Finding Happiness Ch. 30

Luna was sitting at the bar in the reception hall of the Waldorf. It was one of Chicago's top hotels. Tonight, was her last night here in Chicago, after the wedding she would be heading back home to Charming. Her week was spent with old friends and helping everyone keep on schedule for Dani's wedding. While she wouldn't use the word, Bridezilla, more like enthusiastic about time management. Looking over at the couple, she could see that they were on cloud nine.

Enjoying her drink, she asked the bartender for another, "Thanks." Turning her attention towards the other bridesmaids, each one of them were fight over best position to catch the bouquet. Not in a million years, would she participate, it wasn't because she had issues with the tradition, but some of those women took that shit way too seriously and there was no way she was willing to risk getting a black eye for a bunch of flowers. Taking out her phone she took a few pictures, wanting to bring back some pictures of her trip to Gemma. Seeing that Dani was about ready to toss it, she switched her phone to video, figured that Gem would get a kick out of watching this.

As the flowers went up, all the girls made this step forward move, jumping over each other it turned into an all-out brawl. "Holy Shit." She muttered. Eventually it was Kim that came out on top. Holding the flowers like the it was some sort of trophy, even did a little victory dance. Turning the camera towards herself, "Now that's a bitch I wouldn't mess with. Love you Gem." Turning off the video, she put her phone away she stood up and walked toward the dance floor, getting into the fray with her friends. Several hours of dancing and having some of the groomsmen grab on her ass, she was just about tapped out of the festivities and wanted to get to the hotel to shower and head towards the airport.

Seeing that the couple was about ready to head out as well, Luna said her good-byes and headed out to catch a cab. One thing about Chicago, even at midnight there were tons of people on the street, but not want to be standing around too long alone, she grabbed the first cab that came by, jumping in she gave the address to her hotel, it was a good 15-minute drive, but soon she was heading into her hotel.

It didn't take Luna long to get her shower, and put all her clothes away, double checking the room for anything left behind, calling down to the lobby to let them know she was heading out and to have a cab ready. Grabbing her phone, she sent a text to Gemma.

Leaving for the airport now, unless any delays I'll be landing in about 5 hours, I'm gonna head home and sleep. Call you when I wake up.

Putting it in her pocket she grabbed her suitcase and made her way downstairs. It was a fantastic trip, she got to have fun with her old friends, wear some slinky clothes for the bachelorette party, and even kissed a guy or two. Thinking about that party, she couldn't help but smile, the games that the maid of honor had them play were pretty awesome.

Clearing her balance with the hotel, Luna saw that her cab was ready, she headed out. The trip to the airport wasn't bad, and even the flight wasn't too horrible, but most red eye flights were quiet. It was the trip back home that was draining, but she made it, by the time she pulled into her driveway and fell into bed, it was 6am, falling asleep took a matter of seconds.

Gemma was sitting in her office filling out some paperwork when Kip walked in, "Gemma, you got anything for me?"

Looking over the paperwork, "Yea, take the ford, needs a timing belt." Pointing to the keys, "That good for you baby?" she asked.

"Yea it's perfect." Standing in the doorway for a moment longer, "Gemma, can I ask you something?" he asked the matriarch.

Eyeing him, "Sure."

Taking a deep breath, "I wanted to talk to you about Lyla, I want to put my crow on her, I was thinking tonight, I know that Lyla and Luna are really good friends, would it be wrong of me to ask her to come? I know that things with Hap got complicated, but I know Lyla would really want her to be there."

She smiled at the young man, he's definitely grown into himself since getting his patches, "I'm sure it's not going to be a problem but bring it to the club see where they stand, once Jax say's yes, I'll talk to Luna, but I'm not going to push her. Got it?"

Nodding his understanding, "Thanks Gemma, that's all I ask is for her to be asked." With that Kip took the keys off the hook and went to grab the Ford.

Closer to 5:30pm, Jax came strolling into the office, "Hey ma."

Finishing up the last bit of filing, "Hey baby. What's up?" She watched him sit on the crappy couch, before he answered.

Lighting a cigarette, "Half-sack is putting his crow on Lyla, wanted to know what the club thought about having Luna here for it." Exhaling the smoke, "Is she even back in town?" he asked his voice a little rough. What bothered him was that he didn't know.

Gemma eyed her son, well that is an interesting development. "Yea, she's sleeping, she got home around 6am." She could see his body relax a bit. "So where did the club land on her coming?" she asked, taking his cigarette from his hand, and taking a puff.

Taking his cig back, "Everyone's good, even Hap. I told him under no circumstances is he supposed to cause issues with her. If he has a sweet butt take it to the dorm. She doesn't deserve that." He was serious about that one, while Happy was his brother, he always cared for Luna, and with everything she's done for the club, she deserved their respect. Looking over at his mom, "Why did her and Hap break up, I know you know." Perhaps if he knew the truth, he could figure out some shit out for himself.

Sighing, Gemma wanted nothing more than to tell the world what Happy did to her. But Luna asked her not to. So, she kept it to herself, she didn't even tell Clay when he asked. "Baby, that's not my business to say. If you want to know you need to talk to Happy, cause Luna will not speak of it to anyone from the club. I think I only got to know was because I happened to be come by right after it happened. If she would have had time to process, she wouldn't have said a damn thing." Which was probably true.

Jax was a little irritated that his mom wouldn't tell him, but he understood, it wasn't her place to. Looking over at Happy through the window of the office, "He didn't hit her, did he?" he asked.

Gemma shook her head, "No. It wasn't like that. Or cheating. That's all you get from me Jax. Talk to him if you want to know." Getting up, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door, "I'm gonna swing by her house now, see if she's up to coming tonight." She could see his eyes perk up, "But Jax I'm not pushing her, you know that as soon as she hits the lot all those whores out there are going to try some shit. She knows it too. So do yourself and Lyla a favor, you better get those bitches in line and let them know that today isn't the day for it, it's about Lyla and Kip." With that she headed towards her car and took off towards Luna's.

She heard knocking on the door, followed by her door opening, "Baby, I'm coming in." The sound of Gemma's voice made her perk up a bit. She couldn't help the groan that escaped her.

"In my room. Dying." She responded. Knowing that Gemma didn't care about personal boundaries, she got up and headed towards the bathroom, as she shut the door, Gemma was opening hers and sitting on the bed. Washing her hands and rubbing some cold water on her face, she looked at herself and started to brush her hair. Walking out, she could see Gemma was leaning back. Yawning herself awake, "What's up?" she asked. Taking a seat next to Gemma.

Gemma eyed her, she could see that she was tired, but rested, good she didn't want to feel guilty for waking her up. "Not too much, figured I'd stop by, check on you."

Smiling at her friend, she was about to respond, but her phone starting ringing, looking at the caller ID: Lyla.

"Hey Ly."
"Luna, Kip asked me to get his crow tonight, I said yes. I checked with the club, they said it was cool if you came by to be here. I just wanted to invite you, no pressure."

Looking at Gemma, she could see that Gemma was here for more than just a visit. Shaking her head, she mouthed SNEAKY, at her.

"Sure. I'll come. What time are you starting it? I'm starving and I need to get food."
"It's about 6 now, I want to be sexy, so I say around 8, I want to get it started and done as quickly as possible. You know?"
"I get it. I'll be there. 8. Congrats Ly."
"You're making my day. Thanks, see you tonight."

With that she hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed. She looked over at Gemma, "Need to share anything Gemma?" she teased.

Holding her hands, "I was coming to check on you, but Kip asked I would ask you to see If you were up to coming. I said I would, but I wasn't going to push you either way."

Staring at her friend, she knew that Gemma wasn't going to lie about that, "I know you wouldn't push me. So, let me get dressed and ready, I guess I need to prepare myself for the lot lizards?" If she could handle seeing Happy and know that she was over it, this was the last thing for her to completely move on.

Gemma frowned, "I talked to Jax to let him know to spread the word with those whores, that tonight is about Lyla and Kip, but you know that some of those bitches only have enough brain power to swallow cum."

Shrugging her shoulders, "I appreciate it, but that's not necessary, I'm a grown-up Gem, I don't do this high school jealousy bullshit." Checking her watch, 6:23pm, "I'm gonna shower and get dressed, grab some drive-thru on our way? Please?" Giving her the biggest eyes, she could.

Laughing at her, "Of course. Go get ready. Stay at my house tonight?"

Heading towards the shower, "Sure, my backpack is packed it's under the bed." Jumping in the shower, quickly shaving everything that would be showing, looking down at her pussy, she had it waxed before her trip to Chicago, using her melon scented body scrub, finishing up, she wrapped the towel around her body. She opened the door to let some steam out, quickly putting on some basic make-up, she did her hair in waves, it was simple, and it's not like she was getting on the back of bike tonight.

As she finished up her look, she headed straight to her closet, taking a pair of cheeky panties, a matching red bra, she paired it with a tight red tank with some dark washed jeans. Picking up her pair of red and white sneakers. Stepping out into her bedroom, doing a little spin, "This OK?" she asked.

Gemma was always impressed with how effortlessly she was able to put herself together, it took her less than 45 minutes, and even wearing a simple outfit looked gorgeous. Perhaps she should have her wear a fucking potato sack. "You look beautiful baby. As always." She watched as Luna grabbed her backpack and checked it for things, "You got everything?" she asked.

"Yup. Just wanted to make sure I had my charger and my clothes." Looking in the other compartments she found her toothbrush, hairbrush, and deodorant. "I'm ready." Hosting it over her shoulder, she followed Gemma out of the house, grabbing the keys off the hook before she locked the door. Jumping into the passenger seat, the pair made their way towards the Wendy's then towards the clubhouse.

Pulling into the lot was surreal, it was the first time she was on the lot since the breakup, hell when Happy didn't come by to pick up his crap the morning after, she called Gemma and asked her to pick it up and drop it off, it wasn't because she was scared to show up, she honestly didn't want deal with the drama. She eyed Gemma; she could tell that she was anxious. "What's wrong Gem?"

Looking over the lot she could see that the party was in full swing, lighting her cigarette she took a big hit and let it out, "Nothing's wrong baby, it's just I'm happy that you're doing this for Lyla. The shit that you might get tonight, but you're still here." Taking another pull, "You're honestly the most loyal person that I've ever met. I love you."

Smiling at Gemma, "Only to my family." Taking a deep breath, "I'm going to stay to watch the tattoo, hang for about an hour after it's done, but I don't want to stay too long, it would just entice these bitches to start something. I don't want to do that to Lyla."

"Don't worry about it, I understand." Tossing her cigarette out the window, "Let's get this shit done."

Luna smiled at her friend, and headed towards the clubhouse, as she walked past some of the members she could see their interest, SAMTAC obviously knew that she and Happy were no longer an item. Keeping her head high and eyes forward, she didn't want to give the impression that she was going to cause issues within the club, with a polite nod towards the brothers, she kept in step with Gemma as they entered the clubhouse. Looking around it was only members of SAMCRO and SAMTAC, with all the old ladies.

Donna perked up, "Luna." She gasped. Getting off Opie's lap, she walked right up to her giving her a big hug. "You're here. I'm so happy."

Looking around she could see everyone inside smiles on their faces, "Of course I'd be here, it's an important moment for Ms. Lyla." Giving another hug, she turned towards Lyla, who was sitting on the pool table getting prepped, it was rando chick doing the work. "Ready?" she asked her.

Lyla was a little nervous, but she didn't want to pussy out, "Yea. Ready to get it started and finished."

"Understandable. Just think about something else. Helps." Watching Lyla nod, she laid down and the tattoo artist started to add the stencil on her lower back, smirking at Kip, giving her a tramp stamp. Typical young man shit.

Happy watched as Luna held Lyla's hand, talking to her, keeping her occupied, it was sweet. Drinking his beer, he kept his eyes focused on her, the way she smiled, and laughed, her eyes were dancing with joy. He missed that look on her face, she used to look at him that way, once upon a time. His eyes never left her body, watching every move that she made, his body responding immediately to the muscle memory of her body under his. Downing his beer, he walked outside. He needed some air.

It took another hour for Lyla to get her tattoo finished, and it was cute. A crow holding a banner with pink flowers throughout it. At least Kip added some feminine touches to it. Asking the new Prospect to bring a round of shots to the girls, "You did great Ly. I'm proud of you." Taking the shot glasses, she looked at Kip who was smiling like an idiot, "Congrats, Kip."

Lyla downed her shot, "OK, now let's party!" With that she stood up and headed outside.

Luna couldn't help but laugh at her antics. Everyone followed behind her, Luna needed to use the restroom and told them she'd be right behind them. Washing her hands, she stepped out and headed outside, she figured she'd stick close to Gemma and Donna, they wouldn't want to be in the middle of the party, that was Lyla's thing. Making her way towards the table that they were sitting at; she was almost there before Happy stepped out in front of her. Looking up, she could see that his jaw was ticking. Not good.

"We need to talk, now." He said. Indicating for her to follow him.

Not wanting to bring any drama to Lyla's night, she nodded, and headed towards the office area, it was private, but anyone could see them talking. She didn't want to be alone with him, especially if he was angry. She didn't see that Opie and Otto, saw them walk off, and they knew it could get bad, so they followed and stayed within hearing distance.

Looking around, Luna was trying to keep calm, "So talk." She said.

He always appreciated that she was no nonsense. "How have you been little girl?" he asked her. Wanting to know if she was OK.

A little surprised by his opener, "I'm good Happy." Wanting to get this show on the road she took a breath, and looked at him, "Just ask Happy." She had to be careful with him, if she came off too bitchy, he'd by likely to snap.

Rolling his toothpick in his mouth, he could tell by her body language she wasn't comfortable being here with him. "Why aren't you pregnant? You get the abortion?"

It took all her self-control not to tell him to kiss her ass, but she needed this to be over with quickly. "I never was pregnant Happy. You just assumed it." She watched as his eyes grew angry with rage, but just as quickly as it rose, she could see that he calmed himself.

She wasn't pregnant. Why didn't she just tell him that. "Why the fuck wouldn't you just tell me than, we could have saved ourselves all this fucking trouble." He was pissed. Why wouldn't she just tell him, they could have avoided all this drama with each other.

Shaking her head, and snorted, "Really, when was I supposed to tell you that? Hmm? When were you yelling at me? Or when you were cutting me off before I could speak? Or I know, throwing cash at me like was a 2-dollar whore, telling me to get an abortion?" Keeping her voice steady, she knew if she got loud, it would set him off. "So, tell me Happy, when was I supposed to tell you? After you told me that I wasn't your old lady?"

He heard her, he knew that she was right, "I was angry. I'm sorry. OK. We can try to fix this shit." He said.

She couldn't believe his arrogance, shaking her head. "What incentive do I have to fix this? I needed you to listen to me Happy, I needed you treat me with respect, I needed your loyalty, the thing I gave you and this club from the moment we met." Taking a step back, "I'm sorry, but I didn't come here to start any drama, I'll leave." She watched him for a moment, he seemed resolved with whatever demons he had.

Happy knew he fucked up bad. "No don't leave. Lyla needs her friend." With that he turned around and headed back to the clubhouse. He needed to do a lot of self-reflecting.

Taking a deep breath, she honestly didn't know how that was going to go, but him turning around without yelling definitely wasn't what she could have imagined. Rubbing the back of her neck, she felt a lot of the stress leave her body. Perhaps getting it out in the open was what she needed to feel free. Smiling she headed back towards Gemma.

Opie and Otto shared a look. Otto was beyond pissed. "I can't believe he did that to her!" he growled out.

Opie was just as upset, Luna almost lost her life saving his wife's, "We need to talk to Jax."

Otto knew that it was true, but it didn't stop him from wanting to beat his brother's ass. "Yea. Go handle that." He headed straight for Bobby, he needed someone that had a calm presence right now.

Luna was halfway to Gemma, when she felt her phone ring, grabbing it, she saw the caller ID. Kelly.

"Hey Kelly. What's up?"
"Luna, you need to get to the hospital. It's Charlie, he was attacked, it's bad, he's heading towards surgery, he's critical."

Luna stood still, frozen, looking over the lot she could see Luann's corvette wasn't blocked in and near the gate. Snapping out of her daze she took off running towards Luann.

"LU give me your keys right now."

Stunned by the urgency, Luann didn't even think about it and tossed her keys. "WHAT'S WRONG?" she yelled to the retreated form of Luna.

She ran past everyone, ignoring the voices calling out her name, she jumped into the car, and slammed it into first gear and peeled out. As she turned out of the lot she had so much torque behind her that she drifted around the corner, leaving the lot behind her in a blur.

SAMCRO watched in stunned silence. Tig looked around, "What sent her running?" he looked around, he could see Gemma was staring after her, Luann looked scared. "LUANN." Indicating her to come over.

Luann walked over, Tig could see that she was confused, "What happened doll?"

Looking at Jax, Tig, Happy, and Opie, "I don't know. She just came running at me screaming for my keys. I just reacted when she asked, and then she took off."

Gemma made her way over, "She answered her phone right before it, I don't know who she was talking to." Looking around, her eyes fell on Happy, "This on you?" she asked with venom in her voice.

All eyes turned on him, "No, it wasn't." He could see that Otto was staring at him, "We need to find her."

Opie didn't understand, "How? We don't even know where she's going."

Jax rubbing his beard, "Get Juice to track her phone, find her." Looking around the crew, "Everyone stick close, we are going to find out what happened, we might need to leave quicky."

She couldn't breathe, running up the stairs to the OR rooms, as she made her way through doors she looked at the board finding the OR he was in. She kept running people were telling her to wait, but she couldn't, he was her best friend, the only person outside of Gemma that new everything about her. She needed to see him; she wasn't going to wait in the waiting room. As she pushed into the OR scrub room, she watched in horror as the doctors were removing their gloves.

"TIME OF DEATH: 22:17"

Slamming on the window, "NO!" she screamed out. Falling to the ground. She sat there, screaming.