A gardener told me some plants move, but I could not believe it

Til me and Hannah Hunt saw crawling vines and weeping willows

As we made our way from Providence to Phoenix

A man of faith said hidden eyes could see what I was thinking

I just smiled and told him that was only true of Hannah

And we glided on through Waverly and Lincoln

Our days were long, our nights no longer

Count the seconds, watching the hours

Though we live on the US dollar

You and me, we got our own sense of time

In Santa Barbara, Hannah cried amidst those freezing beaches

I walked into town to buy some kindling for the fire

Hannah tore the New York Times up into pieces

If I can't trust you, then damn it, Hannah

There's no future, there's no answer

Though we live on the US dollar

You and me, we got our own sense of time

Hannah Hunt By Vampire Weekend

Chapter Twenty One - Hannah Hunt

April 11th, 2008

Valerie was leaning against the door frame, watching Kozik as he sat at the kitchen table, smoking while he read the paper. She hated the fact that he was smoking, but enjoyed taking a moment to watch him. He still looked the same as he had the day they met, she was sure that she had aged.

"Hey" she said, smiling as she walked towards him

"Val" he said, returning the smile, before putting out his cigarette, "Sorry, about the smoking. You probably don't want me smoking here"

"Just try not to around Lucas" she said as he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her onto his lap, "I'll leave in about an hour"

Valerie's smile dropped, as she moved her hand through his hair. She had enjoyed the past few days, just her, Kozik and Lucas. She got to forget about everything, about Happy, about her family. They could just pretend like everything was okay.

"I'll be back" he promised her, moving his hand to her cheek, "And you'll be home soon"

"I love you" she whispered leaning down to press her lips to his

Kozik wrapped his arms around her, moving his lips to her neck, pressing soft kisses to her skin. They were interrupted by the sound of cries, causing Koz to groan against her neck, but released his hold on her. Valerie gave him a peck on the cheek before getting up and walking to the nursery.

"Hey baby" she said, picking Lucas up, "You gotta stop crying, Daddy's leaving today but he'll be back" she told him, tightening her hold on her son, "I promise you, we'll be a family. You, and me, and daddy. We'll be happy"

"Yes we will" said Kozik, moving from the door to take Lucas out of Valerie's arms, "I don't want to leave. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, I do" she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek, "But don't you worry, we'll be right here when you get back"

"Better be" he joked, turning and walking out of the room, rocking Lucas while he walked

"Surprise, surprise" said a familiar voice

"Lana" said Valerie, spotting the woman standing in her kitchen, "What are you doing here?"

"Kozik called me" she said, pulling Valerie into a hug, "Told me to come. And I would never give up the chance to see that beautiful boy of yours"

Lana quickly plucked Lucas out of Kozik's arms, taking Lucas over to the couch as she peppered him with kisses.

"You called her?" Valerie asked Kozik

"Thought you might want someone around" he said, shrugging before slinging an arm over her shoulder, "Help you with Lucas, and stuff"

"Thanks" she said, pressing a quick kiss to his lips

It was moments like this that Valerie was glad she had Kozik looking after her, sometimes she wondered where she would be without him.

"Would you like anything?" Valerie asked Lana

"I'm fine, thanks" said Lana, swinging Lucas up in the air, "You two just enjoy your time together"

Kozik grinned at Lana before taking Valerie's hand, pulling her into the bedroom and sitting down on the bed.

"What's wrong?" She asked, sitting down next to him, "Because you've had days to pull a move on me and you haven't, you wouldn't do it now while Lana's in the house"

"I'm going to miss you" he said, rubbing his thumb over her hand, "I don't want you to feel pressured into being with me. If you still have feelings for Happy, then I don't think we should jump into anything"

"I love you, you know that" she assured him, "But I don't know what I feel for Happy. I think we should take things slow, figure things out"

"I won't be with any of the sweetbutts" he promised her, "I'm not making that mistake again"

"And I'll end things with all of my boy toys" she joked

"Not funny" he growled, but he was smiling as he kissed her

Valerie pulled him down onto the bed, wrapping her arms around her neck as he lowered himself on top of her. Valerie moved her legs to wrap around his waist, her fingers running through his hair. She had completely forgotten that there were other people in the house, not until she heard someone clearing their throat.

Valerie pushed Kozik off of her, looking up to see Lana standing in the doorway with Lucas in her arms. Valerie blushed as she avoided all eye contact, shoving Kozik as he chuckled.

"Lee called" Lana told Kozik, "Told me to make sure you got your ass out on the road"

Kozik's smile fell as he remembered that he would be leaving. They both slowly got off of the bed, Lana handing Lucas over to him. Lana gave Valerie a sad smile before walking out of the room, giving the family some time alone.

"I'm going to miss you buddy" he said pressing a kiss to Lucas' forehead

Valerie could've sworn that Lucas had a sad look on his face, like he knew that his father would be leaving.

"I'll be back soon" he promised, pulling her into a kiss, "I love you"

"I love you too" she replied, running her hand over his cut, "Don't be gone too long, and don't forget about me"

"I could never do that" he said, pressing another kiss to her head before handing Lucas to her

Valerie followed Kozik out to the front, watching as he climbed onto his bike. Kozik looked back at her as he put in his helmet, waving at them before starting the bike. Valerie watched as he rode away, praying that he would be back soon.

"He'll come back" Lana said, wrapping her arm around Valerie, "He loves you and that little boy far too much not to"

Valerie smiled at Lana, knowing that she was right but Valerie was still nervous. Especially since she didn't really know what was going on between them, and knew that it would only take one remark towards Happy to start a fight.

April 14th, 2008

Kozik had been back in Tacoma for two days and had managed to avoid any confrontation with Happy. No matter how much he wanted to beat Happy, he knew that Valerie would not be happy with him if he did.

"Have you gotten anywhere looking into the guys keeping Valerie out of Tacoma?" Kozik asked Lee, sitting down next to him in the clubhouse

"We know who it is, we just need to know more about them before we can take them out" said Lee, "Why? You planning on bringing her back"

"As soon as this shit blows over, man" Kozik said, "I miss her and the kid"

"I'm glad" said Lee, "This is her home, she belongs here. What are you going to do about Happy?"

"He loves her" said Kozik, shrugging, "If she wants to be with him then I can't stop her"

"She loves you, she's the mother of your child" said Lee, "If you want her, then fight for her"

Kozik nodded towards Lee before getting up, walking out of the clubhouse. He knew that Lee was right, he hadn't fought for her last time, he wasn't about to let history repeat itself. Kozik wouldn't let Valerie walk away again. He could live with her being with Happy, not that he'd like it. As long as he could see his son.

As he walked out of the clubhouse, he spotted Happy walking towards him. His body stiffened, his mouth hardening as he began to scowl. Happy stopped right in front of him, trying to avoid looking directly at him. Guilt and regret were evident on Happy's face.

"How is she?" Happy asked, looking down at his shoes as he crushed the gravel underneath, "And the kid?"

There were many things that Kozik wanted to tell Happy. He wanted to curse him out for leaving Valerie. Tell him that he had crushed her. Warn him to stay the hell away from her and Lucas. There were many things that he wanted to say, but he said none of them.

"They're fine" Kozik growled out through gritted teeth, pushing past Happy

If Happy thought that Kozik would just let him waltz back into Valerie's life, then he was just plain stupid. Kozik wasn't about to let Happy tear her apart ever again. Especially not when there was Lucas to consider. Kozik was sure that Happy still loved Valerie, and he would never hurt her. He just didn't know if that love extended towards her son. He hopes that it did. Because when the shitstorm came, no matter what his feelings towards Happy were, Kozik needed him on his side.

Happy stalked off, not even sparing anyone a glance, as he went to his bedroom. Sitting down on his bed, he had already dialed a number into his phone before he realised what he was doing. The phone wasn't ringing long before it was answered, the voice on the other side clear, and soothingly familiar to Happy.

"Hello" said the voice

"Val" Happy said into the phone, "Please don't hang up" he begged, hoping that she heard the pleading tone in his voice

"You have five minutes" she told him, her voice cold and emotionless

"I...I just needed to hear your voice" he said, running a hand over his head, "I'm sorry"

"So am I" she said, letting out a sigh before the line went dead

Happy had to stop himself from punching a hold in the wall. He had screwed up the only good thing in his life. And he didn't know I'd he could fix it.

'It was one thing to make a mistake; it was another thing to keep making it. I knew what happened when you let yourself get close to someone, when you started to believe they loved you: you'd be disappointed. Depend on someone, and you might as well admit you're going to be crushed, because when you really needed them, they wouldn't be there. Either that, or you'd confide in them and you added to their problems. All you ever really had was yourself, and that sort of sucked if you were less than reliable.' Jodie Picoult

Hope you guys like this chapter. I really want to know what you think should happen and who Valerie should end up with.

Also, check out my new story 'Mad Girl's Love Song', at s/10847260/1/Mad-Girl-s-Love-Song