June 8th, 2006

Seattle, Washington

They sat in the car outside of the menswear store, Sarah's fingers tapping against the steering wheel nervously. She had tasked Happy with going to the store a week and a half ago, to have a suit fitted for him, for the dinner that her father had planned. It was going to be Happy's first impression on Alexander, and she was anxious that something would go horribly wrong, although she couldn't put her finger on what she thought that would be.

She released the breath she was holding and looked at him. "Are you ready?" she asked.

He frowned. "Course I'm ready," Happy replied. "Are you?"

"Yeah," she whispered uncertainly.

"You nervous?" he asked.

"No," she said quickly, before glancing at him meekly. "Yes. Maybe."

"Why?"

She sighed, leaning back against the seat. "My father can be… particular," she said slowly. "He's never liked any boy or man that I've brought to meet him before. My guess is that my stepmother will be there too, and if she is, then it'll be ten times worse."

"It can't be that bad, can it?" he asked.

"My mother met my father when she was twenty-two, one of Thor's fresh faced dancers," she said. "He was a couple years older than her, and at the club for a bachelor party. She thought he was cute, broke her biggest rule, and hooked up with him. Of course, he was drunk, and didn't remember a thing the next day. She found out she was pregnant not too long after that and tracked him down, which wasn't easy. Traveled to Los Angeles all by herself to do it.

"He was surprised, but let her in, tried to make it work, but they were from different worlds. He came from money, and he had money. She didn't. He didn't want her to work, she didn't want to feel like she was spending someone else's money. They only lasted about six months after I was born before she moved back to Vegas, but they had some sort of arrangement where I spent a decent amount of time with him in the summers, where he spent all of his time trying to convince me to leave my mother behind and live with him in LA.

"I can't tell you the number of times that he tried to set me up with his colleagues' kids, or some young up-and-comer he met. It was all about trying to get me to be like him. He was thrilled when I got married the first time, since he thought the man I was marrying would be, well, just like him. He's proud of me now, for being educated with a good job, but I'm afraid, if I introduce you…"

"I'll embarrass you," he finished.

She was startled, and shook her head frantically. "No, absolutely not!" she exclaimed. "I'm just… apprehensive about this whole thing. It's either going to go really well, or really poorly."

"We'll be fine," he told her. He gave her a nudge with his shoulder. "We always are. Let's go. I wanna show you the suit."

They exited the car, and he took her hand, pulling her gently into the shop. The salesperson in the door ushered them in, a smile on his face. He seemed to remember Happy from the last time he was in the shop, and showed them to the back, where the changing rooms were. The suit sat in a black garment bag.

"Your suit, Mr. Lowman," the salesman said, handing the hanger over to Happy.

With one hand, Happy unzipped the bag, a smile on his face. Sarah peeked at the suit curiously, before gasping in horror. It was a baby blue monstrosity with a white, ruffled shirt, the ruffles trimmed in blue ribbon. Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach as she realized that this was the suit that he had picked out for himself.

"You like it?" he asked.

She was stunned. "Well, uh… it's, uh…" she stuttered. Her wide eyes were still glued to the dark blue silk that trimmed the lapels.

He chuckled, and zipped the bag back up. "I'm kidding, Sare," he told her. "Duane and I set it up last week. Real suit is far less blue."

"You are an asshole," she growled, but she couldn't help but copy his smile as he handed the garment bag back to the salesman. He returned a couple of moments later with another bag, and pointed Happy in the direction of the changing rooms. "I don't get a preview this time?" she called, and Happy shook his head before he disappeared behind the curtain.

She took a seat nearby, tapping her fingers against her knee as her eyes wandered around the rest of the shop. They seemed to have every type of suit on display, and she wondered exactly what Happy had picked. His wardrobe was strictly baggy jeans and loose t-shirts, most of which had some sort of SOA-related logo splashed across them. The salesmen seemed to know what they were doing, most of them wearing tailored suits, and she could only hope that they had steered him in the right direction.

The curtain was pulled back, and she was left to stare in awe at the unfamiliar man in front of her. He'd chosen a single-breasted classic fit suit, with shawl lapels, that he wore with a black shirt and tie. She had never seen him wear something so fitted before, and the effect of the all black look only added to his danger and mystique. The only visible tattoo was the snake on his head, coiled to strike.

"Holy shit, you look hot," she breathed.

He straightened the lapels and grinned, before turning to look in the mirror. "You really think so?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied, standing up and slowly walking over to him, her eyes still glued to the suit. "Like, you don't look like you. Not that I don't think you're hot day to day, you know, but the way this fits you, I mean, damn…"

"And you were worried I wouldn't be able to pick out a damn suit," he chuckled.

"You could wear it more often than just dinner, you know," she whispered in his ear. "You look like you could be a sexy secret agent to my uncooperative informant, or the bad guy to my innocent bystander. And, as great as that suit looks on you, it would look better on the bedroom floor."

"This shit's dry clean only," he grumbled. "If it comes off, it goes on a hanger."

She hummed. "You know, lingerie is hand wash only," she told him. "Expensive too. Each piece you rip like a caveman or drop on the floor, I have to replace or spend time cleaning. Really adds up over time, doesn't it?"

He frowned, and straightened the lapels of his suit. "I'll pay for new lingerie if you pay for dry cleaning."

"Nah, then I'd never have anything new again," she chuckled. "I'll just wear something dry clean only around the same time that you do. Make the trip to the cleaner's worth it."


June 17th, 2006

Palo Alto, California

The restaurant was nestled in a nice neighborhood, and she silently thanked her lucky stars that she'd recently decided to trade in her old car for a shiny new SUV that didn't stick out like a sore thumb in the parking lot. She rubbed the heel of her hand against the edge of her dress a few times, her eyes flitting anxiously over to the entrance as Happy parked the car. He reached over and placed a hand on her knee, squeezing gently.

"You okay?" he asked, and she nodded her head. "Not too late to turn around."

She shot him a small smile. "No, we can't do that," she whispered. "I mean, you bought that suit, and I bought this dress, and we're here, so…"

He shrugged. "Still not too late," he commented. "Can still go to In-N-Out in a suit."

"I'll keep that in mind," she murmured as she got out of the car.

Happy offered her his arm, and she took it, nestling her hand into the crook of his elbow as he led her toward the restaurant. There was a certain power that he exuded, raw and dangerous. His tattoos were covered, but the snake on his was still visible, and the ever-present scowl was still etched into his face. With him at her side, the bitch heels on her feet that made her match his height and stride, and the black dress that both flattered her figure and hid her growing baby bump, she couldn't help but feel a little bit powerful herself.

She did feel a little deflated, however, when she realized that the table was set for six instead of four, and Diana sat alongside Alexander with an emotionless smile on her face.

"Stepmother?" Happy whispered, turning his head towards her slightly.

"Yep," she replied softly, before plastering a smile on her face and shifting her attention to her father. "Dad, Diana, it's nice to see you both."

"Sarah," her father greeted. He stood up to move around the side of the table, placing his hands on her arms and kissing her cheek. "How wonderful to see you. And this must be the man you've been seeing?"

"Happy Lowman," Happy told him, giving his hand a firm shake.

Alexander raised an eyebrow. "Your parents were Arthur Miller fans?" he asked.

Happy chuckled. "My mother is a retired English teacher," he replied.

The answer seemed to please her father, who gestured to the table and for them to take a seat. Happy pulled out a chair for her first, letting her sit, and then took the spot between her and Diana. She silently thanked him for acting as a buffer between them, whether it was intentional or not.

"So, who are we waiting on?" Sarah asked.

"Us," a voice said from behind her, and she turned to see Hannah, her stepsister, standing behind her with her arms crossed, an unfamiliar man at her side. She was twenty-one now, if Sarah remembered correctly, and she looked far older than she had the last time they'd seen each other. The man at her side had to be the husband her father told her about. He looked young as well, maybe a couple years older than Hannah, with a grin on his face.

"When I have the opportunity to finally meet both my sons-in-law, I take it," Alexander said, as he greeted Hannah and her husband, gesturing for them to sit as well. Chad, as Sarah found out his name was, wound up next to her, while Hannah was seated next to their father.

"It's so lovely to see both of my oldest daughters again," Diana gushed, clasping her hands in front of her on the table.

"I'm not your daughter," both women bit back, with a similar amount of vitriol. They locked eyes briefly, before Hannah continued. "You're barely older than Sarah anyway."

Diana's smile didn't fade. "I did marry your father when you were both minors, so legally, I am your mother," she replied in a sweet tone.

"Well, neither one of us are minors any longer, so it really doesn't matter, does it?" Sarah murmured, taking a sip of her water.

"So," Alexander said, trying to reign them back in as the waiter came around to pour glasses of wine, "Chad, Hannah says you're an accountant working for a film production company, is that right?"

Chad nodded. "Yeah, it's a good gig," he replied. "Keeps Hannah happy and home with Carrie. She's doing a great job." He looked at Hannah and smiled, and it was obvious to Sarah that he was smitten.

"What about you, Happy?" her father asked.

"I'm a tattoo artist," he replied.

Diana laughed. "You can't possibly make enough money to support Sarah like Chad does, can you?" she said. "I mean, tattoos? That's not much of a money maker."

"It is if you're good," he said.

"And Happy's very good," Sarah added, throwing Diana a pointed look.

"So how did you two meet? Did she slide up and down the pole like her mother did? Or was it a lap dance that got you?" Hannah asked, causing Chad to choke on his drink.

"Han," he scolded gently, "you can't just call her mom a stripper just because you don't like her."

"No, she's right," Sarah hummed. "My mom actually was a stripper."

Happy, to his credit, didn't flinch at Hannah's words, knowing that she and her mother considered Sarah a stain on their otherwise perfect family. "Nah, we met at a party," he said with a grin. "My brother was dating her roommate, thought we would get along, and they were right."

It was a half-truth, but seemed to be satisfactory for both her father and Diana, but Hannah just scoffed. Thankfully, the waiter came around before anyone could say anything else on the subject, presenting the bottle of wine that Alexander had picked out for the night. She had warned Happy that her father might take offense if he passed on the wine, even if he had terrible taste. He always chose wines that were full bodied and rich, with high tannins, that always left her with a headache the next morning, and his pick for the evening was no exception.

Happy promised he would at least take a few sips, and didn't say a word as the waiter poured him a glass from the decanter.

"None for me, thanks," Sarah told the waiter quietly, raising her hand. The waiter nodded, and continued his round around the table.

"So, Sarah, remember my friend from the Christmas Eve party two years ago?" Diana asked, and Sarah shook her head. "Janice, the one whose son is looking for a stepmother for his two daughters? He's just moved up to Seattle, and he's still single. I could set the two of you up?"

"He may be single, but I'm not," Sarah replied with a frown.

"You're not wearing a ring," her father argued. "That means you're single."

"Just because I'm not married doesn't mean I'm not single," Sarah said through gritted teeth. "Happy and I have been together for three years. We live together. We're having a baby together. We're not single."

There was silence around the table for a moment as her words sunk in, before Hannah laughed. "A single parent, like mother, like daughter. How fitting." Sarah shot her a dirty look, but Hannah just smirked. "What? How long do you think this is going to last after you pop a kid out? Have you ever heard of a felon changing diapers, or waking up in the middle of the night when the baby cries?"

Chad coughed. "Hannah, that's totally inappropriate," he scolded her quietly.

"No, she's right," her father said sternly, from the other side of the table. His eyes seemed to bore holes in her skull. "It's disappointing that you've decided to link yourself to this man in such a way. You have a master's degree, Sarah. I expected more of you."

"Well, hang on, it can't be all bad, can it?" Diana chimed in, a false smile fixed on her face. "It's not too late to leave him. We could set you up somewhere to take a vacation for a couple of months, find a nice couple to adopt. Or if you're not that far along…"

"And why would I do that, Diana?" Sarah bit back. She placed her hand on her stomach. "I've made my decision. You won't change my mind."

Alexander shook his head. "We're making decisions that are best for your future, sweetie. You just can't see that yet, and that's okay. We only have your best interests in mind."

She heard the scraping of Happy's chair against the floor before she saw him stand, buttoning a single button on his jacket and straightening his cuffs. Without a word, he offered Sarah his hand, and she accepted, rising slowly out of her seat.

"Where do you think you're going?" Diana asked them, frowning.

"Don't have to sit here and listen to this if we don't want to," Happy growled, his eyes narrowing. Diana at least had the decency to shrink back under his glare. "We're having a kid, whether you like it or not, and we get to choose whether or not you're a grandparent."

They turned, and she tucked her hand into the crook of Happy's elbow, a smile spreading across her face. She had been so worried about him impressing her father that she hadn't even considered that he would show him up, or call him out.

"If you walk away, you can consider yourself cut off," Alexander threatened from behind them, but Sarah just waved her hand.

"I can't believe I thought that would go any differently," she whispered.

"They're your family," Happy told her with a shrug, as he opened the door to the restaurant. "You always want to assume the best."

"Not anymore," she replied softly, her voice barely audible over the sound of the passing cars.


June 17th, 2006

Charming, California

It was late for them to be at a diner, but neither one of them cared. Hanna's Diner in Charming was open 24 hours, the only establishment on the street that was open past eight at night. Only a handful of patrons dotted the booths or sat at the counter, making the joint relatively quiet. Happy had loosened his tie, and Sarah had swapped her heels for the sandals she kept in the car, but they were still dressed to the nines.

He hadn't said much since they'd left the first restaurant, and it had been a surprise for them to drive past the "Welcome to Charming" sign. She knew that Charming was where his old charter was, and he'd been cautious about bringing her around his brothers in Tacoma. Charming was a smaller city, and the likelihood that they'd run into someone he knew was higher.

She struggled with the silence a little bit, as she gnawed on a french fry. The words of her family kept ringing in her head over and over again. She loved Happy. He was solid, dependable, fiercely loyal, and protective, but he also had a gentle side, which she saw every time his hands ran over her stomach with a feather light touch, or when she woke up in the mornings and found that he'd packed her lunch and left it in the fridge. It was the little things like that which made her fall deeper in love with him, and feel more confident in the decisions she'd made.

But her family had made her question that.

The logical part of her brain screamed that her family was wrong, that she shouldn't listen to them. She didn't even like Diana or Hannah. Their opinions should be irrelevant to her. But the stupid sentimental part of her brain couldn't get past her father's disapproval.

"I'm sorry," she finally said, breaking the silence between them.

He looked up from his burger, and frowned. "For what?" he asked.

She hesitated. "Well, my father doesn't like you, and my stepmother and half-sister had some very choice things to say," she said slowly. "They're not exactly your mom and aunt."

"His approval was important to you," he stated, and she frowned. "That's what you told me when we were getting the suit."

"They'll never approve of you," she whispered, mostly to herself. "I don't know why I thought they would. I'm sorry I made you buy that suit. It seems silly now."

He shrugged. "Every man needs a good suit," he replied. "Ma will like it."

The bell above the door dinged, drawing Happy's attention away from her. She turned her head slightly in the direction of the door, and watched as two bikers made their way into the diner. The first she recognized as Tig, with his wild hair and blue eyes, but the second was unfamiliar. Tig must have been the one that Happy sent a text to when they got into the car.

"You bought a fucking suit?" Tig laughed as he approached the table, a grin spread across his face. The other man let out a low whistle. Happy slid out of the booth to greet them, giving them the customary biker embrace. Tig held him at arms' length, shaking his head. "What the hell are you doing here, wearing that?"

"Met her parents," Happy replied.

"Oh yeah?" Tig asked, his attention turning to Sarah. "How'd that go?"

"Not great," Sarah said quietly. "My father wasn't impressed, my stepmother and half-sister were just rude. I got disowned."

He frowned, his eyes lowering into an expression she could only describe as pitying, and slid down into the booth next her. His arm draped over her shoulders, and he pulled her so her head rested against his shoulder. "You want me to kill 'em, doll?"

She sprang back out of surprise, laughing nervously as she tried to figure out if he was serious or not. "No, it's okay," she replied. "I just need to wallow in my self-pity for a little bit."

Happy and the other man sat down across from them, the unfamiliar man seeming a bit apprehensive, his dark eyes darting between the three of them. His dark hair hung a little bit on the long side, but his most notable feature was the knife scars that stretched out from the corners of his lips.

"Sarah, this is Chibs," Tig told her, gesturing to the man. "Chibby, this is Sarah, Hap's old lady."

Chibs's eyes widened as he looked between Happy and Sarah. "You serious?" he asked Happy, and she realized that he had an accent, which she couldn't quite place her finger on. When Happy nodded, Chibs chuckled. "How long have you had an old lady, you bastard?"

Scottish. It was definitely Scottish.

Happy shrugged. "A while."

Chibs's jaw dropped. "You move up to Tacoma, you never call, you never write, and then you just show up one night with an old lady," he said, shaking his head. He turned to Tig. "And you knew about this?"

Tig nodded "Oh yeah," he replied. "Most of Tacoma thinks she's my kid."

The Scotsman chuckled, and shook his head. "Leave it to you two to do something like that," he said. "Is she coming to family dinner tomorrow night?"

"Nah, we gotta get back up to Tacoma," Happy replied, "and I'm not ready for her to meet mother Gemma. Not yet."

Sarah frowned, picking up a french fry. "Who's Gemma?" she asked.

The three men shared a glance with one another, and Tig shrugged. "She's Clay's old lady, and was JT's before that," he replied, as if she knew exactly who those people were. She gave him a blank stare, and he signed. "Clay's the prez, and JT was one of the founders."

"So she's kind of a big deal," Sarah concluded.

"She can be a bit, uh, prickly," Chibs added. "Especially with new girls. But once you're good with her, you're good with everyone."

She looked at Happy, her head tilting to the side as she studied his face. He was considering what his brothers had said, she thought, and whether or not they should extend their trip. There were a handful of members that knew, scattered across four charters and three states, but she knew that all of the men who knew were ones he trusted with his life (including Chibs, who, even though she had known for less than an hour, she could tell he had a long history with).

"Is it better to show up with a pregnant old lady, or an old lady and a kid?" she asked him quietly, reaching across the table to gently place her hand over his.

A smirk slowly spread across his face. "Probably would be better before we have a kid, but let's wait," he said. "Gives it more shock value. And it'd only be right to tell Jessie first. We can do that back if you want to meet the old ladies."

She made a face. "She isn't going to try and coach me though labor like she did with Lauren, will she?" When Happy didn't respond with an affirmative "no," she frowned. "Maybe we just wait to tell any other old ladies until after the baby is born. Just to safely navigate the club politics."

"Probably for the best," he agreed, and the other two men eventually nodded as well. "Family's gotta meet them first. Your ma and mine. We could fly them all up?"

She shook her head. "Mom'll be on parole her request to leave the state might not be approved so close to her release," she said, and he nodded. "We could all take a trip to Vegas though?"

"Count us in," Tig replied, to which Happy chuckled and Sarah cracked a smile. Chibs just shook his head, and Tig raised his hands defensively. "What? You know how much the charter loves having kids around. Just haven't had many since Opie got locked up and Hobart got stripped of his patch. You know Gemma will be pushing Jax and Wendy for them soon enough."

"I'll keep that in mind," Sarah replied for them. "You're Happy's family, so I'll leave that decision up to him."

Chibs shook his head. "If you're Hap's old lady, then you're family too," he told her, pointing and wagging his finger. "And don't you forget that."

She was caught off guard for a brief moment, but smiled. "Thank you," she said softly. She knew how much family meant to them, and to be considered part of it wasn't something to be taken lightly.

And it was then that she also realized the difference between his family and hers. When she had brought him to dinner, he wore a suit, and she begged him to at least take a sip of the wine, in an effort to change who he was, and make her father like him. But with his family, with his mom and aunt, and his brothers, he had never asked her to change. She was just herself, as he was himself. There was no burden or pressure to be someone she was not. Family had always just been biological, by definition, in her head, but maybe it was time for her to reconsider.

After all, she wasn't going to miss her father or Diana.


A/N: Kind of fluffy, kind of filler. I've got a couple ideas in my head for the upcoming chapters, just working out how to connect them all with the events in between. Mayans MC has definitely helped to spark some inspiration, especially with some of the Sons making appearances. Until next time!