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Killers baby girl
Summary: Happy Lowman - The Tacoma Killer, club Enforcer, ruthless man - never wanted family of his own others did. All he needed was his club and his mom. He wanted to do the one thing he liked to do most in life; kill for his club. On a trip to Charming Happy is asked to pull off a job killing James O'neily, a favour for the Irish. But not everything goes according to plan and that one kill will end up being the best thing that ever happened to him.
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Chapter 5
1992
Happy age 41
Bramty age 7
They'd had a routine for the past two years for her birthday, he came up to Charming to visit his mom and he made sure that the Charming boys didn't call him that day. Today was Bramty's 7th birthday and she was sitting on the park bench with him swinging her legs while they each ate an ice-cream that he always let her buy it with the money she'd saved up.
He was trying to teach her responsibility with money and so the only time she got to spend the money in the shoebox was on her birthday.
He had come to an understanding with Katherine early on when he'd decided that he wanted to keep checking in on Bramty. Katherine and all the other woman in that house were scared shitless of him after he beat the crap out of one of her boyfriends who had put his hands on his baby girl.
The threat to have Katherine committed to a rehab centre for 6 long months of torture coming down from the never ending high she has going was enough to have the woman scurry out of the room when he walked through those doors. There was no fucking way he was funding their addictions either and that had been made quite clear that day as well when Katherine tried bargaining with him.
Luckily it was no love lost between Bramty and Katherine who rarely even knew where her daughter was unless she'd made the girl go with them to the strip club to serve beers.
"When are you going back to Tacoma?" Bramty asked jumping off the bench to throw away her napkin.
Happy sighed, he didn't want to leave again but Tacoma needed him right now and Charming didn't. "Tomorrow morning baby girl. I'm sorry"
"Can you sleep over tonight? In my new room?" she asked as she climbed up to sit on his lap and rest her head on his chest. Happy smiled and nodded before kissing her forehead, he knew she was sleepy and he wanted to ask why especially when he spotted the bruises on her arm but when it came to things like that she shut down and not even he could get information out of her.
She'd told him Katherine broke up with her latest boyfriend, he didn't know who the guy was or why they'd left his house, but he was glad she was okay. Bramty hadn't dwelled on that fact and she didn't seem to miss that man, in fact she was happy about being in a different house so he let it go.
Though he couldn't help the gut feeling that she knew more than she was letting on about that situation.
Happy was glad riding on a motorcycle woke Bramty up some because he hadn't thought she'd make it much longer at the ice-cream shop. They'd had a fun day she had enjoyed the movie they went to see today but she was ready for bed.
He helped her off the bike and lifted her up in his arms, Bramty wrapped her small arms around his neck and snuggled into his chest making him smile. He just couldn't help it. Others could get a smirk or a grin but only she could get a real smile from him.
Happy carried her up towards the new apartment, it was smaller than any of the ones he'd seen her living in but it seemed to have less people which he supposed was a good thing. It didn't look too clean but it wasn't covered in drugs like he'd half expected it to be.
Setting Bramty in the bed she'd told him was hers he tucked a 50 under the bed like always when he visited. He hated hearing that Katherine forgot to get food and so he always left a little money in case she didn't have anything to eat in the house.
He could tell from looking in the box that she had used the last 50 he had left 3 months ago when he'd come up here and he hoped that 50 was enough. Though if she needed more he'd make sure to get it to her anyway.
As long as she had a roof over her head and a bed he figured she would be okay, and if for whatever reason she wasn't he'd be there to come get her and fix it.
No matter how much he wished he could just pick her up and leave he knew that Katherine would call the cops in a second flat and have him arrested and then there would be nothing standing between Bramty and her mothers plans to pimp her out.
That fucking woman was just hoping that keeping Bramty around would mean that when she was older she'd put out willingly and earn them some crank money.
Happy shook his head ridding himself of those thoughts as he watched Bramty's little green eyes open and reach out for him so he wouldn't leave. He smiled and kissed her cheek before shrugging off his Kutte and getting in bed next to her.
It wasn't any more comfortable than the stiff mattresses at the clubhouse and it was a little smaller but he didn't care when it meant she would curl up on his chest and he could hold her as they both fell asleep which didn't take long.
The next morning Happy woke up to feeling little warm hands moving on his chest. He laughed when he opened his eyes to see Bramty looking over all of his tattoo's again. She'd told him many times before that she wanted to get tattooed like him when she was older and from the look of awe on her face every time she saw them he didn't doubt she would.
In fact he'd bet some serious money that by the time she's thirty she'll be covered in ink.
"Morning baby" he rasped and she looked up at him smiling as she leant up and kissed his cheek before settling her face in the crook of his neck.
"Morning" she whispered through a yawn and he chuckled patting her on the back as she slowly woke up.
"I have a surprise for you today" he announced and she lifted her head to hover her face right above his, her bright emerald green eyes widening with excitement and she rested her forehead on his staring at him.
He always had to laugh when she got extra cuddly after not seeing him for a while. it was nothing less than adorable and he'd not be caught dead complaining because he missed the hell out of her too.
"You can stay for longer?" she asked with a huge smile you'd think would split her face from it being that wide and he nodded. "Then let's wake up! Wake Up! and we have more time together!" she cheered bouncing on his chest.
"Yeah, baby girl... we can go out back of the abandoned house next door today. I wanna teach you how to use a gun" he watched for her reaction carefully and smiled to himself when her whole face lit up and she nodded her head eagerly jumping out of bed.
"We can go now?"
"After we get breakfast" he halted her and she nodded never one to argue with him as she disappeared into the bathroom to get dressed while he put his shirt and Kutte back on.
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-o0o-
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Bramty was getting frustrated not being able to hit the target's he'd set out in the centre but he was more than impressed with how easily she'd picked up shooting a gun. He had taught grown men and had to explain it more than once but not with Bramty.
All she needed was one explanation and a few hours of practice.
He was watching in awe of the girl he considered his child as she continued shooting only narrowly missing the centre red target. He could see the frustration building and he wasn't sure how she'd handle it.
Happy had seen Opie's kids throw tantrums and Abel was no different although he was only 3 years old. Happy didn't think he would be able to handle a tantrum.
Bramty had never really been anything but happy around him.
To his surprise Bramty only huffed in annoyance and then calmed herself down, she didn't cry, and she didn't stomp. She was basically already the kid version of himself and that made him smile proudly at her composure.
"Bramty" he called out to her
she looked over at him in acknowledgment though she didn't say anything. He smiled and walked over to the little girl.
Happy crouched down behind her and helped her hold up her arms still "Okay, now" she pulled the trigger and hit the red centre.
"Yessss!" Bramty cheered, her whole face lighting up in excitement and she kissed his cheek smiling back at him. "Help me again?" she asked and he nodded helping her empty another clip into the target.
Handing over the next clip he nodded appreciatively when she set the safety on and then reattached the new clip herself only having to be shown once. "Okay. Now we gotta go soon so you use those and then we'll get you home"
"Okay" she nodded in agreement but he could see the sigh she held in when he said that he would take her back home. He felt just as sad about having to leave her but he knew it didn't matter because that was what he had to do.
Happy watched it happen in slow motion as she jumped and spun around looking for him like she always did if she got scared. The bullet from the gun hit his arm and he groaned. He knew she hadn't done it on purpose and her little face looked down right horrified when she spotted him clutching his arm.
"Alright" he took a deep breath and she rushed over to his side looking up at his arm with wide teary eyes but he knew she wouldn't cry. She hated to cry and found a little relief in that because he didn't want her to feel bad over something that was an accident. "Let's get back to your house and I have a first aid kit I'm going to need you to get for me, baby girl"
"O-Okay" she jerked her head in a nod as she watched him
"Can you pack this up like I taught you for me?" he asked and she nodded scurrying off to pack up the targets and the guns like he'd explained to her before. Every now and then she'd look back at him worried and he kept his face blank from the pain to not worry her more as he put pressure on his arm.
Bramty held the box of packed stuff in her hands and followed in step with him as they walked across the road and up to the house she was staying in. He had her set the box down in her room before handing her the key to the compartment in his bike so she could get his first aid emergency kit.
Happy sighed once she was gone and cringed as he moved his arms to take off his shirt and Kutte. Bramty didn't take long to come rushing back through the doors with the first aid kit he had for situations like these. Though admittedly he didn't imagine getting shot on accident by his kid startled by an ice cream truck music, when he'd packed the kit.
He cursed under his breath when he couldn't reach the wound enough to get the bullet out. Fuck! he was going to have to call Chibs and head to the clubhouse to get this fixed if he didn't figure it out and that was a whole lot of questions he couldn't answer.
Bramty's big green eyes were looking up at him and he'd momentarily forgotten she was watching him and cursed himself when he saw she had tears streaming down her face but she didn't sob - she simply let them fall silently.
Looking at her he realised he could probably get her to do this for him, "Hey baby girl. I'm okay baby" he soothed and she nodded but looked like she didn't believe him. Smart girl.
"I'm really sorry" she apologised
"I know baby girl. I know it was an accident... hey, do you want to learn how to patch up a bullet wound? you know how to make 'em you need to learn to fix 'em" he told her hoping he could play this off as it didn't hurt much and was just a learning lesson.
He knew he wasn't wrong, if you knew how to shoot you should know how to patch a wound. Happy had just hoped she could learn that part in theory.
"I can fix it for you" she nodded eagerly and stepped closer to him taking the tweezers from his hand and waiting for instructions. He smiled and kissed her forehead.
"You're a good kid baby. Now you have to be careful not to stretch the skin but you can feel the metal inside? you have to pull it out with those... okay? can you do that for me?" she nodded and kissed his shoulder gently above the wound before digging the tweezers in his arm and he turned his head away when he cringed.
She was trying to be gentle but the bullet was lodged in a weird angle and it hurt like a mother fucker without any alcohol or pills to take the edge off.
"I think this is it" she whispered and he felt the pressure leave his arm when she pulled the bullet all the way out.
"You're doing so good baby girl. Thank you. I'll hold it while you put those down on the sink" he watched her put the slug and the tweezers down waiting for the next instruction, still with tears streaming down her face. "That bottle in the bag. I need you to get that spray and spray it on the wound and then get that small box with the needle and surgical thread"
Bramty nodded silently doing exactly what he said until she was stood with the needle and surgical thread in front of him. "What do I do now?"
Happy sighed, he felt bad about having her do this, but it was his good arm and he couldn't reach with his left. "I need you to thread the needle without touching the tip of it... it's sharp. You're gonna stitch my arm up and I'll be all better"
She nodded her head eagerly and did exactly what he asked but he watched her hesitate before pushing the needle through his skin.
"Hey, baby girl" he got her attention and smiled kissing her forehead before wiping the tears away from her face with his free hand as she held hers to his arm now. "I won't lie to you... it hurts bad baby. When it gets stitched up it won't be as bad so I need you to do this for me okay? I love you Bramty"
"I'm really sorry I hurt you" she whispered thickly and he kissed her forehead again feeling his heart break that she was this upset and guilty.
"I'm glad you shot me" he admitted with a small chuckle and she frowned "I need to know that if someone is hurting you then you'll use that gun and protect yourself. If someone is hurting you Bramty you shoot them and you don't have to feel bad about it because I need you baby girl... I need you in my life and I need you to be safe when I'm not here. You've shot someone now and so you know what to do - that makes me feel better"
Bramty just looked at him for a while before nodding in agreement, "I love you" she kissed his cheek and then focused all her attention back on his arm. Happy bit the inside of his cheek to keep from hissing at the pain. She was doing a good job of the stitches but she was going slow because she didn't really know what she was doing and he understood that, but it didn't make this any less painful.
"How do I finish it?" he turned to look at his arm when she whispered and he nodded relieved it was done and fuck if she didn't do a good job at it too.
"You tie the loop in that last stitch" he told her and watched as she did just that before he snapped the string and she put the needle back on the sink "Get the disinfectant and the band aids for me baby girl"
she brought them over and put them on his arm without instruction and he figured she'd probably disinfected and bandaged someone before.
"All done" she announced with a small sigh before turning to wash her face and dried tears at the sink while he sat on the side of the bath watching her move around and clean up the mess they'd made.
"Hey" Happy caught her around the waist with his free arm and pulled her close to him, "You did so good baby girl, thank you" he hugged her to his chest and rubbed her back as she clutched at him in a tight hug. "I can lift anything heavy for a few days but I'm as good as new now"
She looked up at him "Really?" he nodded and she asked, "Are you mad at me?"
Happy cupped the side of her cheek wiping away the fresh tears from her cheeks, his heart breaking that she was upset and he really hated it when she cried. He was gonna make damn sure she never cries again. "I can't ever be mad at you... love you too much"
Bramty nodded and kissed his cheek, he could tell by the way she was more affectionate again that she'd been worried about him. He hugged her a little tighter reassuringly.
She rested her head on his chest, "I love you"
"What's not to love about me?" he smirked and she rolled her eyes at him but laughed anyway and hugged him tighter.
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