Or Others Call Your Name

Ellie came into the kitchen and found me as I was transferring some bacon from a baking sheet to a serving plate. She was still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she asked, "What smells so good?"

"Coffee and bacon," I answered with a chuckle. "Did you want a cup?"

She dropped her hands to her sides and gave me wide eyes. "I'm not allowed to drink coffee, Auntie Andie! Dad says it'll stunt my growth."

"Your dad's full of it. He just doesn't want you to taste the swamp water he tries to pass off as coffee. But that's fine. What's your poison? Orange or apple juice?"

"Orange, please."

"One OJ coming up. Did you notice if the boys are up yet?"

"Yeah, they're watching TV. I can go get them for you."

"Please do, Sweets. But before you go, what do you want for breakfast? Eggs, toast and bacon or French Toast and bacon?"

"Scrambled eggs, please," she answered as she left the kitchen.

I poured her juice then left the carton on the table for the boys to choose from. When they got to the kitchen, I was starting to plate Ellie's meal for her. As the boys sat down, she poured their drinks for them and then put the juices back in the fridge.

"Thanks for the help, Sweets," I said as I put her plate down in front of her.

She blushed and very weekly replied, "You're welcome."

"Good morning, boys. What can I get you?"

"Good morning, Auntie Andie. French Toast, please."

"French Toast got it. And Piper? What about you?" He gave me a look that I couldn't quite decipher. He looked overwhelmed and almost a little scared, so I knelt down beside him to ask, "Sweetie? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I... uhh... I mean... yes, Aunt... Umm..."

"Oh... that... Piper, Sweetie, you can just call me Andie. You don't have to call me Auntie unless you want or feel like it. Hell... you can just call me 'Hey You' if you want. Okay?"

He smiled a bit more easily answering, "Okay."

"Good. Now... What do you want for breakfast?"

"I... I don't know. My... my mom doesn't usually give me a choice."

Kenny and Ellie chuckled at that then Ellie explained, "Well you're at Auntie Andie's place. She couldn't run a successful restaurant if she didn't make what her customers order. She really doesn't mind making you whatever you want."

That got a big, toothy grin from him as he answered, "I've never had French Toast, so I don't know if I'll like it."

"How 'bout I do this? I'll make you an order of French Toast and if you don't like it, I'll make you some scrambled eggs instead. Deal?"

"Deal!"

Ellie had finished her breakfast while I was doing my negotiations with Piper, so she was washing her dish when I turned to cook the boys' breakfast. When she was done with that, she cracked a couple of eggs into a bowl to make scrambled eggs. Any time I stayed at Opie's, she had fun playing the role of my Sous-Chef. When she was younger that meant passing me ingredients. Now that she was older, she was able to help with the actual cooking. I couldn't help but to smile at how easily we fell into sync with each other.

"Lyla looked really pretty last night, didn't she?" Ellie asked as she poured the eggs into a pan.

"She sure did. I still don't know how she can walk in heels like that. I would have sprained my ankle or broken my neck if I tried."

"She told me it's all about practice. She's been wearing them for so long that they're as comfortable for her as sneakers are for you and I."

"Huh... That makes sense."

She continued to stir the eggs in the pan until they were fully cooked. It looked like she was concentrating on her work, but in reality, I could tell that she was avoiding making eye contact with me. Shit. What did she want to talk to me about?

"Auntie? Can I ask you something?" She finally asked as she pushed the eggs onto a plate.

"Always, Sweets. You know you can talk to me about anything."

She then turned her attention to plating the French Toast I was cooking onto a plate with bacon and toast for Kenny and Piper. Once again, she was deliberately avoiding eye contact as she asked, "Do you think that will ever be you?"

"Will what ever be me?"

You could almost hear her swallow uncomfortably. "Do you think you'll ever be the one Grandpa walks down the aisle?"

"Oh... that... I... I honestly don't know," I answered. She finally turned her eyes up to look at me, so I gave her a cheeky smile and a playful wink. "Plus, you know what I've always said... I said, you know what?"

"She said what?" She replied, singing the lyrics back to me.

"I say 'What?" I sang back.

"Oh, I'm not the marrying kind," we continued together. "Don't kiss me, don't claw me, don't pet me, don't paw me. Oh... I won't leave my freedom behind."

We continued singing Elvis Presley's 'I'm not the marrying kind' while we finished making the boys' breakfast. Just like he always did, Kenny shook his head and tried to tune us out. When he noticed Piper was trying to figure out what we were doing, he leaned over to quietly say, "Don't worry. If you ignore them, they won't make you join in with them."

"Okay... good... Because I don't know that song."

Kenny chuckled. "I don't think anyone but them does either."

Ellie and I were having so much fun cooking and singing that I hadn't notice we were no longer the only ones in the kitchen. When we turned around with a plate each, she fell completely silent. At first, I couldn't figure out why, but then I saw it. Or rather him. Happy was leaning against the door frame watching us with an amused smile on his face.

She took the second plate from me and placed them in front of each of the boys. They then started eating in complete silence. Ellie didn't move from her spot beside Kenny, which made me bark out a laugh. I knew they didn't know Happy all that well, but I never expected them to act this timid.

"Good Morning, Happy. Are you hungry?" (I didn't use his nickname because I was worried it would confuse the kids and possibly make this morning even more uncomfortable.)

He shook his head and entered the room. "No, thanks. I'll just..."

He fell silent when I started pouring him a cup of tea. He sat down at the table with the kids, so I carried the cup over to him. As I placed it on the table, I leaned down to give him a soft kiss on the lips. "Are you sure? Bacon's hot out of the oven..."

He took a sip while he watched the boys eat. "Alright. Toast and bacon sound good."

"French or plain?" Ellie asked, sounding and looking more at ease than she had when Happy first entered the room.

"Plain."

"Coming up!" She replied as she hurried over to the counter.

Happy gave me a questioning look that caused me to laugh loudly. "She's starting her waitress training here at home."

He chuckled softly at that then returned to silently sipping his tea. I then turned my attention to Piper to ask, "So what's the verdict?"

He swallowed his mouthful then answered, "It's delicious."

"Good to hear." Ellie finished putting Happy's breakfast together, so I picked up the plate of scrambled eggs that she had cooked and started eating them. "Is everyone okay with ham and cheese sandwiches and apple juice for lunch?"

The three of them nodded, so I got to work on putting their lunches together. I had prepped as much as I could before we went to the wedding, so there really wasn't much for me to do this morning but put the food into their lunch bags. I was sure that their lunches were probably more basic than the ones that Lyla made for them, but they could survive it for a day.

Ellie wandered over to my side to help pack their lunches, but I was pretty much finished. Since no more help was needed in the kitchen, she quietly offered, "I'll go make sure everything's packed up and ready to put into your truck, then I'll come back and do the dishes."

"Thanks, Sweets. I'd really appreciate that."

She leaned up and kissed my cheek before hurrying out of the room. Kenny quickly shoveled in the last couple of bites of food off his plate and into his mouth and practically swallowed them whole. Just as Ellie hit the door to exit the room, he jumped to his feet and started for the door.

I quickly called out, "Excuse me!" That froze him in his place at the door. I waited for him to turn around before I continued, "You forgot to leave a tip."

He let out an unimpressed noise and rolled his eyes in reply. What the hell? That was part of our usual routine. Normally it was met with a laugh not a look of distain. Damn kid was growing up too damn fast.

"DON'T TOUCH MY STUFF ELLIE!" He then yelled out as he moved back to the table to carry his dishes over to the sink. After he dumped them into the soapy water, he turned to give me a pleading look and practically begged, "If I promise to come back and wash them, can I go make sure that Ellie isn't wrecking my stuff?"

"Your sister won't wreck your stuff," I countered with an exasperated sigh. "But yes, you can go pack up. I'll take care of the dishes."

"Thank you, Auntie! You're the best!"

"You know I am," I replied to his back as he ran out of the room. When I turned my eyes back to the table, I noticed Piper standing behind his seat with his dishes in his hands. I softened my voice then said, "Just put them on the counter. I'll wash everything up while you pack."

He smiled and looked much more at ease. "Thank you. And thank you for breakfast. I was SO good."

"You're more than welcome, Buddy."

After he left the room, Happy got up and started washing the dishes. "You're really good with them," he commented with his back facing me.

I shrugged then replied, "Donna and Lyla did the hard work. I'm just trying my best to no undo all of it."

"You shouldn't do that."

"Shouldn't do what, Grumpy?" I asked as I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed a spot between his shoulder blades.

He kept working on the dishes as he answered, "Discounting your influence. It's obvious how much your niece and nephew love and respect you."

"I'll give you the first one, but I'm not so sure the second is true anymore."

I had moved to his side to help with the dishes, so it was easier for him to turn his head and give me an unimpressed look. "He respects you or he wouldn't have asked if he could leave without doing his chores."

"That's not respect, that's fear. He knows what'll happen if he doesn't pull his weight. If he respected me, he wouldn't roll his eyes when I say something he doesn't find funny."

"He wouldn't be a Winston if he didn't have a little smart-ass streak in him, Princess."

"HAPPY!" I cried out incredulously as I elbowed him in the side. He gave me a look and then bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. "I can't believe you just said that."

"You know it's true."

Yeah, he had me there, but I didn't want to concede defeat just yet. It was too early in the morning to let him have a win. Especially one that easy. Thankfully, Ellie reentered the room, so I could shift our focus back to her without making it look like I was bowing out of having to agree with him and his logic.

"We have everything packed and ready to go. Did you want us to load it all into your truck?" She asked once I turned to face her.

"Sounds good, Sweets." I tossed her my keys then added, "I'll drop your bags at your house after I get you guys to school, so just toss them into the far back."

"Okay, I can do that. I'll tell the boys to hurry up so that we aren't late for school."

"Perfect. I'll meet you out at my truck in a couple of minutes." Once we were alone in the kitchen again, I turned to Happy and asked, "Will you be home when I'm done dropping them off?"

He nodded. "But not for long. I have to head down to Bakersfield, so I'm just waiting out rush hour traffic."

"Bakersfield? To see your mom and aunt?"

"Sort of," he answered, suspicion plain in his voice and on his face. "We have some precious cargo being stored there that we need to check on."

"So, having someone there to distract them from focusing on your cargo would be a good thing?"

I only phrased it as a question to keep from sounding like I was being too pushy. I knew it was always better if it seemed like the request for me to come with him was his idea, even if it was just partially. Normally, I would have been more tactful and lead up to that question at a slower pace, but time was not a luxury I could afford today.

Suspicion was still evident in his tone when he asked, "Distraction?"

"Yeah… She mentioned teaching me the family apple pie recipe when I was helping her move. I just figured that it would be a good way of keeping her and your aunt from questioning who's in their house and what they're doing."

"That could be true. But the family recipe… that's for family only… If she's teaching you, does that mean…?"

"We're ready to go, Auntie," Ellie called out before she entered the room. When she saw the look on our faces, she picked up their lunches and hurried out of the room.

I closed the space between Happy and I to kiss his lips. "Can we pause here and pick this up after I've dropped the kids off? I promise, I'm no avoiding the topic… I just can't do it justice right now."

He nodded then said, "Alright. We'll pause here."

I kissed him again and replied against his lips, "Thank you. I promise I won't be long."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

I skipped going to Opie's house so that I could get back to Happy that much sooner. Not that I really wanted to get into this topic right now. I was honestly worried that it might scare Happy off, but I was ready to rip the Band Aid off. If not wanting to get married and have kids was a deal breaker, then so be it. I'd rather find out now and save myself some heartbreak.

Yeah… right. I couldn't keep from rolling my eyes either. But I had to pretend that's how I felt or I might break down. But I really did want to know if it would be a deal breaker or not.

I found Happy in the living room, sitting in his easy chair. He had a bag packed at his feet and almost looked like he was getting ready to move out. What the fuck? I just got him home, how dare he leave now! How…? Fuck. What was I thinking? This is HIS house, maybe that's my shit in the bag. Oh! So, he wants me to leave? Well, fuck that…

"So…? Are you ready to press play? Or do you want to geld me first?" He asked in a genuinely curious tone.

I crossed my arms over my chest and defiantly replied, "Depends. Whose bag is that?"

"Bag?" He followed my eyeline to his feet and let out a scoff. "Technically mine, but it's shit for my mother."

"What kind of shit?"

He didn't reply to that. Instead, he unzipped the bag and picked it up for me to look inside of it. I had to take a couple of steps into the room to look into the bag. After I got a good look of its contents I asked, "More meds? I… I thought she was doing better."

"She is… Because of the meds."

"Oh… Yeah… Makes sense."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," I answered as I felt a lot of tension ease out of my muscles. "You can ask me anything."

He made very direct eye contact as he asked, "What the hell did you think was in the bag…?" He narrowed his eyes when my cheeks turned red. "…because it looked like you were gearing up for a fight."

"I… I thought…" I let out a dejected sigh then sat on the coffee table in front of him. "I told you my imagination gets really dark. I… I thought it was your way of saying that one of us was moving out."

"What? Why? Oh… No… Wait. You said your imagination, so… what? What's wrong?"

My embarrassed blush returned with a renewed vigor. "I… I know why my thoughts headed in that direction."

He just watched me in silence while he waited for me to continue, but realization stole my words from me. Now I could see how ridiculous those thoughts had been. I could see how irrational they were, but I wasn't sure that I could admit the truth to him.

But then I looked up into his face. There was no way I could ignore that oh so earnest and innocent look on his face because Happy rarely looked innocent.

"You… you heard he song. I know you did because you asked about it. In… In my head, you… you… FUCK… It just sounds so stupid."

I stood up then causing Happy to reach out and grab my arm to stop me from walking away. When I finally turned to look at him, he said, "Except that you haven't said it out loud."

"That's how unbelievably stupid it is," I admitted.

Happy gave me a look that told me that answer wasn't enough. And that he deserved so much better. I took a step back to sit on the coffee table, but he tugged gently on my arm to cause me to fall into his lap. I thought about struggling against him, but he hugged his arms around my waist and kissed my cheek before he whispered, "Please tell me why you were mad at me."

"I wasn't mad," I countered as I relaxed against his chest. "Alright. So… In my head, I was pretty much convinced that hearing me joke about not wanting to get married meant that you wouldn't want to stay in a relationship for me."

"So…? I packed a bag? ONE single bag?"

FUCK, I'm an idiot! "It… It was symbolic."

"Symbolic?" He tried to keep a straight face, but that didn't last long. He started laughing in a fashion that some people might call 'hysterically'. Not me, but some people.

"Happy!" I whined out as I stood up off his lap. "I told you it was stupid."

He reached out again to catch my had before I could stomp away saying, "I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't know that your imagination was that vivid. BUT I DO want to know more about the song. Like… Is that how you really feel?"

I nodded then sat down on the coffee table. He was leaning forward while holding my hand, so I scooted forward to make him more comfortable. "I might joke a lot, but yes… Yes, I have never been able to see myself married with kids. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Ellie and Kenny with all my heart, but nothing makes me breathe easier than to know that I'm not ultimately responsible for them."

"Alright, I get that. But… You and Hale…"

"HE bought the rings," I interrupted in a heated tone. "David bought the rings and planned to propose. I had nothing to do with it. I had told him I didn't have to marry someone to spend the rest of my life with them, but that wasn't enough for him. He… HE wanted marriage."

"Would you have said yes?" Happy asked in a quiet, careful tone.

That question made me turn my eyes up to his face so that I could hold his gaze as I answered, "Honestly? I don't know. Knee jerk reaction? No, I would have said no. But… But it really doesn't matter. It will never happen, so there's no use falling into the 'what if' vortex."

"True, but…"

"NO. Happy… No buts. That chapter is closed and done. It has NOTHING to do with my future. But… But you are… I hope."

He leaned forward to capture my lips in a soft kiss. "Alright."

"Alright? Alright what?" I quickly asked… Okay, I asked in a near panicked voice.

He gently tugged on my hands until I was once again sitting in his lap. Happy then moved his hands up to my hair and ran his fingers through my locks. I wish I could say that I relaxed into his embrace, but I couldn't. I couldn't until I heard his answer to my question.

"Happy… Alright what?" I tried again as tears started to creep into my tone.

While I was on the verge of bursting into tears, Happy used his hold on my head to pull it forward to kiss me. He's kissing me? That wasn't an expected move. What did it mean?

"Alright," he repeated in a finite tone. "That answers my question because you are definitely apart of my future."