November 2008

Halloween came and went quietly. No one was really in a mood to party hard with pressure from the FBI and Bobby still in jail. When Opie and Donna came back, Sara made a point to go over to talk; her brunette best friend made it clear that the Winston family turned down Stahl's offer but confirmed the ATF had been trying to set them up to look suspicious. As far as Sara was concerned, Donna and Opie were innocent of any wrongdoing. Still, Sara could feel the thick waves of unease between the guys when she'd dropped off lunch for Happy one day. She'd asked him about it later, but he'd shrugged it off. Per usual.

Things with Happy had settled into a new normal; they'd returned to their typical flirty interactions, but things felt different. Before their fight she'd naively operated under the belief he would never hit her. She knew he was a violent man by nature, but he'd never given her a reason to fear him. She still didn't, not really, she just now knew his seemingly infinite threshold for her antagonistic bullshit did, in fact, have a limit. Regardless, even though she'd forgiven him for striking her, but he hadn't been able to forgive himself. He moved about her gingerly, afraid to set her off. He avoided topics that historically would fire her up. It seemed that he felt if he could keep her pacified then things would be fine. He'd even continued to be inordinately gentle when they'd been having sex, which initially she'd appreciated given that she was jumpy around him. Now, though, she was getting annoyed that he was still treating her with kid gloves; all it did was remind her that still they weren't past their huge fight regardless of what either of them said.

"Party tonight for Abel's coming home." She reminded him as she walked in the door after work. It was a surprise to see him sitting on the couch watching TV, beer in hand; she'd gotten used to just leaving a plate of food in the microwave for him to eat whenever he got around to coming home. He nodded in acknowledgement but kept his eyes on the screen, enthralled by whatever he was watching.

"I'm gonna go over early to help Gemma set up." She added moving toward the bedroom to start getting ready. She was dressed and curling her hair when he appeared shirtless in the doorway behind her. Seeing his reflection, she turned to face him, keeping the iron wrapped in her hair. His eyes roved her body, taking in the snug dark wash jeans and white tank.

"Is this too casual?" She asked, glancing down at her outfit. He simply shrugged and leaned against the doorframe.

"'Sfine. The baby don't give a shit what you wear." He remarked when she gave him a pouty look. With a sigh she turned back to the mirror and let the ringlet fall that she'd just released. She did catch his eyes flick down her back and smirked as he checked out her ass.

"See something you like?" She teased, grabbing another strand of hair and wrapping it around the hot iron expertly. He simply smirked and moved up behind her, his hands sliding over her hips appreciatively. He dipped his head to the side without the iron and pulled the curls away from her neck. She giggled as his lips pressed to her pulse point. His arms wrapped around her middle as she moved the iron away, too distracted to safely manage it.

"Hey, let go!" She giggled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her neck. "You're gonna mess up my hair." She whined playfully, trying to shove him away.

"That ain't messin' it up. I can really mess it up for you if you'd like." He implied suggestively, pulling her hips back into his crotch.

"Don't start something we don't have time to finish." She chastised. He let go and pressed a kiss to her temple before stepping back to lean against the doorway to allow her to continue with her hair.

"Well I got time to finish." He shrugged. He still loved watching her get ready. Something about seeing her look a mess during the transition before the world got the polished, finished version; or maybe it was the way her brow furrowed as she twirled her hair around the rod quickly, somehow managing to touch it gently without burning her fingers.

"I wouldn't brag about that." She teased.

"Fuck you," he smirked rolling his eyes, "you know I meant that I wasn't gonna head over early."

"Sure, whatever you say, minute-man." She stated with a wink. "You sure you don't want to come with? I bet Gemma would appreciate some help from a strapping young man like yourself."

"I'd rather watch you strap it on and help her out." He joked lewdly. She giggled and rolled her eyes. "'sides, ain't Gemma got plenty of help from Clay and Jax and Opie?"

"Jax has to sign Abel out at the hospital and finish all the paperwork. Clay is hardly a young man," Happy grumbled something along the lines of 'neither am I' but she ignored it and continued, "and Opie is helping Donna get the kids ready. Please? For me?" Happy groaned loudly from behind her as he realized he was going to be roped into helping.

"You'll probably just do a beer run and fill the cooler." She soothed.

"Fine." He sulked. "You better make it worth my time."

"You can bet that hot ass I will." She assured playfully, catching the way his eyes darkened.

"Come 'ere." He commanded, hooking her by the elbow and gently pulling her away from the sink. She barely had time to set the iron down carefully before he turned her to face him. All thoughts of irritation left her as he dropped a searing kiss onto her lips. Her hands moved to brace against his bare chest, feeling the tightening of the taut muscle under his skin. She gave into the kiss, letting him slip his tongue past her lips to taste her. One of his large hands slipped down the back of her tight jeans to squeeze her ass as the other tangled itself in the hair at the base of her neck.

"Hap, we gotta—" She interrupted.

"No." He cut off firmly, capturing her lips again and leading one of her hands to his bulge. A low groan rumbled in his chest as she effortlessly snapped open his buckle and unbuttoned his jeans. It had been a while since she'd blown him just for his own benefit. He broke the kiss to watch as she slid her small hand down his underwear to grip him. Her eyes flicked up to his as she began to caress him softly. His charcoal eyes were hooded but aroused as he gazed down at her affectionately. Gently, he steadied her hand and nudged her body downwards. Taking the hint, she dropped to her knees as he unzipped his pants and slid them down to his thighs.

"Don't fuck up my hair." She warned with a glare before licking him from base to tip slowly. His skin was hot beneath her touch she grasped him firmly.

"That's good, baby." He approved with a groan as she swirled his tip in her mouth. She sucked him into her mouth further, until he hit the back of her throat. He watched as her head bobbed between his legs and fought the urge to grip her hair tightly to guide her. Instead, he just surrendered to the sensations of her tongue gliding against his length with each movement of her head before feeling the tightness at the back of her throat. After a few minutes, he accepted that he wasn't expected to hold off to fuck her and they were in a hurry, so he allowed himself the reward of a quick ending. She swallowed before rising to her feet with a smirk.

"You're welcome." She stated with an arrogant shrug. He flipped her the finger before tucking himself back in and fixing his belt.

"You almost ready?" He finally rasped, glancing to the clock on the nightstand.

"Yea, just gotta fix my hair and then brush it out and then shoes." He didn't bother asking why she had curled her hair to just brush it back out. "Can you grab my brown strappy heels?" She asked sweetly, looking at him through the mirror. He grumbled put pushed off the jamb with an eyeroll.

"These ones?" He asked dangling them from his fingers a moment later. He'd also pulled a shirt on.

"What? No, those are wedges. They are heels; they look like cork or wood or whatever, but they aren't wedges."

"These look like that."

"No, I'm telling you it's the other ones." She sighed. "They should be on the rack next to other sandal-like heels. Maybe next to the blue ones?" She guided, trying to visualize her shoe rack. She'd started organizing her shoes ever since Happy threw a fit when he saw the pile in the bottom of her closet months ago. He'd made a point to buy her a shoe rack and gave her pointed looks for days until she finally used it.

He reappeared silently and held up another shoe with a raised brow. She shook her head again.

"Nope. I'm almost done, I'll just grab them myself." She sighed, amused by his inability to find the right pair. Sure, she had a lot of shoes. But she loved them all dearly and could tell them all apart as if they were her children. A moment later, she emerged from the bathroom with perfectly wavy hair and padded barefoot into her closet, immediately spotting the shoes she'd had in mind. She held them up as she exited the closet and he rolled his eyes from his spot on the bed.

"Those don't look like wood." She glanced at them unconvinced before shrugging. She sat near him and slipped them on, buckling them at the ankle. She gazed lovingly at them before standing and shifting her feet to her comfort.

"Are you coming with me or riding separate?" She asked, grabbing her lipstick from the bathroom and tossing it into a small cross body purse. Fluffing her hair once more in the mirror she turned to find him watching her with a raised brow.

"What?" She asked with a giggle.

"Nothing, just didn't know I was fuckin' a parakeet." He answered with a chuckle, rising from the bed and grabbing his things off the nightstand.

"A parakeet? Like the bird? What does that even mean?"

"They stare at their own reflections." He answered as if it were obvious.

"Are you calling me shallow?" She teased, following him into the living room. He hummed in response, slipping on his kutte.

"Ready?" He asked, holding the door open for her. She kissed him sweetly as she passed.

"Wait, why do you know so much about birds?" She asked as he closed the door with another chuckle.

"I just feel so good, you know? Like for the first time, Ope and I are on the same page with our family." Donna beamed, sipping her beer. Sara smiled widely at her. They were seated together on a loveseat; the kids were out back running around in the yard and their men were mingling with the crowd, so it was a brief moment of alone time for the two women.

"That's so great to hear. I'm so happy for you guys." She gushed to her friend.

"How're things with you and Happy?" Donna asked, her gaze finding the shaved head in question across the room, talking with Tig and Bobby.

"Good, I guess. Finally getting back to normal, or whatever normal is for us anyway. Still a little weird sometimes." Sara answered honestly.

"Well, you guys will figure it out." Donna assured. Sara eyed her in amusement; this new optimistic Donna was nearly effervescent. It was different, but good. Sara opened her mouth to answer but Gemma appeared, proudly holding her grandson.

"Who's next?" She asked, holding out the infant as she glowed with pride. Donna shook her head.

"Opie already thinks I'm baby crazy. As if I'd want to go back to diapers now." She rolled her eyes. Gemma nodded in understanding before stuffing the squishy baby into Sara's unprepared arms.

"Ah, fuck, Gem." Sara grumbled, repositioning the baby to be cradled in her arms. "Sorry." She stated lamely when Gemma shot her a dirty look.

"Hey Gem, you're needed in the kitchen?" A croweater shouted helplessly. Gemma rolled her eyes and stalked off toward the kitchen, leaving the cooing boy in Sara's arms. Donna peeked over the edge of the blanket to rub a finger on his cheek, as Sara bounced him somewhat awkwardly. It wasn't like she was bad with kids; she just wasn't super comfortable with babies. Eventually, Abel seemed to settle nicely into her arms, so she finally relaxed as well.

"Don't get any ideas." She turned her head toward the gravelly voice and caught Happy's amused eyes standing over her. She smiled up at him as Donna snickered beside her.

"What? You don't want to trade in your bike for a minivan? I'm shocked." Sara teased. "I don't think it suits me, anyway." She stated, bouncing the baby in her arms softly, still obviously uncomfortable.

"It does…" He stated dropping a kiss on her head before reiterating, "but don't get any ideas."

"Here, you take him then." She stated, holding Abel within Happy's reach. He rolled his eyes traded Sara his beer for the baby, the small bundle looking tiny in his huge arms. He gently tucked the boy into the crook of his elbow before taking his beer back.

"Why do you make it look so easy?" She stated eying him skeptically. "You better not have any kids hidden away that I don't know about." Happy snorted at her joke before departing to rejoin the guys. Sara watched him go wistfully; even if she didn't necessarily want kids anytime soon, she couldn't help but love a glimpse of what fatherhood might look like on her man. When she turned back to Donna, the brunette was watching her with a smug smile.

"What?" The blonde asked, unable to squash her own grin.

"Nothing," the woman snickered as she took a big swallow of beer.

"What?" Sara asked again, nudging her friend with her elbow.

"You guys are just so… domestic together. Its sweet." Donna stated as Sara scoffed.

"Too bad we bicker—"

"Like an old married couple?" Donna offered with another grin.

"Just because you're all married with children on Cloud Nine, doesn't mean it's in the dice for all of us." Sara teased.

"Just wait, in a few years we will be sitting here with your baby and it will look exactly like its father." Donna stated sagely.

"Who, me?" Tig stated, joking as he overheard their conversation as he was walking by.

"Christ, I hope not." Sara stated with a laugh.

"You hear that Hap? You don't put a baby in your girl, I will." Tig shouted across the room as Sara turned five shades of red.

"I did NOT say that!" She clarified loudly, shrinking in embarrassment.

"She's got the baby fever, man. I heard her. She said, 'Tigger, Hap won't do it, so I need you to knock me up!'" He cackled as she covered her face mortified. She could hear Donna dying with laughter behind her, as well as the thunderous bellows of male laughter.

"Good luck getting your any of your swimmers to stick when she's already loaded full of mine." Happy shot back with a playful shrug. Sara uncovered her face to send him a dirty look.

"HAP! You're supposed to be defending me!" She whined.

"I'll roll the dice on that. We can take bets on who the spawn looks like." Tig jested further as Happy made his way over. "You know I'm just playing." Tig assured Sara before hugging Happy and wandering out back. Sara sent a faux glare up at Happy.

"Maybe I will leave you for Tig." She stated impishly, and Donna snorted behind her. "A little support, please?" She grumbled to her friend. Happy pulled her up before taking her seat and sliding her into his lap.

"We're having girl talk!" Sara argued as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I ain't gonna stop you." He shrugged, sipping his beer, and turning to chat with Chibs who was pulling up a chair. Donna and Sara continued to talk about the kids, and upcoming Thanksgiving plans. They were halfway through with deciding who was going to cook what when Tara briefly stopped behind the couch to speak to Sara, and the blonde could feel the brunette doctor's discomfort. Sara couldn't blame her. Wendy was here, out of rehab and rumored to be back living in Jax's house. While Sara adored Wendy, she'd felt the electricity between Tara and the blonde biker the few times she'd seen them interact. Even the way Tara had talked about him, recalling memories from their childhood, she lit up.

The night wore on, and Sara couldn't remember being happier.

"What?" Happy asked, seeing a wide grin on his woman.

"Just nice to see everyone together and happy."

"Birth and death; brings everyone together." Happy acknowledged sagely.

A/N: Aww how lovely. Read & review please! Stay healthy.