Finding Happiness Ch. 3

It had been several days since Abel's final surgery on his heart was completed, just like before Dr. Nameed was able to repair everything. While there were a few scary moments in the surgery, the little guy pulled through and hung on. He truly was a fighter. Through it all any one of the SON's were here standing watch over the little guy, Grandma was always here, reading, talking to him, Jax would sit and read to him, it was a beautiful site to see. Another change that honestly surprised the hell out of Luna, was Tara was banned from working on Abel's case, turns out she and Jax had a history long ago, and didn't let Dr. Nameed know, but when she was constantly talking to Jax and it had nothing to do with his son's case, he must had enough and complained to the HR department. Anytime Jax or Gemma was in the hospital, you could be sure that Tara was on the other side of the building. No one dared to piss of the Biker Queen or Prince of Charming.

But today, Luna really wasn't worried about the drama that the small-town hospital provided her, she was enjoying her time at the Fun Town fair. It was cute, small vendors everywhere, with a few old school rides, tonight she was going to enjoy her time off work. Now that Abel was stable in the NICU it was mostly just keeping him fed and monitoring him. It was still going to be a lot of work, but he was making great progress. His mother was discharged a few days ago, from what she was told she was going to a rehab center in Lodi.

Standing in line for some cotton candy, Luna was slightly jarred to the left by another body, turning towards the offending party, she saw that the young girl was no more than 13 years old. She looked too excited to realize she bumped into someone.

But soon enough her big blue eyes turned, "OMG, I'm sorry." The young girl stammered.

Luna couldn't help but smile, so young, so filled with joy. "No worries sweetie, no harm done." Luna looked around, and could see that she wasn't with any parents, "You here alone?" she asked.

She was nervous, but she was tired of having her parents watch her every move, she was 13, plus it was Charming, nothing ever happened in Charming, if it did, she'd bet the SONs would do something. "I'm actually hiding from them; they are helicopter parents." She needed her own freedoms, and her mother wouldn't allow it. It was driving her nuts.

Luna couldn't help but laugh at that, it was her turn at the cashier, "One pink cotton candy," looking over at the young girl, "What about you sweetie?" she asked.

Tristen smiled, "Same please."

Looking back at the cashier, "Two pink cotton candies, please." As their order was taken and Luna paid, she looked at the girl, "So what's your name, I feel that I should know your name if I'm supplying a minor with a lot of sugar. My name is Luna Erikson." She extended her hand to the young lady.

Wow, this is what being treated like an adult feels like, it was nice, her parents were refusing to let her grow up, she was so sheltered she didn't know anything that was really going on around her, she knew that if it kept up, she could end up in a dangerous situation.

Grabbing the hand in front of her, "My name is Tristen Oswald. Nice to meet you, Luna." Once the proper introductions were done, Luna grabbed the cotton candy and handed the other to her friend Tristen sitting down on the bench the two ate in relative silence.

But not too long after, a frantic woman came running up and found the two sitting, "TRISTEN, if I told you once I've told you a million times, do not leave my side."

Luna could see that she was upset, but she was acting like she just caught her daughter snorting lines of coke. But alas it wasn't her place to say anything, and what the hell did she know about being mom, her only children she was every responsible for were patients at the hospital, she didn't know the ins and outs of raising another person. "Hello, my name is Luna Erickson, I am a ARNP at St. Thomas, we literally just ran into each other, and she mentioned that she got separated from you, figured we'd wait somewhere in the middle."

Karen finally looked at the woman speaking to her, she looked kind, clean, and at least had the intelligence to wait in a public area with her child. "Karen Oswald, mother to this teen. Sorry for any inconvenience she caused."

Extending her hand, "It was no problem, Tristen and I had some cotton candy and were waiting, nothing too horrible." Looking back at Tristen she could see that she was embarrassed, but grateful that her new friend didn't rat her out to her mom. "Well, you go with your mom, stick close to her, mom's worry." With that Karen said her polite goodbye's and took her daughter by the hand and led her back towards the Ferris Wheel.

Luna was worried about that young girl, the more you keep a girl sheltered the more they are going to rebel, it was only a matter of time before she did something just to piss her mom off. Turning her attention towards the remainder of the fair, she was going ride a couple things then head home for the evening. She needed a long night of relaxation.

After another hour or so, Luna headed home, it was time for a good night's rest, and back to work in the morning. As soon as she walked into the house, Luna made a beeline towards the shower, once her hair was washed and her body shaved, Luna put some boxers and t-shirt on and headed towards bed.

Happy was pulsating with anger, a young girl was raped at Fun Town, and Chief wanna be Hale was sitting here at the shop asking the SON's if they had anything to do with the assault. "Seriously cop, we don't hurt kids. So why don't you do your job and find the real criminal." With that Happy walked back into the club house. Oswald came to Clay earlier asking for their help finding the bastard, but with Hale keeping them under surveillance that was going to be next to impossible, the prospect was under instructions to follow Hale wherever he went, but that didn't help with the other 2 deputies sitting on the lot.

He had enough, grabbing a bottle of whiskey, Happy threw it at the wall. "FUCK!"

The prospect jumped, but instead of asking a stupid question, he quickly grabbed the broom and started getting to work. Once it was done, the other members walked into the club house.

Bobby looked over at Happy, "You OK brother?"

It's been a long time since Happy had some much rage building inside of him, "NO, fucking someone rapes a girl, and that boy scout out there is wasting his time with us? We are outlaws not rapists." Taking a long swig from the bottle that the prospect put in front of him, he enjoyed the burn.

"I hear you brother, don't worry, Juicy put a little something in the coffee, soon enough the pigs will be asleep and then we can find the mother fucker. Kill him." Bobby wasn't one to risk his neck for an outsider like Oswald, but SAMCRO handled shit that the people wouldn't bring to the cops. That meant something to him.

Heading back outside, the guys waited around the ring, while the deputies kept drinking the spiked coffee. Just like Bobby predicted, it wasn't long before the prospect followed Hale and the deputies were passed out. The crew jumped on their bikes and headed towards the fairgrounds, figured they'd start with the crime scene.

Luna was beside herself, she was called early this morning, turns out young Tristen was attacked at the carnival. Tristen wouldn't let anyone near her, her mom wouldn't let her be alone, it was a mess. Sitting outside the nurse's station she was finally able to convince Karen to let them do the rape kit, but it was like pulling teeth to have Karen even acknowledge what happened to her daughter. The entire time, Tristen was staring into space, when Hale came in to take a statement, her mother and father spoke for her, Luna could see that this was killing the poor girl, as she made her way out of the room, she could hear that Mr. Oswald was demanding that the SON's find the man that did this to his little girl, Jax was trying to convince them that they needed more information, but like his wife, was keeping Tristen locked in this bubble. Looking over at the mother, she could see that she was tired, and hungry, "Mrs. Oswald, I'll stay with her, no one will come in to talk to her, I promise, but please go get some coffee, you look exhausted."

Karen was trying to object, Tristen spoke up, "Mom, please, I just want to rest, please let Luna stay with me for a while."

It must have been enough, "OK, I'll be right back." Looking over at the nurse, "No one is to talk to her, especially not Gemma." With that her mother walked out of the room and shut the door, looking at the shadows behind the door, she was certain that Mr. Oswald was sitting right in front of the door.

Turning her attention towards Tristen, "Are you doing, OK? Do you need anything?" she asked.

With a quivering lip, "I need the man to pay. My parents don't want me to talk to the SON's, they don't want me to talk to the cops, they just want to pretend it didn't happen. HE needs to pay." She spit out.

Understanding that Tristen would need to start healing, the only way to do that is talk about her attack to a professional, she needs to know that she was not the one at fault, and there is nothing to be ashamed of. Luna helped a few victims of assault get the counseling they needed so that they could begin the process of healing.

"Have you told your parents what you remember? Have you told anyone?" Luna asked.

Taking a deep sigh, "No, my parents are too scared for me to admit what happened. I don't want to talk to the cops, they probably can't do much, I want justice for myself, you need to tell the SONs please. And convince my mom that I need a counselor, please Luna, I need to know that this man won't get away with this."

Luna watched the young girl, she could see that while her parents were trying to protect her, she was wise beyond her years, this trauma just added to her wisdom. It was heartbreaking. "Are you sure, because if I go there, they will not bring him to jail, he'll probably disappear, you good with that?" she asked.

With the most honest look Luna as ever seen on a child, "Yes."

Nodding her understanding, Luna sat back and let Tristen tell her story, by the time she finished, Luna was about to head off to the carnival herself. Putting her hand on her leg, "I'm sorry Tristen. I'll go to one of the SONs as soon as your mom get's back."

Karen didn't take much longer, soon enough she was opening the door, and she could see that Tristen was crying. "What happened?" she asked.

Quickly standing, Luna walked over to Karen, "Look, I don't know anything about being a mother, and I know that you and your husband are trying to protect her, but if you keep telling her that she needs to stay silent, this will bleed all over the rest of her life. She will never be able to form real attachments, and this could cause her spiral out of control. So, if anything, get her a counselor there are plenty out of this county that no one will know. Just think about it."

With that she left the mother and daughter, she knew that Tristen wouldn't tell her mother any details about what happened, because her mother would try to get Hale, Tristen wanted to make sure that this monster never had the opportunity to hurt another person again.

Walking towards her truck, Luna quickly pulled up Teller Morrow and drove towards it. She promised that she would do this for Tristen, and she damn sure would make sure that she honored that. It only took about 10 minutes of driving, and soon enough she was pulling into the lot and could see there were several bikes lined up. Carefully stepping out, she looked around and found no one outside, she could hear noises coming from the inside of the clubhouse. Taking a rallying breath, she walked inside, as the guys realized that someone that wasn't a member or an old lady was in, the noise immediately stopped.

Clay was not in the mood for someone to be barging into his home. "What are you doing here?" he ruffed out.

Even Jax who normally was friendly, stared at her with suspicion.

"Tristen Oswald sent me." That was all that was all that was needed, the room went from suspicion to intrigue.

Taking a moment to steel herself, she told Tristen's story. "She said that only the SONs would be able to get her justice, I'm here because she made me promise that I would. I did. So, what you do or do not do with that information is now up to you." With that she carefully turned around and walked out of the bar, she knew that after this conversation anything that happened was no longer her concern.

She didn't even make it to her door of her truck when she felt her arm being tugged back around. Her eyes quickly found herself staring into the dark eyes of Happy.

Swallowing quickly, "Is there something else?" she asked.

He was surprised to see her in his club, more so that she brought the message of a brutalized young woman, once he got over the shock, when she dropped her bomb and turned to leave that was what prompted him to go after her. He needed to know why she would do that? "Why are you bringing this to club, why didn't you run to the cops?"

It was a fair question, "She asked me to, figured with everything that she went through, she deserves to at least have some control over who knows her story. Other than that, I've met Deputy Chief Hale, he's an idiot."

Smiling down at her, "Very true little girl. You good with this? It's not like we are going to bring him to the cops." He stated. Honestly, he wasn't sure why he would tell her that, she honestly didn't need to know, but something about her made him want to be as honest as he could, he didn't want her dealing with regrets. That was something new for him. He would need to check himself before he did something stupid like tell her things she didn't need to know.

"I know. I'm good with that, so is Tristen. If she didn't ask me to come here, I'd be down at the carnival myself finding this fucker and re-arranging his body with my bat." She was bluntly honest. Normally keeping violent tendencies to yourself were important, but at certain times it was necessary for someone to break someone's face.

This pissed him off more, "Don't do that shit, if you need shit handled you find me, understand?" he said stepping into her space. He didn't understand why he even would offer that, but the idea of her putting herself in danger made him want to toss her over his shoulder and keep her safe. He wasn't the type to protect a bitch, especially not one that he wasn't even fucking.

Luna knew that him saying that was important, but she couldn't help but be irritated that he assumed that he had any rights to make any sorts of claim over her. But instead of snapping at him, she gave him a small smile. "I appreciate that Happy, but sometimes a lady needs to handle her own shit, not always gonna have a scary biker at the ready." With that Luna made a step back, but he grabbed her shoulders again.

"Little girl, let me be clear, if you ever do anything that stupid, I will personally make you regret it." He rasped out.

Blinking rapidly at him. She was speechless, it was the sexiest, but sexist thing she ever had anyone say to her. "I will do my best to remember that. But if it's all the same to you, I need to get back to the hospital, I promised Tristen I would keep her company while her parents went home."

Letting go of her arm, "Good night little girl." He watched as she jumped back into her truck and left the lot. Fuck it. I'm turning into such a pussy. In the past this would send him deep diving into the nearest whore to help him forget her, but honestly, he didn't want to. Walking back into the club house, the guys were rounding themselves up to go grab the clown.

It didn't take long for the guys to grab him up and head deep into the woods, the guy was pleading, begging, but his tears were falling on deaf ears. Clay brought the man just as promised to Oswald, but at the last minute the man couldn't even get justice for his daughter.

Happy was disgusted, he just didn't understand why people were so caught up with morals, if someone hurts your family you return the favor, eye for an eye; or some shit like that. Oswald left the man in the SONs possession and Happy was more than happy to remove his dick and balls. "DIE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" he rasped out.

The scream that left his body eased the rage that built up inside Happy, for now his bloodlust was sated. Using the prospect, the shallow grave was dug, Clay picked up the tool that Oswald brought with him, and Happy found himself heading towards the hospital. He wanted to check on the young girl, make sure that she was alright, or at least that was what he kept telling himself.

Walking towards the room that he knew was Tristen's, he could see that Luna was curled up next to the young girl. Stepping into the room, he could see that Luna wasn't asleep, but watching him. He watched as she carefully de-tangled herself from the sleeping kid.

In a quiet whisper, "What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"It's been dealt with." He responded back. Happy watched her face, he could see her eyes getting huge with the realization of what that all meant, but what surprised him wasn't her shock, it was probably a normal response, it was her understanding, and acceptance.

Luna was more than surprised that he would bring this information to her, but none the less it made her feel better knowing that this guy was no longer a threat to Tristen or any woman again. "Good. I hope it hurt." She was never one to be so violent unless provoked, but this was a unique situation.

Happy was pleasantly surprised with her response, but he knew that the sun would be rising, and her family would probably be here soon, he needed to get out of here before that, looking down at Luna, "I promise it did." With that Happy turned out of the room and made his way back towards the clubhouse, he was going to wash up and pass out, it was a long night, and he had a lot of thinking to do.

Luna watched as he walked down the hallway, as he turned the corner, she could see that Tara noticed that he was talking to her, and her face said everything. Stepping back into the room, she shut the door, now was not the time to deal with a nosy doctor, she would be dealt with later. Looking at her watch she could see that it was 7am, Karen said that she would be back by that time to sit with Tristen until she was discharged, Luna didn't even have to wait more than a minute before the door opened to see the haunted face of Karen Oswald.

"Did she have trouble sleeping through the night?" Her mother asked.

"No, she got a mild sedative before you left, and I think that helped. Other than that, she slept well, she needed it." Pulling out a piece of paper, "I did a little research for trauma counselors in Lodi, this one, Dr. Ashley Greene, she does video therapy, so Tristen wouldn't have to leave the house for it, if that's what she wanted." She carefully handed it to Karen.

The older woman gripped the paper like it was a lifeline. "You've seen this before at your old hospital, right? Does this help?" she generally wanted to know the best outcome for her daughter.

Nodding her head, "Yes, the sooner a person can talk about what happened, the sooner they can realize it wasn't their fault, she needs to know that her voice was heard, it will take time, but if you and your family put in the work, she could lead a very healthy and normal life. This would only serve as a life experience; it doesn't have end it."

Karen looked down at the woman in front of her. "Thank you. I'll call her now. Thank you for staying with Tristen, I know that wasn't part of your job."

Luna patted her on the shoulder, "Of course." Turning her eyes toward the sleeping girl on the bed, she could see that she was waking up, "Hey, you, your mom's here, she's going to sit with you, I'm gonna head home for a bit. If you need anything, just call me OK sweetie?"

Tristen could see on Luna's face that the SONs took care of it, the pressure that was building up in her finally had a place to go. "Thank you Luna."

Nodding her understanding, she carefully left the room and headed towards the parking lot, but it seemed like her long night was far from over, Tara was waiting near her truck, rubbing the back of her neck, Luna really didn't have the mental bandwidth to deal with her, but it didn't seem like she was going to get much of a choice. "Can I help you Dr. Knowles?" she asked.

"What exactly was Happy doing there? Did you have the SONs kill her attacker?" she clipped out.

Luna was taken back that Tara felt that she had the right to be asking these questions, perhaps Tara was taking being Jax's former old lady too seriously, "I don't know what he was doing there, I didn't ask. He checked on Tristen and left; no words were exchanged. So if you're done playing Nancy Drew, I've had a long night and I'm going home." Walking around Tara she got into her truck and carefully drove off.

Luna reached into her bag and grabbed her phone; with a quick dial she called the only person that would be able to give her sound advice.

"Gemma? It's Luna, Abel's fine, it's Tara, do you have a moment?" She asked. Soon enough Gemma gave her directions to her home and said that she wanted to talk to her in person.

Rubbing her neck, Luna made her way to Gemma's. Hopefully, Gemma made a real strong coffee, because she was really going to need it.