All characters, etc from Sons of Anarchy belong to Kurt Sutter.

Ashleigh Carter is my own small piece of warped imagination.

Any mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out but please be nice.

CHAPTER 28:

Happy got home from Church to find Ashleigh cooking dinner in the kitchen. He hadn't been expecting her back until later but he had wanted to be here when she got home instead of drinking with the other guys at the club house. She'd been away for a week and Rose was staying at Jax's tonight.

"Hey honey." She smiled turning from the chopping board. That was when Happy saw that she had a large bruise on her collar bone peeking over the neck of her t-shirt and that her arm was bandaged from wrist to elbow.

"What happened?" He asked stopping dead.

"Bad intel. Fuckin' Columbians. It's just stitches, not too deep."

He walked over to her and caught her in a brutal embrace, crushing her to him, and kissing her as if the world were about to end.

When they came up for air, Ashleigh laughed breathlessly. "I missed you too baby."

He held her close, stroking her hair and looked her in the eyes. "Why don't you think about retirin'?"

"What?!" Her whole body stiffened.

"You got hurt this time. Maybe its time to give it up."

"I've been hurt before. It happens sometimes. This is just the first time you've seen it." She shrugged.

"I don't like it. Think about it yeah?"

"Why would you ask me this? I wouldn't ask you to give up your work for the club."

"That's different."

"How is it different?" She asked pulling away from him.

"It's not like you need to do this." He watched her escape across the kitchen.

"No. You are right." She said leaning against a counter top. "Despite the fact that I am psychopathically good at my job I don't 'need' to do it. It's not like I'll explode and go on some sort of rampage if I can't kill and maim people. But baby, I don't know how to do anything else."

"You'd find something."

"What? An office job? Hap can you really see me working behind a desk nine 'til five?"

"No but …" He tailed off. He scrubbed his hands over his head, his frustration mounting.

"Why are you trying to take this away from me?"

"I'm not . . . . . just . . . I . . . . Goddamnit!" He shouted, turned and swept an arm across the nearest counter top sending utensils, jars and food flying hurtling onto the kitchen floor before walking out, slamming the door behind him.

Ashleigh stared in amazement at the mess on the floor and then up at the door before sinking down to the tiles and letting the tears fall as she heard the Harley speed away.