I do not own any characters from Sons of Anarchy. I own Sara and any other original characters.

November 2007

The drive to San Bernardino was long, but uneventful, despite her brother's concerns. The novelty of watching Happy weave agilely in and out of traffic had worn off pretty quickly leaving her mostly to her own thoughts and the radio, and of course trying to ignore the urge to pee. Happy was used to long hours on the road and didn't need to stop very frequently, but Sara found that she needed to stop every few hours to either stretch the fatigue or –more often than not—use the bathroom.

"Stop drinking coffee, woman." Happy pointed out gruffly, his face full of judgment as he watched her fill a large paper cup with the dark liquid. They were stopped at a gas station yet again because she had needed to pee.

"Stop telling me what to do." She hummed pleasantly, stirring in cream and sugar. She ignored his annoyed sigh as she took a sip. Liquid perfection…. Well as close as one could get with gas station coffee.

"Well it's going to take forever to get to Berdoo with you needing to piss every five minutes." He grumbled grabbing a bottle of water while Sara perused a carousel of snacks. He surveyed her as she grabbed few different bags of chips. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail and her face wore only minimal make up. They had left early that morning and he had kept her up late so he knew she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep—hence the coffee—but she still managed to look gorgeous. Frayed denim shorts barely covered her ass and similarly, her loose white tank top kept falling off one shoulder and exposing the white lace of her bra, much to both his delight and chagrin.

"Come on." He urged, guiding her towards the register where she dumped her armful of snacks on the counter, tank top falling from her shoulder again. Happy's eyes narrowed as the man behind the counter leered at Sara like a dog at a steak.

"Pack of smokes too." Happy barked sharply, drawing the middle-aged man's attention. The balding man gulped and nodded nervously when his eyes met Hap's dark gaze and noticed the leather kutte. Happy couldn't help it when his arm wrapped territorially around Sara's neck, pulling her into his side. She looked up at him with a raised brow.

"Can I help you?" She asked with a knowing but amused smirk on her lips. His deadly eyes darted to the nervous cashier briefly before dipping his head to capture her lips. His tongue slipped into her mouth as his arm tightened around her, her small body flush to his hard one. After a moment, she giggled and pressed a hand to his chest to push him away.

"Stop." She breathed, shaking her head. Sara breathlessly turned back to the cashier, missing the arrogant smirk on Hap's features as he threw some cash on the counter and she took the bags of their stuff.

Once they were safely out of earshot in the parking lot, Sara turned to face the hulking man beside her.

"So what was that show about?"

"He was a fucking creep." He rasped dismissively.

"So are you. Why don't you just pee on my leg while you are at it?" She joked and he rolled his eyes, lighting a cigarette.

"Don't tempt me with a good time." He shot back suggestively as he pulled his sunglasses over his eyes.

"Freak." She teased playfully before skipping off to her car. Happy was left with his own thoughts as he chugged his bottle of water quickly before climbing on his bike. He didn't know why he suddenly was feeling threatened by random guys. For one, Sara wasn't his to claim; they were just messing around. Friends at best and convenient bedfellows at worst. Secondly, it wasn't like she was gonna climb the counter and bang the cashier. For whatever reason though, he felt the need to make it known that she was with him. He pushed the curious feelings from his mind as the loud rumble of his bike filled his ears, blocking out everything else.

"Knock, knock." She shouted through the house as she opened the door. It was a small home; a bit run down in Happy's opinion with its torn screen door, overgrown lawn, and an exterior that could use a new coat of paint. She knew it wasn't much to look at but it was the house that she shared with her brother so it still felt like home to her. Happy was behind her carrying her duffle bag silently judging the poor upkeep of the residence. Surely the male Harris could manage to mow his own goddamn yard.

"In the kitchen!" A man's voice rang through the house and she led Hap towards the room in question.

"There she is!" A booming voice echoed followed by some hollering when they rounded the corner into the large kitchen. The slider was open to the back deck and the smoky charcoal smell of the grill was wafting through the room. About five men and a few scantily clad women were roaming the open space with a few more out back. Sara was instantly pulled into multiple hugs from the guys in the kitchen.

Happy bristled minutely watching the men lave her with their attention. He should be used to it by now with the way the Charming guys tripped over themselves for her, but when it was guys he didn't know touching her it sparked something inside of him that, if he hadn't know better, could be misconstrued as jealousy. Fortunately, he knew better. Obviously.

It was clear that she was precious to them; he had always gotten that impression from her spoiled attitude but to see it so transparently before him made his stomach roll. She was literally their little princess. Logically, he knew they were her family but he had secretly hoped she was miserable around them and hated her life in SB. That maybe there were all lecherous creeps who made her uncomfortable… They weren't. She not only looked comfortable but happy and in her element. Seeing how naturally she fit in… He finally understood why she was so torn. How was she supposed to walk away from this?

"You the protection?" A familiar voice asked from beside Hap in the doorway. He shifted his gaze from the sexy blonde to blue eyes that echoed hers. He was jarred by the similarity in their eyes. Jason. Hap only nodded once in confirmation. Jason held out his hand.

"I'm Jason. Don't think we met formally." Hap shook his hand firmly before turning his gaze back to the kitchen.

"You know you can set her bag down where ever. Knowing my sister, I can imagine it's probably pretty heavy." Jason joked gesturing to the living room behind them.

"She got a room here somewhere? I'll just toss it there." Happy countered. Jason seemed taken aback but gave directions down the hall. Happy took off that direction without another word. He pushed open the door and was overwhelmed by her scent. He dropped her bag to the floor by the door and took a closer look at her space.

It was a contrast to the rest of the house which screamed bachelor pad. Her room was clean and had the same feminine floral scent that seemed to linger after her everywhere. There was a surprisingly large bed for size of the room—a king, likely. It had cream colored sheets and a navy duvet. Happy was surprised by the overall neutral tones of the room. He had expected it to be much girlier.

"I'm not supposed to have boys in my room." Her teasing voice sang from behind him. He turned to face her as she came in, looking around the room briefly before letting her gaze fall on the tall man before her.

"Good thing I'm a man." He rasped coyly. She giggled and closed the door behind her. He watched her silently as she approached, wrapping her hands around his neck and standing on her tiptoes. His strong hands immediately found her hips.

"Thank you for driving me home. I know it was out of your way." She whispered sweetly, gazing up at him through her lashes.

"Yeah? How you plannin' to thank me?" He asked, squeezing her ass and biting his lower lip lewdly. She kicked his shin playfully.

"I'm serious, Hap. I appreciate it." He only hummed in response, not comfortable with her gratitude.

"Want to stay for dinner?" She asked hope shining through her attempt to be nonchalant. He didn't want to. Not really. The last thing he wanted was to crash her family dinner. But the way she was looking at him… How could he not?

"Yeah I could use a meal." He answered with a shrug. Worst case he'd get a few beers and a hot meal.

"Great! I'll let them know to throw on an extra steak. We need to get back out there before my brother sends a search party." She kissed him quickly before leading him out of her room back to the kitchen.

After dinner, Happy sat with a few of the guys but he wasn't listening to their conversation. He was watching Sara and her brother huddled in a corner. They were being quiet but everything about their body language said they were arguing. A third person, a guy a bit older than Jason but younger than Hap—maybe in his low thirties—was standing with them, clearly trying to mediate. Everyone else was ignoring their interaction so it was either a common occurrence or an anticipated interaction.

Happy couldn't tear his eyes away as he vainly strained to hear anything from their conversation but the rest of the people in the living room were laughing and talking jovially over the rock music playing in the background. She was visibly upset, shaking her head over and over, and he was sure she was saying 'No' to something adamantly. The other guy would chime in—looking like the voice of reason—every so often but she would just roll her eyes to everything he said. Finally she nodded and shoved past her brother to storm towards her bedroom at the back of the house. Happy desperately wanted to follow but he knew he couldn't. It would draw too much suspicion to them, and he knew she didn't want her brother knowing. He understood; he didn't particularly feel like facing her family in that context. What would he say? 'I'm just casually fucking your precious little princess in every position I can imagine. No hard feelings?'

About thirty minutes later and she still hadn't emerged from her room. He was tempted to text her but that felt stupid. Jason had pulled a few guys aside and whispered conspiratorially with them. Hap distantly wondered if that's what he looked like when Tacoma or Redwood were planning something shady. Sara entered the room, clearly in a bad mood, but Happy felt his pants tighten at the sight of her.

She was wearing tight black pants—tight enough he was sure if she had a quarter in her pocket, you'd be able to tell heads or tails. Her top was a sheer black lace that showed off all of her porcelain skin, except for what her black bra covered. Her sour mood was emphasized with the stomp of her heels on the hardwood; she wasn't pleased and she wanted it known. Jason noticed, and grabbed her arm tightly pulling her aside. Her beautifully made-up face scrunched in pain as she pulled from his grasp.

Happy watched the siblings continue to quietly argue as the guy next to him nudged him.

"They're certainly something, aren't they?" The guy asked with a snort. Another guy, Richie, scoffed in agreement.

"I'll tell you, those two fight like cats and dogs. Love each other to death, but both make each other nuts."

"He always rough with her like that?" Hap asked nonchalantly. Sara rarely spoke of her brother to him, and he hadn't really asked. It was what it was. She wasn't the first bitch to get slapped around and wouldn't be the last, but Jason hardly seemed like the badass woman-beater he was projecting.

"Didn't use to be. Ironically used to keep their pops from knocking her around. Life's a bitch I guess." The guy shrugged and took a sip of his drink before the conversation turned to bikes. The fact they didn't seem concerned was enough to tell Happy that as much as they adored Sara, they weren't going to step in on the Harris' domestic disputes. Fair enough; he sure as hell wouldn't either. It wasn't his business. Sara had made it plenty clear she could handle her shit.

"Hey..." Happy was pulled from his thoughts as Sara squatted next to the couch next to him, speaking lowly so the others couldn't hear. "I need to step out for a few hours, you gonna be here when I get back?" She looked nervous and angry, and he shot a quick look to Jason whose back was turned to them as he chatted with a leggy brunette.

"Do you need me to be?" He rasped lowly, his voice like gravel. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before simply nodding her eyes glassy.

"Yeah… I mean if you can hang around that'd be... okay." She answered, clearly her throat and avoiding his eyes.

"Sara… What's going on?" He pressed, concerned filling his eyes. He wanted to not care. He wanted to tell her to fuck off and that it wasn't his business; that he needed to get home to Bakersfield. But he had never seen her like this and she had certainly never said that needed him. Not like this. Something was wrong.

"Listen, I have to go. Tell my brother I said you could crash on the couch. He'll probably go to the clubhouse later anyway. I'll be back." She dismissed, standing up from her crouching position. She excused herself and left quietly not wanting to draw attention.

A few hours passed and she still wasn't back. The get-together at her house was winding down, now just a couple of the guys sitting around smoking some joints and drinking. Some of them had been asking Hap about Tacoma, seeing if maybe they could transfer there before the conversation turned to San Bernardino.

"Things seem to be settled here." Happy observed.

"Yeah for the most part. Gotta get some of the 5-0 off our backs, but we're dealing with it." Jason said with a sideways grin to some of the others who snickered.

"You got hands in their pockets?" Happy inquired. Cops were a finicky sort to get into business with.

"Something like that. We got one local guy who's been a huge help." Richie confirmed.

"He on your payroll?"

"Yeah, and then some."

"What's that mean? You giving him free pussy at the whorehouse?" Hap asked confused at what they could possibly be giving this guy to bury the hurricane of shit the SAMDINO guys had created. They guys howled in laughter at his question. Jason shook his head.

"Not quite. There's only one pussy he wanted in exchange." One of the guys answered mischievously.

And suddenly it clicked.

Happy knew where Sara had to suddenly rush off to. He knew why she had seemed so freaked out when her brother had asked her for a favor a few days ago. She had known then what it was going to be; what she had argued and tried to get out of tonight.

It was the fucking night before Thanksgiving and her brother had offered her to a cop in exchange for clearing their name like she was the goddamn turkey.

Author Note: Oh no! Review and let me know what you think is gonna happen. Thanks, readers!