mail. She had sounded nervous … what the fuck did she want to talk about? Deciding to deal with it later, he thought a nap sounded like an excellent fucking idea.

Rachel wondered if she was doing the right thing. She wanted to support Tara, who had been dealing with a fighting Clay and Gemma and a fighting Clay and Jax, but she still hadn't spoken to Happy about this. Knowing he had a good reason not to talk about her to the club, because she was positive he wasn't ashamed or embarrassed, doing this without his knowledge made her nervous. She didn't want to ambush him or make him feel like she was forcing his hand.

Looking at her phone as she was getting ready to leave, she saw he had left her a voice mail. Smiling, she called him back, but had to leave a message. Cursing, Rachel realized she still ended up telling him over the phone … she should have just talked to him earlier. She made sure to stress in her message that she wasn't mad that he hadn't said anything and she understood if he needed to pretend tonight … they could talk about it later. Locking up, she headed to Jax and Tara's.

Two hours later, Tara was getting nicely drunk again. Rachel still hadn't seen Happy. Smiling at a few of the guys from Charming, she was spending a lot of time peeling drunk guys off her ass. Apparently they thought she looked like a new and improved croweater. Tara had helped in the beginning, but she and Jax had apparently argued and now she was drinking more seriously. Rachel didn't think she was unattractive, but in the last half an hour it was getting ridiculous. Gemma was floating around and seemed more on edge than normal, so she wasn't really much fucking help either.

Loud music dragged Happy out of sleep. Groaning, he stretched and started to head out to the party. Saying hi to Quinn, drinking a few beers and shooting some pool sounded like a good fucking plan right now. A better plan would have included fucking Rachel before the party. Remembering the voice mail, he grabbed his phone and listened to his messages.

Oh Jesus Christ.

Grabbing his kutte, gun, and keys, Happy walked quickly out to the main clubhouse. Making sure none of his thoughts showed on his face, he nodded hello to a few people while he kept scanning for Rachel. She has to be so fuckin tiny, how the fuck am I going to see her? Taking the beer from Chucky, he casually leaned against the bar and decided that he'd just have to ask Tara or Gemma if he didn't find her soon.

Rachel was not having a good time. Somehow, she had gotten separated from Tara, who was too drunk to notice, and gotten pinned in a corner by two hulking brutes that reeked of alcohol and body odor and who wouldn't stop touching her. She had tried standing up to them, pushing past them, and even explaining what she was really doing here. They were either too drunk to care, or didn't care anyway.

Starting to get scared now, which pissed her off, she realized that there was no way someone could see her back here with the way they were standing in front of her. So no rescue coming Rachel … you'll just have to deal with the repercussions later and hope Happy doesn't get in trouble. He won't mind me hurting them … probably … but I think he will be mad that I'm in this situation. Fuck.

There's no way to handle this that isn't going to get you hurt too. There are two of them and they're too fucking close, even with their reaction times slowed down. Pulling on some of the rage she carried deep, she suddenly kicked out with one foot. She didn't get him square in the nuts since he moved at the last second, but it was enough to make him bend over so she could reach him. I'll take it. Cupping her hands, she slammed them against his ears and followed up by kicking his leg out from under him so he fell heavily on the floor.

The other guy made a grab for her and she twisted his arm, grabbed his beer bottle with her left hand and cracked him in the funny bone with it. Being short sucks. Snarling, she bit back a cry when he wrenched her left arm so hard it felt dislocated. Letting the momentum of his pull do the work, she let him pull her closer as she reached down and slammed the heel of her hand against his dick. She quickly slipped around the other side of him, away from the guy slowly getting up. Heading directly for the door, she ignored everyone around her.

Happy heard the commotion when the first guy fell. Catching a flash of red, his eyes went wide when he realized what was happening. As he watched her get yanked around as she fought back, he almost pulled his piece out and drilled the asshole. Seeing her slip out the door, he quickly walked after her as she squirmed through the crowd like an eel. He could shoot the motherfuckers anytime; he wanted to know what the fuck happened.

Gemma was sitting in the dark. That fuckin creepy white mask in the mail. Jesus. She should have shot that motherfucker. Trying to get control of herself, she wondered if she and Clay would ever recover from this shit. He was spending more time away from anywhere she might be and when they were together, they fought. She knew he was getting his dick sucked by someone nearby since she wasn't doing anything for him. Fuck.

Hearing footsteps and heavy breathing go into the main garage, she really hoped whoever it was went the fuck away.

Rachel made it to a dark corner of the garage and kept her back to the crowd down below. She knew she was probably going to cry from the anger and stress and she refused to let anyone see her do it. Taking hitching breaths, she really wished she had her gun with her.

Happy was going to tear her a new one for this shit and she knew she deserved it. She doesn't know enough about this world to just assume she would be safe with Tara. She should have waited to talk to him. She definitely should have worn her knife, knowing that her small stature seems to make drunk men think she was a toy. She was not going to apologize for hurting them though. Assholes.

"Rachel," Happy said softly with narrowed eyes, studying her body language. When she whirled around with wide eyes, poised to run, he tried to smile.

"Hey little girl. At least this time you're not pointing a gun at my chest."

Biting her lip, she looked at him, "If I promise not to point it at anyone, can I have your gun, please?" she asked desperately. "Please Happy."

Looking deeper and seeing how close to the edge she was in her eyes, he slowly said, "That make you feel better girl?" Pulling it out of his holster, he passed it over to her when she nodded. She'd rather have a gun in her hand than a hug when she feels threatened. She'd rather prepare to kill someone and protect herself than take comfort. I don't know whether that's fucking amazing or sad.

"You wanna tell me what that was all about?" he asked after a few minutes, seeing her stop shaking.

"No, not really, I'm good with not," she said as she tried to evade. When he just stared at her, she scrubbed her free hand over her face. "You're going to be mad. You're going to be really mad. I'm not even sure what will piss you off the most."

Staring at her and fighting to keep his temper, he finally sighed and took his gun back. "I probably will be mad Rach. But you can't just not tell me shit, especially when it happens here. Besides, we haven't had angry or make up sex yet," he joked.

Leaning against the pillar, he pulled her back against his chest and kissed her temple. Draping his arms loosely around her, rubbing the shoulder that got hurt, he said, "Tell me."

Hearing Happy say something about Rachel pointing a gun at his chest, Gemma's first thought was that she'd misheard. Then Rachel asked for his gun … and got it. Watching Happy hand a woman his gun was one of the most surreal experiences of her life. Happy didn't let anyone touch his weapons.

They've been hiding this. I knew something was going on, but I didn't think it had gone this far yet. He handed her his gun when she was upset. He came after her instead of shooting someone when something happened inside – and he's keeping his temper while she talks. This is more than a casual relationship.

Silently watching them, she realized she had always assumed, if she thought about it at all, that Happy would treat any woman like he did a croweater. When she had guessed that he liked Rachel, it was the tough girl that she focused on, since it seemed so much like him. Listening to them talk now, she thought maybe that wasn't all of it.

It was like there were two Rachel's. Neither of them seemed scared of him at all. One is a tough independent sassy bitch who is more than capable of kicking ass when needed, who liked a gun in her hand … but underneath that was this softer, more delicate girl who leaned against him and seemed to trust that he would hold her up until she could do it herself. Looking at how he held her, she kind of thought Happy needed that girl too.

Rachel was actually surprised he wasn't madder. Oh he was mad, furious even. Most of it seemed to be directed at the two bozos, who he mentioned would be easy to find later since she hurt them, but she got her fair share too, mostly for going unarmed where she knew it might not be safe. After he calmed down, he was quiet for a minute.

"You do not leave the house without your knife anymore," he ordered. "If you leave, you have it on you somewhere you can get to it. I know you carry the gun, but you don't always have that with you." She nodded, feeling guilty that he was so upset.

Rachel was really glad she was still facing away from him, because she wasn't sure if she would be able to stop herself from giving him 'please don't be mad at me' eyes. Knowing how he felt about manipulation, that wouldn't help.

"I'm sorry Happy, I'm so sorry." She dropped her head. I hate apologizing when it was my own damn fault. When I knew better? Fuck-a-duck. "I knew you had some kind of reason for keeping this quiet, because you wouldn't hurt me on purpose, and I shouldn't have come without talking to you even if I thought Tara and I would be together all night. Being armed never crossed my mind. It was stupid and I made a mistake."

Leaning his chin on her head, Happy closed his eyes. So fucking happy I got that nap or this could have been bad. Part of tonight was his fault, and he knew it. He hadn't wanted to tell her about some of the problems inside the clubhouse because he knew she'd feel responsible. Now he realized that if he had told her, she'd have known to stay away and this wouldn't have happened. He was also thinking she was going to be pissed at him when she figured out he was protecting her and withholding shit.

Turning her around, he lifted her head. "We'll talk at home, but some of this is on me girl." He spoke over her as she tried to interrupt, "People don't know you, don't know who you're with and yeah, that is on me because I didn't think it was any of their fucking business, but … it leaves you open game and I didn't consider that."

'We'll talk at home' … huh … he called it home.

Quinn had seen part of the ruckus, but didn't put it all together until Happy came back with his little redhead. Something must have happened. Her eyes were wide and she looked nervous. When Killer leaned down and said something in her ear, Quinn watched curiously as she closed her eyes while nodding and then suddenly it was like she pulled on another skin. Her body relaxed and when she opened her eyes, she was smiling and confident. It was an impressive transformation because he'd swear she seemed taller too. Happy was looking murderously into the corner where those two idiots from SAMTAZ were blissfully unaware of the pain coming.

Seeing the surprise from most of the Charming crew when Happy made a very clear point by leaning down and kissing Rachel until she was gasping, he was guessing they had kept this quiet until now. Watching the news spread like a tsunami, with those two in the epicenter, Quinn strolled over and handed Happy a beer while greeting Rachel. Knowing how much his friend hated this kind of attention, he hoped his presence would help.

The grateful smile Rachel flashed him was nice too.

Curled up on one of the couches a few hours later, Rachel was watching Happy play pool with sleepy eyes. Her lips turned up in a faint smile, remembering the babble of apologies from the two guys who had trapped her. Happy made his point very clearly with his fists that they had greatly offended him by touching what was his. She thought about being pissed off by the way that was said, but then realized she'd be a hypocrite if she did. If I'm his, then he's mine.

In fact, narrowing her eyes, there was some whore leaning against his arm right now. He didn't seem to notice since he was turned partially away talking to Quinn, but when the girl reached out and started running her hands over him, Rachel went from calm and sleepy to pissed off and ready to kill in a flash.

Standing up slowly, she locked eyes with the tart and walked over radiating menace. Her voice was quiet, almost dangerous, when she said, "Take your hands off of him."

When the bitch didn't move, she didn't bother looking up at Happy. If he was going to interrupt, he'd have done so by now. "Take your fucking hands off of him, or I will remove your hands from your body." Stepping into the whore's personal space, Rachel bitched to herself that she should have been born taller. "I'm going to give you a pass this time, because you're obviously stupid and slow. But you should leave now, before my patience is up."

When the bitch broke eye contact and stepped away, Rachel was almost vibrating with repressed rage. She heard Happy lay his pool stick down, say something to Quinn, and then she was being spun around. An entire conversation was held between their eyes as she let him turn her rage to almost primal lust. Fuck, he's got a room here right? Rachel could feel how hard he was where he was pressing against her stomach. She always forgot how fucking turned on he got when she acted like that.

Happy knew as soon as the bitch leaned against his arm and he saw Rachel snap to attention in the corner of his eye how the next few minutes were going to go. Making sure not to smile, he leaned casually on his stick while watching Quinn shoot. Since he didn't discourage her, the girl started rubbing her hands on him. He was about to grab her hand when she headed for his dick, but before he could, Rachel was there.

And Rachel was magnificent. He was instantly back at the alley watching her kick ass. Barely able to focus on what she was saying, he waited until the bitch walked away and then spun his girl around. Fuck, I gotta have her right now. Watching her eyes, he suddenly bent down and threw her over his shoulder. He heard her say his name, but it had been a long week and a fucked up day, and then she went and pushed all his buttons at once. She could fucking deal.

Getting his door open and relocked, he slid her down and pressed her against the door and started undressing her quickly while he growled roughly, "Bed or door girl? This is going to be fast and hard either way."

"Bed." Oh god please. Struggling to help him get them naked, she kept getting distracted by the way he was biting and sucking each area he uncovered. "Oh god, please hurry," she begged. She blessed him again for going to get tested for her, as he walked her over to the bed with one hand pulling at a nipple and the other stroking her firmly between the legs. She could barely stay upright when he growled in her ear that he wasn't going to give her any mercy, she'd have to just take it. She was pretty sure she was almost continuously whimpering.

Breathing harshly behind her, biting at the juncture of her neck and shoulder, he finally shoved her forward onto the bed so she was on her hands and knees. It wasn't painful, but he wasn't shy about arranging her how and where he wanted. Squeezing and rubbing his hands over her ass, she started pushing back against him and making desperate noises while he ran his thumbs up and down her slit before spreading her with his hands.

Bracing herself, she choked back a scream of shocked pleasure when he slammed his full length inside her and held her tight against his hips. He tugged her head back by the hair and demanded, "No, you don't get to hide those noises from me. I want to hear you girl." She squeezed her internal muscles tight and arched her back, hearing him groan thickly while taking her hips in a harsh grip and putting his strength behind each thrust.

She lost track of how long they took the frustrations of the night out on each other, but by the end, she was aching and sore and her muscles were trembling. Not that I'm complaining, fuck no. Jesus. I wonder if I have a voice still? I refuse to be embarrassed that people had to have heard. Not my fault Happy is a sex god and turns me into a screaming gibbering fool.

Turning her head so she faced him from where she lay face down on the bed, she grinned and told him in a husky tone, "So I almost want to have women pushing up on you just to reap the rewards. Almost," she warned, eyeing him when he grinned.

Slapping her lightly on the ass, Happy asked, "We staying here tonight or going home?" Propping herself up on her elbows she gave him 'the look'.

"We have a king sized bed with a very comfortable mattress, an awesome shower and coffee and food there. Don't tell me you haven't missed that shit while you've been on the road." She gave him a mischievous smile, "Besides, Peanut has missed you!" Fucking Dog.

It's good to be home.

Three weeks later, snuggling Abel while he napped in her arms, Rachel mused on the fight that had broken out the day after that party. When they sat down to talk and she realized that it was going to turn into a much bigger argument than expected, she had to put Peanut outside. They spent the next two and a half hours yelling, cussing and in general being huge assholes to each other. Sending him for a long shower while she went for a swim was an idea sent from Heaven itself.

She agreed to accept that he wasn't always going to be like he was at home. That when he was with the club, he had to be a certain way and she had to understand that she wasn't always going to be told things when she thinks she should be. She told him that he had three faces ... ice, cold, and warm. He was icy when he was channeling Killer, cold was his normal setting where his reactions were very controlled, and warm behind the closed doors of the house where she saw 'her' Happy. She got distracted from explaining further because he suddenly pinned her to the couch and started kissing her.

He agreed to stop holding back information that directly affected her, unless he absolutely had to. She had other things she had wanted to win agreement on, but let it go for now. Stupid kissing. Completely wiped out, they still managed to fit in that make up sex before a nap. Still a little sore, she was grateful when he made it slow and sensual and kissed each of the bruises he had inadvertently made the night before.

That was the night he told her about the Sons running guns for the Real IRA and Ireland, and about some of the problems in town right now, like Zobelle and Hale and some ATF bitch with a hard on for them. She's still not sure why he just stared and then laughed when she mentioned that it sounded like it would be easier if he just shot Zobelle. It seemed like a great idea to her.

It was the night that she told him she loved him. He told her he wanted her to meet his Ma. She knew that was his way of saying, 'I love you too'.

It was also the night he moved in.

Next up - Rachel has the day from hell while Happy is out of town