A/N ((Rated for swearing, Enjoy!))
Two weeks later…
Like ghoulish autumn leaves the bruises were changing fading from deep purple hues to a green yellowish tinge. Biting the inside of her cheek Nora struggles to mask the sound of her frustration. Laden with aggravation she's determined to lift her arms above her head, to carry out even the most mundane task. She's already torn the stitches in her side this week due to her stubbornness. Breaking out in a cold sweat Nora manages to pull the black tank top down around her breasts, one small victory at a time. Head spinning she gasps as the ground seemingly pulls away. Grasping the cool edges of the porcelain sink for leverage she can feel consciousness slipping through her fingers like sand.
Stay here, stay awake.
A warm touch, hands against the small of her back alert Nora that she is not alone, brings her back to the present.
"I'm Okay Daddy. I'm…I'm okay. I just got dizzy." She insists, voice small and tight with discomfort.
Unconvinced Tig told the young woman exactly what he was thinking.
"You're pushing to fuckin hard Doll; when's the last time you took your meds?"
Helping her to lean back against the sink Tig's blue eyes are critical as he assesses her condition, giving her a hand he gently pulled down the fabric of her top.
"I can't think straight when I'm doped up…It makes me dream about, about what happened."
This was becoming a reoccurring argument. One that Tig is tired of having. Opening the medicine cabinet he pulled out the small orange bottle. Wrestling with the cap he held out two white tablets that Nora politely ignored.
"I know you're tired of hearing this shit but you need fucking time. Slow the fuck down." Tig replied trying and failing to not sound annoyed.
Rubbing a hand against the back of her neck she understood what he was saying, but she shook her head all the same.
"Listen baby girl I have to go with Chib's on some errands…You think it'll be okay if I leave you alone for a while?"
Smiling faintly at his words Nora nodded. For days Tig had made every excuse not to leave the house, reluctant to abandon Nora to her own devices. If her health or mental stability was his concern he chose to remain silent on the subject. Perhaps he was finally allowing her to find her own footing along the difficult path set before her. She'd decided a long time ago no matter what happened she would take everything one moment to the next despite her craving for normality, a stronger foundation to stand on.
She tried once more to reassure him. "I'll be fine…The real question is will you? Just go…it'll be okay. I have my cellphone."
This time Tig seemed more inclined to believe her, not that he had a choice. They both knew he had club obligations, the last thing Nora wanted was to stand between them and her would-be father. She wasn't the only one who had to move on with their life. SAMCRO was hurting, it's members divided. SAMCRO needed every opportunity available to gain their footing again to remain a united front. That meant getting back to business as usual.
Adding a pair of Victoria Secret white and silver sweat pants to her ensemble Nora sat down carefully on the wooden porch swing. Tucking the cell phone in the waistband of her sweats she shyly waved a hand to Chib's as he pulled up to the curb, the Scotsman returning the gesture as Tig paused beside her a small Smith and Wesson pistol held out towards hers.
"Anything, I mean anything Nora you call me. I mean it."
Smiling again she does her best to appear brave. Taking the gun from him there is still a piece of her that fears the quiet, for the physical company to assure her that she is safe to be absent from sight.
"I promise. Now go, get lost. I'm probably going to go back inside in ten minutes anyway."
Kissing her cheek Tig says nothing more; he knows if he doesn't leave now he never will.
Half an hour passes and Nora remains on the swing, her nervousness becoming more tolerable as the minutes crawl by. The warm breeze against her face and bare arms a comfort as she watches the passing cars their red tail lights glowing bright before fading from sight. Absent-minded she traces the lettering along her thigh smiling as Monster Mash comes to rest his meaty head on the bench beside her. Easing his nose closer, pink and black speckled tongue delivering a series of wet sloppy kisses. It was Mash's not so subtle hint for attention. Indulging his plea's she smoothed her uninjured palm across his head massaging just behind the ears. Closing his eyes in happiness Mash panted noisily, tongue lolling off to the side. A jealous whining came just inside the screen door. Medusa a female white and brown colored Pit Bull that Tig had rescued a few weeks ago from a dog fighting ring paced back and forth.
"Shh, no Medusa…" Nora said gently hushing the animal.
It hadn't taken much arm twisting on her part to convince Tig to keep the dog. To their surprise Mash hadn't minded the company in fact the pair of them had proven rather inseparable.
Seeming to know something Nora didn't, Mash ignored Medusa. Turning towards the driveway to stare off in the direction of the street he growled loudly. Medusa pushed that she was being ignored began to whine now, nails scuttling across the wooden floor of the entry way. It wasn't until Nora heard the tell-tale sound of a motorcycle engine rumbling in the distance that she understood what the commotion was all about. Immediately she assumed Tig must have changed his mind but Nora's heart skipped a beat when the Harley Davidson black Dyna rolled into the driveway. It was not her father. In fact it was quite the opposite.
For weeks now Happy Lowman had respected his Brothers wishes. No matter how angry it'd made him he'd stayed away, stayed away from her. Whether it was vanity or shame she'd been too humiliated for him to see her this way, especially when she'd learned he'd seen the video. That he knew what they'd done. She had no idea he'd come to the hospital to see her. The staff having assured him that she wouldn't even know he was there. It had been something he counted on.
Reaching out, open hand swallowing the visage of her face, the faint beeping of machines and the shallow breaths of air against his skin the only thing telling him that she was alive. He'd struggled to remember the way she looked when she smiled, the feeling of her fingertips looping back and forth as she traced the lines of his tattoos. The way her voice sounded as she laughed, but Happy couldn't do any of this. All he could hear was the soft almost inaudible sound of his name on her blood stained lips.
David.
She'd called out for him even as her throat had been too raw to form the syllables.
He'd forced himself to watch the video until he had memorized every identifiable feature of the assailants. Their clothing, the gait of their walk nothing had gone unnoticed. There would be no stretch of ground they could hide on now, nothing on heaven or earth that was going to protect them from his wrath. Happy knew revenge wouldn't change what had happened, but it would be a start, a start to making things right. Turning her hand over in his he'd inspected the deep cut that ran along the inside of her palm. It carried from the meatier part of the extremity across to the base of her pinky finger. Too long for a defensive wound he recognized it for what the doctors would not. Dark eyes boring down he'd known exactly what had happened, what his girl had done.
Presently now he was walking up the driveway and came to a stop near the bottom step of the porch the only incentive the foreboding warning he received from the Pit bull near the edge. Head down eyes intelligent, the animal recognized a predator when it saw one emitting a growl he told Happy the only thing he needed to know. If he crossed the invisible line drawn on the concrete path the dog wouldn't hesitate. Happy knew this because it was exactly what he would have done. Standing tall Happy stared down at Mash proving to the dog that he wasn't going anywhere. One way or another he was going to cross that line.
Recognizing their company, Medusa gave a serious of intense barks nose pressing against the screen. Sighing Nora gave a sharp whistle calling to Mash, months of obedience training to her advantage the Pit Bull reluctantly rose up turning to look at her with what she could only describe as annoyance. Standing herself Nora suddenly wished she'd listened to her father and taken the medication. Opening the screen door she ordered Mash to go inside. One last dirty look in Happy's direction and the Pit Bull joined its companion in living room eager to take his frustration out on their shared Kong toy. She did not envy the poor piece of manufactured rubber.
Swallowing the lump in her throat Nora knew it was now or never.
"Did Tig send you over?"
A straightforward man Happy gave her a simple answer.
"What the fuck do you think."
Deep down Nora knew better than to assume Tig would do this. Not after she'd begged him to keep Happy at a distance. Nora supposed she should count her blessings. Realistically it was amazing he'd obeyed at all. He'd never been one to take orders from anyone short of a Club President, let alone a woman no matter who she was. Reaching past her Happy opened the screen door and this time neither dog growled. Knowing better than to argue she walked past him and to the kitchen where she opened the refrigerator offering the Son a cold beer. Taking a drink of the amber liquid his dark eyes critical watched as she opened a prescription bottle sitting on the edge of the cutting board. Popping three white pills into her mouth Nora chewed them dry, the bitter taste helping her to focus.
"Have you told them yet."
Spitting the water into the sink Nora wiped her mouth on a dish towel hanging off the lower cabinets.
"I don't understand what you're asking." She replied, willing him to change the subject.
Nora could nearly feel the exasperation bristling off of him. Of any scenario she imagined this conversation hadn't been one of them. Hands fluttering over the edge of the counter she could feel him standing closer now inches away. Lifting her head she watched Happy's face in the reflection of the window.
"Answer me."
"Hap, please don't…"
Shoulders tensing she flinched at the rise in his voice.
"There's too much blood to just be yours. If the guys haven't figured it out already they will soon."
For a moment she is there again, standing on the edge of oblivion with the knife in her hand body drifting in the endless sea of red. The last moments a deafening force. Happy recognizes the look crossing her face, the far away glassy-eyed stillness. For him it's different, an electric current of euphoria coursing through the veins. The rage, the blood he knows them well like an old friend they bring him comfort and its then that he knows exactly what he must do. He has to make Nora understand, to realize that there is nothing to be ashamed of. Not when you're defending your life, your honor. Ignoring the bruises he cups her face in his hands, kissing her slow and deep. Looking beyond everything and to the inner strength that lies just beneath the surface.
Resting his forehead against hers, his right hand against the back of her neck.
"Say it Nora…I just wanna hear you say it."
The rasp of his voice sending chills along her skin reminds her she'd nearly forgotten how superb it was to feel him touch her this way. Driven by the need to feel liberated the words spill freely from her lips. Unhindered and honest.
"I killed one of them…David I killed him."
Kissing her again the words taste sweet on his tongue and it's when she returns the kiss that he can finally feel a sense of strength arise in her.
His Nora, was stronger than anyone had ever asked her to be. She would not bend, his girl would not break.
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She'd been quiet for almost half an hour now, the edges of her consciousness warm and glowing from the painkillers. She watched through half lidded eyes as Happy unlaced his boots setting them near the door of her bedroom. Draping his Cut on the back of a chair he turned to face her pulling the white shirt up and over his head, the garment quickly joining the boots on the floor. Standing in front of her he waited patiently as she scooted backwards with numbed slowness. He could understand the independent stubbornness even tolerate it for the sake of humoring the young woman. When she'd made it to the middle of the bed Happy knelt on to mattress and without warning gave the waist band of the sweat pants a gentle tug in his direction. The action resulted in Nora slipping back against the bed her hands weakly pushing at his as moaned in protest.
"No Hap. Please…please I don't want you see."
Choosing to ignore her protests Happy finished the task her cheeks burning hot with shame, Nora's worst fears were being realized. No one aside from her father and the hospital staff had seen her injuries. Biting back a whimper Nora felt a sense of shock to feel his calloused finger tips begin to feel along the rag doll stitches, the endless trails of black twine. His eyes shining in the dim light his touch strangly ticklish against her skin it left goose bumps in their wake. He purposely starts the journey at the superficial cuts starting at the curve of her elbow, following upwards across the bicep and back down to the collar-bone. Taking his time near the curve of her breast and towards the flat expanse of her stomach, nothing is ignored. He knows it is taking every fiber of her control to keep still, to allow him the luxury of seeing her so vulnerable and exposed.
Running the pad of his thumb along her skin he follows the outline of the tattoo just below her hip. The distinctive black and gray of his crow a familiar and comforting symbol. It overshadows everything else. The scars would fade with time, but his mark would always remain.
"The only thing that matters is that Crow. Not a goddamn thing before it, not a goddamn thing after it. Do you understand me?" He asks, palm warm against her as he looks down upon her.
With a subtle nod of her head Nora understands. Wrapping her delicate hand around his forearm she showed him what she wanted. Laying on his side Happy pulled her in against him, head resting on his shoulder arms tucked against her chest Nora took a deep breath inhaling the aroma of Marlboro cigarettes, leather and the faintest hint of sweat. They were all deeply rooted in her memories and easily brought her a sense of peace. Smoothing her hair away from his face he listened as she whispered quietly, eyelashes fluttering against the hollow of his throat as she turned her head.
"Stay with me."
Silence was her only answer and for the first time in weeks night fell without fear, without dreams.
