Fingers crossed I will have another update tonight or tomorrow! Thank you for all the reviews and messages about this story! Still have a ways to go, just going a little slower now.
Chapter 31
"Hey sweetheart." Tig said, walking through the front door of my grandfather's home as if he was just coming over for dinner. I took a look around outside before quickly ducking back inside. Grandpa walked out of the living room and pointed a shaking finger at Tig.
"Who are you? Get out of my house!" He yelled. I hated to see him like that. He had always been a strong minded man but dementia was taking its toll in a big way. When I got to my grandparent's home, I had assumed my grandmother would answer the door and give me hell. I then found out that she had passed just a couple weeks prior. I couldn't honestly mourn her loss personally, we were never that close. I was saddened to see how much worse Grandpa had gotten and how he still looked for her though.
"Grandpa, this is Tig. He's a friend! It's okay." I said, patting his arm. He didn't look too convinced but he turned back to the living room and returned to his chair. I sighed and looked back at Tig. "I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it, doll face. How are you doing?" He asked, glancing down to my stomach. I took a deep breath and waited until Grandpa's care taker was out of the living room to answer.
"I miss Happy and the stress is making me sick. If he asks I'm okay though. Don't make him worry any more." I said. I didn't want to add anymore to Happy's already full plate. I felt so guilty. I shouldn't have followed that dumb bitch. I sighed and motioned for Tig to follow me into the kitchen. He put his palm between my shoulder blades in a failed attempt to bring me some comfort.
"Lohen's working on making all this go away. Said it would have been better if you came in from the get go though. Physical evidence and everything. Don't worry though. She's paid the big bucks to save our asses." Tig said with a forced laugh. I sat down at the kitchen table and ran my hand over my stomach.
"I just wanted everything to be okay, Tig. I wasn't happy about you all going inside but I was prepared. I had plans. The baby was going to keep me occupied and I was going to do some consulting once she was a few months old." Tig's eyes lit up and I realized what I said. Surprising everyone with the gender didn't seem nearly as important anymore. I shrugged and took a deep breath. "Now I'm going to give birth on the run or in prison where they'll take her away as soon as she's born. Who's going to take care of her? Both of her parents will be serving time."
"Come on, doll face. Don't think like that. We can fix all this." TIg looked a little panicked when I started to cry. "Hey, why don't you go lay down? You look tired."
"Yeah. I guess I should. I've just dozed off for a few minutes here and there." I admitted. I was too scared to sleep. At least with Tig there, he could keep a lookout while I slept. I rose to my feet and made my way down the hall. I chose to sleep in Mom's old room. Despite her rocky relationship with Grandma and Grandpa, her old room hadn't been changed much since she left at sixteen. I crawled into the bed and pulled the blanket up to my chin.
"Lexie, wake up." I rolled over with a groan, saddened that he wasn't really there. I missed Happy more than ever. "Baby, come on."
"Hap?" I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder to see him standing at the side of the bed, one knee resting on the mattress. I smiled brightly and threw my arms around his neck. He pressed his lips onto my cheek and held me close. "You're really here."
"I am. You're coming back to Charming, baby." I pulled back quickly, wondering if he had lost his mind. "Everything is okay. Jax made a deal but you can't say anything, especially not to your mom or Tara."
"Happy, they're my family. How can I not say anything?" I asked, torn between being relieved about going home and being stressed about keeping things from Mom and Tara. Happy shook his head and stood up.
"You can not say anything so the deal doesn't go to shit. You don't want to keep shit from them more than you want to have our kid outside of prison?" I wasn't expecting him to be so angry. I bit my bottom lip and searched his eyes for some hint of softness. It wasn't there. He was angry. He was angrier than I thought he would be.
"I'm sorry." I muttered. Happy shook his head and shoved his hands in his front pocket. "Please say something."
"What do you want me to say, baby? It's not okay and I can't forgive you yet, Lexie." I never knew words could hurt that much. I didn't blame him, I couldn't. "Come on, let's get home."
"Okay." I said. He frowned and kissed the top of my head once I was up on my feet. His words replayed in my head. He couldn't forgive me yet. Would he ever be able to? Would we be able to move past my stupid mistake? I hoped so, not just for our daughter but for my own selfish needs as well. I couldn't imagine a life without him anymore.
"Ride with Tig." Happy said, motioning towards the black van. I frowned, wishing I could still ride behind him on the bike. It wasn't safe for the baby though.
"Okay." I said again. Happy sighed and took me by my arm. Jax, Rat and Tig were getting ready to leave in the driveway as Happy led me back towards the rose garden.
"You think this changes something, Lexie?" Happy asked, turning to me and letting go of my arm. I didn't have time to answer before he continued. "You did some stupid shit and it had consequences but so did I. You were mad at me and I deserved it but here you are and I'm gonna be right here to. You're my reason for living, Alexis. I'm not giving that up."
"I love you, Happy." I said. He nodded and kissed my lips. The kiss was gentle but firm and he held me tight in his arms.
"Just let me be mad for a while. Nothing's gonna change." He let me go and put his hand at the small of my back, leading me back towards the driveway. I felt a little better but I still worried that I had lost his trust. When we got to the van, Tig was already in the driver's seat. "Tig, you hurt my girls and I'll kill you twice."
"They'll be safe and sound, Hap." Tig promised with a serious nod. Happy helped me into the van and closed the door before walking up to his bike. "Don't worry, Lexie. He'll get over it."
"I hope so." I said, resting my back on the seat. We started the drive back to Charming and I started thinking about what it had cost the club to get me off the hook. With someone like Stahl, the price wouldn't be cheap. I glanced over at Tig and wondered if he knew about the deal. He was the Sgt at Arms but I wasn't going to assume anything. I kept my mouth shut and watched the scenery go by as he followed Jax, Happy and Rat.
"Lohen was able to get you house arrest for going AWOL. Everything else is handled." Jax said, tapping the ash of his cigarette into the round, glass ashtray on his kitchen counter. Instead of going to the clubhouse when we got to Charming, Jax had led us to his house. Tara was called in for an emergency surgery, so after Tig and Rat left it was just my brother, my fiancé and me.
"So, when does this deal go down?" I asked, uncomfortable with how many moving pieces there were.
"Two weeks." Happy said. My heart leapt up in my chest. Two weeks and they would be gone? I wasn't ready. We weren't even close to moving into the new house. I had hoped, some way, that Happy would be the first to hold our little girl. My shoulders dropped as Happy pulled me into a hug. "We're going home, Jax."
"Lexie, you got a second?" Jax asked. Happy stiffened a little but headed outside, leaving Jax and I alone in the kitchen. "Whatever you need, you'll have help, aight? Mom and Tara will be here and so will Chibs and Opie. You got it? You're not alone."
"Thanks, Jax." I gave him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek before going outside. Happy had my car towed to Jax' house so I followed him back to our temporary home. He held the door open for me and then locked up and checked the rest of the doors. I walked to the bedroom and peeled my clothes off. I was more than ready for a shower.
"Can I join you?" Happy asked just as I was wetting my hair. I pulled the curtain back. "I can't stay mad at you. You're in my head."
"You can be mad if you want, Hap. I was stupid." I said, wiping water off of my face. He shook his head and ran his hand from my cheek to my chest. "I'm going to miss you."
"I don't want to go. I'm going to miss too much." He said. I kissed his chest and closed my eyes, wishing things could be different. I looked up into his eyes and nodded. "What?"
"I want to get married this weekend. I don't want to wait. I want to be your wife now." I said, searching his eyes for a response. I didn't have to wait long. He kissed me and carefully pushed me against the wall of the shower. The water was rolling down his back as he moved his mouth to my neck and then my breasts. My hands gripped his shoulders as he entered me. I could tell he wanted to do things differently, more like our normal routine but he was too afraid to hurt me or the baby.
"Your hair is soaking the pillow." Happy whispered, running his fingers up and down my side. I nodded and took his hand, bringing it to my stomach. Our little girl was kicking up a storm, only slowing when he stopped stroking my side. "She doesn't like being tickled?"
"No, she does. She kicks so much when you're around. She already loves you." I said, keeping my hand on top of his. I felt him smile against my shoulder before he gave it a soft kiss.
"You sure about this weekend? It won't be big." He asked as the kicking slowed down. I nodded and scooted back to be closer to him.
"I'm sure. I just want it to be family." I whispered. "We can do it at the clubhouse if you want. It would be easier that way."
"We'll figure something else out." He said with a yawn.
"Goodnight, baby." I brought his hand up and kissed his palm. He moved it back to my stomach and nuzzled his head against my neck.
"Goodnight, Lexie." The baby kicked and he chuckled. "Goodnight to you to, Princess. Daddy isn't leaving you out."
