CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

It didn't take Madeline long to realize that she'd forgotten what life was like without Happy. It was odd to be home all day and all night and be alone, though she wasn't really alone because it seemed that every Son in Charming found a reason to look in on her now and then. Gemma, Tara and Luann seemed to have worked out a schedule of who would drop by to keep her company.

She'd established a routine, once a week she made the drive to see Happy and they spoke once a day. It had been two months, three weeks and five days since he'd been taken away from her and she still couldn't sleep at night. Luann had been the only one to really understand that and had shown up one day with a big bulky body pillow wearing a Samcro shirt.

The gesture had made her cry, honestly everything made her cry these days. Tara and her doctor both said that it was from her hormones and that she was getting off easy because she didn't have any real issues with morning sickness. It didn't feel like getting off easily, it felt like being sad all of the time except when she was mad. Happy would get such a kick out of her temper, she really wished that he could see it.

Her hand moved to her stomach, she could already feel the difference. She'd never had a flat stomach but now it protruded softly, some women were blessed with not showing their pregnancy and apparently she wasn't one of them. Of course that could have something to do with the fact that she ate more than she ever had.

Madeline continued to stroke her stomach as she eyed the clock. It was almost quarter past three which meant that the Winston kids would be arriving at her door any minute. The school was only a few minute walk and with Lyla gone she'd offered to keep an eye on them after school. Really it worked for all of them, Opie didn't have to worry about the kids home alone and they were a great help to Madeline.

Today Kenny was going to tackle mowing the yard, the grass was starting to get out of hand and Ellie wanted to look at the flower seed catalogs Madeline had ordered so she could pick out what would look best in the front of the house.

She was thinking about the kids when the phone rang. "Hello?" It took several seconds for the call to connect, she recognized the electronic clicks and smiled. "Hey Hap."

"Hey Mad," his gravelly voice filled her with happiness. "You good?"

"I'm great Hap, just about to figure something out for dinner for me and the kids. They should be here any minute."

"How's that working out?" When she'd asked him if it was okay that she offer to help out Opie, he'd agreed immediately.

"It's going good, really good. Helps me forget to miss you for a few hours," she sighed and leaned against the wall. "Della called me today, said that the reports are you're doing well and staying out of trouble."

His response was a chuckle. If only she knew how hard it was for him to control himself, "Yeah, I'm getting by."

"Eleven months and one week if you keep behaving."

"I'm going to Mad, I promise. How's the hitch hiker?"

She still didn't remember how he'd started calling their baby the hitch hiker but it had stuck. "Getting bigger, I've got a belly now and not my normal I need to work out more belly," she stared down at it. "I mailed a bunch of pictures the other day," a grin crossed her face, "Luann actually took them for me so you might want to be alone when you open them."

Happy let out a low growl. "I am so fucking tired of taking care of my own shit."

"You and me both," she began to laugh as he growled again. "Quit that, it makes it worse for me."

"Alright, alright." She heard him sigh. "When's the next doctor appointment?"

"I go the day after tomorrow."

"Who's taking you?"

"I'm taking myself."

"Ask someone to go with you, one of the girls."

"I can't ask them to take off every time that I've got an appointment," she pointed out. "It's just a check up."

"Ask someone to go with you," he repeated. "Jax come to see you? He'll have an envelope for you."

There had been an envelope every week, Happy's share of whatever the club had earned. At first she'd tried to protest being given the money but Quinn had given her what she now called his 'glare of death' and she'd let the protest die. Truthfully the money came in handy, her savings was pretty much gone and she refused to touch the money that Eve had left them in her will.

"They were in Indian Hills, I think that they got back today. I'll get it from him," she'd need it to pay the rent. "I've been thinking that maybe I should look for a smaller place."

"Smaller? You mean cheaper?"

"Yes," she said and bit down on her bottom lip. "At least until you're home, it would save some..."

"No," Happy barked the word. "You stay in the house, in our house."

"The rent is..."

"I'll take care of it."

"I'm just..."

"I said that I'll take care of it Mad."

"Okay," she said simply. "I was just trying to help."

"Baby, I'll take care of everything. You trust me?"

"You know that I trust you, you don't have to ask that."

"Then listen to me, stay right where you are. Juice hooked up the security system right?"

"Yes, I set it off like twice a day and the call center is on the phone in minutes."

"Good, make sure that you always set it." Happy told her, he'd tell Quinn next time they spoke to do some spot checks. "Quinn been around?"

"Not since the last time that he took me up to see you, he said he's in Las Vegas but all of the guys are looking in on me."

"Good," Happy replied. "You coming up this weekend?"

"Of course I am, I wouldn't miss it for the world," she knew that the question about the visit meant that his telephone time was nearly up. "You've got to go?"

"Yeah Baby," he told her. "Fucking love you Girl. Pet the hitch hiker for me."

"Our baby is not a puppy to be petted!" she protested, as she always did. "But I will, and I love you so much Hap."

"Be good." His voice was more gruff than she was used to.

"You too," she hoped that he heard her but the call ended so quickly she couldn't be sure. With a sigh she replaced the cordless phone on the counter. Only four more days to their next visit.

21 21 21

"Quinn?" Madeline looked up from the magazine that she was flipping through when a dark shadow covered her.

"He told you to bring someone to your appointment, didn't he?" The man looked unimpressed with her.

"Luann is going to try to meet me here, she had a shoot. Tara's in surgery. Lia's in school and Gemma's got a huge day at the garage." She explained. "What are you doing here?"

He settled down on the chair next to her. "What do you think?"

"Hap asked you to come in with me?" Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "That can not be something that you actually want to do."

Quinn shrugged his massive shoulders, "I'm here, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are." She couldn't help but smile at him. "I'm starting to think that you actually like me Quinn."

"Don't go getting ahead of yourself," but he smiled as he said it. They'd made a lot of progress since Happy had gone away. When she'd stood her ground to the cops, fought for him through the lawyer and most importantly not ran away when she could easily have he'd been forced to finally see what everyone else knew; she loved Happy and he loved her. "They gonna be all up in your lady parts in there?"

"No," Madeline assured him. "They'll do an ultrasound, measure my stomach, check me out and maybe check my cervix. You can leave the room during that."

"Leave?" he let out a snort. "Then who's going to make sure that the doctor isn't getting any wrong ideas about pushing up on you?"

"That's not really how it works but suit yourself. I'd just make sure you sit up by my head or Hap might just take your eyes."

"Don't I fucking know it," he grumbled the words and leaned back in the chair. "How long is this shit going to take?"

The exam didn't take long, the doctor had referred to Quinn as Dad during the first few minutes and that went over as well as could be expected. It had sent Madeline into a fit of laughter that she couldn't control no matter how hard she tried. But laughter aside, she was glad to have Quinn there and surprised at the interest he took in everything that the doctor said.

They left with a list of suggestions of changes to make to Madeline's diet and she had a pamphlet about exercising during pregnancy. "I draw the line at the grocery store," he informed her. "Get one of the girls to go with you."

Madeline knew that it was pointless to tell him she could go shopping all by herself because she was a grown ass woman. "Okay, I'll call Lia later."

"She's good for the moron," Quinn couldn't have surprised her more if he'd broken out in a song and dance routine. "Get him to go with the two of you, carry the fucking bags."

"I will."

"You drive straight home."

"Yes Sir," she gave him a mock salute that earned her a glare. "And seriously though, thank you for showing up today. I really appreciate it."

"Thank me by listening to your Old Man the next time." He tapped his large hand on the roof of her car and was gone.

Madeline drove home with a smile, not even tempted to make a pit stop at the grocery store by herself. Quinn showing up was unexpected but she appreciated him doing it especially because she couldn't think of something more outside his comfort zone.

She'd just got in the door when the phone began to ring and her gut told her that it was Happy. "Hey! I just got back from the doctor."

"How'd it go?" His deep rumble of a voice made her smile even wider as she took the phone to the couch and sat down to tell him all about it.

21 21 21

Visiting days were the best and the worst, Madeline loved the anticipation of seeing her man. The time that he was spending working out had only improved his body which was a double edged sword because she wanted nothing more than to take that new body for a test drive but they were limited to holding hands during the visit and a quick hug and kiss at the beginning and end.

It took several hours of waiting before she was finally led into the visiting hall and seated at a table to wait for him. She always knew when it was him on the other side of the door, it took all of her control not to simply run across the room and into his arms but that would definitely get her thrown out.

"Look at you," a smile crossed his face as he approached. "Jesus Mad, the fuck are you eating?"

"Ass," she told him with narrowed eyes as she rose to hug him. He pressed his lips against hers quickly.

"You've been eating ass?"

"I'd so smack you if I could," Madeline sighed as he pulled back from her and grabbed his hands as they sat down. "Do I look bad?"

"Nah," he shook his head. She'd never looked better. Shit, who would have thought that getting her pregnant would be the one fucking bright spot in his life? When she'd first told him and offered to take care of it, he'd answered no without realizing that was what he was going to say. He'd never wanted kids, ever but like so many other things his little red headed devil had changed his mind without trying. "Hitch hiker behaving?"

"Yes, I'm still not getting morning sickness but I've got a fridge full of food that would make you say what the fuck."

"Cravings?" He remembered Jax and Opie talking about how their Old Ladies would eat the weirdest shit. Was he missing that?

"Not so much, it's the food that I told you the doctor said is good for the baby. Oh, I almost forgot!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of glossy paper. "I begged, pleaded and threatened to cry and the guards said that they'd let me leave this with you. I didn't want to mail it just in case it got lost."

Happy took the paper from her and realized that it was a picture. "This is the hitch hiker?" It had to have been but it was something to say as he stared at the image. The first one he'd seen, hell he couldn't make out anything and had been glad that there had been arrows pointing to the kid. Now he could sort of see it. "Is that a dick?"

"I think that's probably an arm or something," Madeline couldn't hide her smile. "Because if that is a penis we have a serious problem because it's huge."

"Figure the hitch hiker is just like his father," Happy continued to stare at the picture. "Everyone doing their part, taking care of you?" He hated that he had to ask anyone to do anything for her but there wasn't shit that he could do stuck in this cage.

"Everyone's been great Hap, I told you I'm okay. How's shit in here?" She frowned. "Do our friend's friends have your back?"

"Yeah, I'm good Mad. I'm good," he gripped her hand tight. "Sorry that I'm doing this to you."

"You didn't do this on purpose," she knew how much it bothered him that he wasn't with her and how much he blamed himself. She didn't blame him, this was a side effect of the life that he lead. Hell, it was a miracle it hadn't happened sooner or that he hadn't gotten more time. "And we're going to get through this. The time is going to fly by and then you're going to be home with me and our baby where you belong."

"You ever think about running?"

"What?" Her frown was back. "Happy Lowman, are you asking me if I've ever thought about leaving you?" He nodded. "Oh, I've never been more tempted to smack the shit out of you!" It might not have been the smartest choice of words considering who she was saying them to but she didn't care. "I am your fucking wife, your Old Lady and soon to be your god damn Baby's Momma. I'm all in, there's no way I could be more in! I love you and that's the end of it. I am not leaving! Not now, not ever."

"Mad, calm the fuck down." He patted her hands. "It was just a question."

"Well you've got your answer, don't you?"

"You pissed at me?"

"I'll be pissed at you later, we don't have enough time for that now." She hated that the visits were limited because of overcrowding.

Her response made him smile, now that was just another reason that she was his girl. She was so fucking practical sometimes. "Tell me everything that's been going on, don't leave shit out."

This was a typical statement from him during a visit and Madeline had quickly realized that being incarcerated hadn't made him more talkative. He still liked to listen to her and he did listen. She gave him the run down of what she had been up to and under other circumstances it would have probably bored him but he listened to every word.

To Happy it didn't matter so much what she was saying but how she was saying it. There was no hint that Madeline was depressed or sad, well not more depressed or sad than she would be considering the situation. She laughed and smiled, she gripped his hand and he couldn't wait for the time to fly by so that he could be home and they could have more than this.

"Oh, I applied for family visits!" Her eyes sparkled. "Della doesn't think that we'll get approved because you've got short time but she said that it's possible since I'm pregnant and it's our first child."

"When will you know?"

"Couple of months though by that time they might need a bigger trailer for us because if I keep going at this rate..." she trailed off and got suddenly serious. "You ever think about running?"

Anger swelled inside of him but her expression made him swallow it down. She didn't need him to answer roughly, to be gruff and pissed. He knew what she needed, "Nah, never." And it was the truth. He might have had moments of doubts but he'd never been able to seriously see himself walking away from her. "I love you Girl."

Her smile was wide and told him that he'd taken care of any doubts that she had at the moment. He'd deal with the rest of the doubts when they came up. "I love you too."

A/N: Just wanted to let you all know that I will NOT be dragging out the chapters that deal with Happy's incarceration. I'm not sure of the exact time line but it will not drag. I hope that have Happy home with Madeline by Chapter 25.

Again, thanks for your support. This story would not be happening without you!