Disclaimer-I own this story, my original characters, and all relevant plotlines. The rest belongs to Kurt Sutter and FX.
"Thanks, Nova. I appreciate you helping out, brother." Happy offered his left hand awkwardly to the uncommonly handsome Nomad, who bypassed it and hugged him, slapping his back hard.
"Anytime. You know we love Delia." Nova said, grinning.
"You love her tamales." Happy accused and Nova shrugged, because he really, really did.
"Don't cheapen what Delia and I have." Nova quipped and Happy punched him in the stomach.
"My aunt will be there in a few days, just set up the shit with the home nurse." Happy said, shoving Nova toward the parking lot, where Bulldog and the other Nomads were already mounted up and waiting.
No Other Man Alive
Ace sat curled in the recliner in her room, watching Jenna who was nursing her tiny son on Ace's bed.
"He's beautiful." She said, smiling at her friend.
"You say that every time. I promise you, he isn't nearly so cute when he's screaming at 3 in the morning." Jenna commented, drily.
"Can I hold him when you're done?" Ace asked, leaning her cheek against the back of the chair.
"Here, he's already done, take him." Jenna slid her shirt back into place after handing the baby over. "You're sure he's not too heavy for you?"
"He's fine." Ace traced a finger down the baby's round cheek, and then wiped her face. "Dammit, my eyes are leaking again."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Jenna asked softly, laying a hand on Ace's shoulder.
"No. Yes. I don't know." Ace sniffed, laughing a little, the slightest note of hysteria in her voice. "It all feels a little surreal, like a nightmare."
"It really shook Juice up. He and Jax got in a huge fight over what happened at the clubhouse." Jenna held out the box of tissues.
"What do you mean? What happened?" Ace asked, mopping up her face. Jenna looked a little uncomfortable at the realization that Ace may not know the entire story of what happened to her.
"Jax didn't want Juice to give Happy the location where you were being held until after the other charters got here. Juice did it anyway; he didn't think you'd last until Tacoma made it down." Jenna explained. "It really shook him up, he's talking about jumping charters."
"I think he might have saved my life." Ace said, passing the sleeping infant back to his mother. "Can you help me wash my hair? I can't get the stitches on my face wet."
"Of course, honey." Jenna tucked the baby into his stroller, and parked him right outside the bathroom door.
"You're not going to freak out over my bruises are you?" Ace asked warily. "Because it's really bad enough with Happy."
"No freaking out, I promise." Jenna crossed her heart. "How is your old man handling all this?"
"Mostly pretty quiet." Ace pulled the Johnny off, and narrowed her eyes at Jenna in warning. "He blames himself."
"Here, lean back." Jenna started running warm water through Ace's hair, which was a spectacularly tangled mess. "Do you blame him?"
"No. He was going to his mother, I can't blame him for that." The water and Jenna's hands were incredibly soothing, and Ace closed her eyes. "Besides, if he had been there, maybe it would have been him that got killed."
"Can I ask a personal question?" Jenna began combing through the tangles. Ace snorted a little and cracked one eye open.
"I'm naked, how much more personal do you want to get?" She asked.
"I heard that you two got in a fight that night, before everything happened." Jenna handed the showerhead to Ace. "It's all yours."
"Thanks. Uh, yeah, we did." Ace washed quickly, not interested in seeing herself in the process.
"What was that all about? I've never even seen you two disagree." Jenna commented from her perch on the toilet, thankfully out of Ace's view.
"I showed up unexpectedly and saw something I wish I hadn't." Ace closed her eyes against the memory, but that didn't stop her skin from breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Ah, a croweater." Jenna sounded resigned.
"Is that…normal?" Ace asked, uncertain whether she really wanted to hear the answer. "Has Juice ever?"
"Not that I know of." Jenna said. "But the standard rule is that whatever happens on a run stays on a run. They're not supposed to bring that shit around us. It's a weird code of ethics."
"So I'm just supposed to be ok with it?" Ace turned the water off, and took the towel that Jenna passed through the shower curtain.
"I don't know." Jenna said. "If I had to see it, Juice had better give me a reason. For what it's worth, I can't imagine one moment of stupidity on his part cancelling out everything else you guys are. Happy literally traded his life for yours. If he can explain it, I'd give him a pass this time."
No Other Man Alive
Happy looked back at the hospital another time before climbing into the truck Jax had pulled up in. He knew that Tig and Kozik had positioned themselves right outside Ace's door and that nothing would get through the pair, but it made him twitchy not being with her.
"Thanks for the ride." He grunted reluctantly. The decisions Jax had made concerning Ace's abduction were a nearly physical barrier between the two.
"Listen, man, I know you're pissed." Jax began, drumming his thumbs nervously on the wheel. "But I was trying to make the best call for the club, and considering the floor show you and Ace put on, I had no way of knowing what the score was."
"It wasn't your call to make. My old lady, my call. And it wouldn't've changed anything even if she had managed to pull the trigger."
"You'd let your old lady shoot you?" Jax laughed, incredulous. "You're outta your fucking mind, Happy."
Happy just shrugged, he wasn't about to try to explain it to Jax. If Ace had shot him that night, he would have deserved it, and it might have kept her from being abducted. That sounded like a better than fair tradeoff. Besides, Ace was a good shot, and while he absolutely could see her pulling the trigger, he was fairly confident that she wouldn't have gone for a kill.
"Alright, Rosen's already here and I know Roosevelt already checked your alibi, so it should be smooth sailing. I'll wait for you."
No Other Man Alive
"Hey, hey, I don't think so!" Tig physically put himself in front of Ace's door, cutting off Roosevelt's access.
"Mr. Trager, a pleasure to see you back in Charming." Eli Roosevelt commented politely and waited, but Tig didn't answer, just crossed his arms. "I'm going to need to get in to see Mrs. Perez, get a few answers from her about what happened to her and your dead buddy in the motel. Now you can let me in or I'll have you arrested for obstruction."
"Can't it wait? At least until her old man gets back, she's still pretty jumpy." Kozik tried to reason with the Sheriff.
"See, that's the thing, gentlemen. Mr. Perez is currently being detained for questioning down at the station. Figured it would be convenient since he was there picking up their stuff anyway." Roosevelt informed them, and it was clear that he knew he had the upper hand. Tig and Kozik exchanged a look, but Tig wasn't ready to back down, yet.
"This is a dirty fucking trick." He pointed a finger right into the Sheriff's face. "Give me a minute; her friend was helping her get cleaned up."
Eli spread his hands, indicating acquiescence. He waited patiently while Tig knocked and disappeared inside.
"She's a good girl, man, and she's been through a lot. Do you really have to do this now?" Kozik asked. "Ace isn't hiding anything, and Hap makes her more comfortable."
"I just want to help find out who would do something like this to her." Roosevelt turned to face Kozik. "Unless you have some insight you'd care to share?"
No Other Man Alive
"Hey doll." Tig sat at the foot of the bed where Ace was sitting cross legged while Jenna braided her hair back. "Listen, the Sanwa Sheriff is here to ask you some questions. I tried to stall him, but he orchestrated this so that your old man would be detained while getting your stuff."
"Shit." Ace's stomach did a slow roll, but she shook her head and squared her shoulders. "Ok, I can do this. And then he'll go and they have to let Happy go, right?"
"Yeah, they don't have anything on either of you; he just wants to rattle your cage. Kozik and I will be in here the whole time." He assured her. "Jenna you should take off."
No Other Man Alive
"Yeah, I was at the hospital all night. Then I went to my mom's house early afternoon to get some sleep." Happy looked at Rosen, because they'd been going in circles, and the Sergeant kept looking at the clock.
"Right, and did you talk to anyone while you were there? Neighbors? Relatives?" The Sergeant pushed, drumming a pen nervously on the table.
"No, I was at the hospital then I went home to sleep, but my Harley was in the drive, everyone in the neighborhood knows me."
"I'm sure they do, Mr. Perez." The Sergeant replied, then looked to the clock again. Happy was starting to feel like something wasn't right. That feeling was compounded when Jax knocked on the reinforced glass. Happy looked back to the Sergeant and decided it was time for the magic words.
"Am I free to leave?" He asked, a smartass smile in place.
"Well, I-" The Sergeant was clearly nervous, and Happy was pretty grateful when Rosen broke in to earn his retainer.
"You've already checked out his alibi and timeline, so either charge him or let him go." Rosen stood, picking up his briefcase and motioning Happy toward the door.
"What's the problem?" He asked Jax in the hallway.
"Roosevelt set you up to be detained for a while. He's at St. Thomas, questioning your old lady." Jax was pulling him through the tiny reception area to the door.
"Fuck!" Happy roared, and kicked an empty chair hard enough to send it flying.
"Not a good idea, bro, come on." Jax got an arm around Happy's waist and pushed him out into the sunlight.
"Do you need me?" Rosen asked.
"No, Roosevelt will be done by the time we get there, get their stuff and meet us." Jax told him as they crossed the parking lot.
"How did he get in? Tig and Kozik were supposed to be watching out for her!" Happy threw an elbow into the side panel of the truck.
"Hey, don't dent your new ride, bro. Tig is in with her, Kozik called me. They got railroaded, they didn't have a choice, but Kozik said she was doing fine with it." Jax had the truck in reverse before Happy even got his door closed.
"I really hate this fucking town, brother." Happy growled, slamming his head back into the headrest. "The second they cut her loose tomorrow, I'm putting this place in the rearview."
"You guys already made that decision?" Jax asked, not surprised, but definitely a little hurt.
"Yeah, I put in an unofficial request for Tacoma. Wasn't exactly how I planned to tell you." Happy went to rub his face with his hands and remembered the cast, letting his bum hand fall back into his lap.
"It's cool. I get it."
No Other Man Alive
"Are we done here?" Tig was pacing the length of the room, agitated.
"Yeeees, I think that will be all." Roosevelt stood to go. "Just one more thing. Mrs. Perez, if there's anything else you might want to share, or you find that your recollections of the event change, you call me."
"Mmm." Ace hummed noncommittally, taking the card he held out to her, and dropping it on the nightstand without looking at it. She watched Tig throw himself at the door when it slammed open, but Tig backed off when he saw it was Happy.
"Are you alright?" He demanded, looking only at her, and she nodded, so he turned to the Lieutenant. "Get out. If you ever come near my wife again without a warrant for arrest-"
Tig slapped a hand over Happy's mouth to prevent the threat he'd been about to make. Happy shook him off and glared at the Lieutenant, then turned his back and went to Ace.
"Time to leave, piggy." Tig opened the door for the Sheriff.
"Oh, very clever, Mr. Trager." He commented drily as he passed between Tig and Kozik, out to the corridor.
"Very caveman." Ace observed, as Happy wrapped his arm around her head, drawing her into his chest. "That was actually a little bit sexy."
"Yeah?" Happy grinned, letting her pull back to look up at him, and for the tiniest moment, everything felt like normal. He kissed her and it was the first time she had closed her eyes, and he let himself believe that they might come out the other side.
"She did fine, Hap. Stuck to the Russian bit, even I started to believe her." Tig stuck a toothpick in his mouth and took up residence in his chair by the door.
"You did good." Happy kissed the top of her head, and sat behind her, pulling her back against him with both arms. Ace trailed her fingers across the exposed tips of Happy's fingers, and yawned. "Get some sleep, Ace."
No Other Man Alive
"Knock knock." Jax stuck his head in the room an hour later. Happy put a finger to his lips, indicating Ace, still slumbering against his chest. Jax held up two duffel bags, and handed them off to Kozik. "Brought your stuff from the station."
"Thanks." Happy said quietly, trying not to let his arms tighten around her in response to anyone coming into her space. He didn't know if he'd ever be able to hit the road again, the idea of leaving her unprotected made him ill. At some point he'd have to really figure out how he was going to move forward with the club and with her, but today wasn't that day.
"How's she doing?" Jax asked, sitting next to the bed.
"Alright. The doc said she should be free to go tomorrow." Happy answered, wary of Jax's motives.
"I'm not gonna try to convince you to stay." Jax said, rolling his eyes. "I'm pretty clear on how you feel about Charming, and I sympathize, I really do." Jax pulled the keys and a piece of paper from inside his cut and placed them on the nightstand. "Here. Keys to the truck and the title. The Prospect is arranging a trailer for your ride as we speak."
"Thanks." Happy repeated, and couldn't keep from running his hands over her to reassure himself that she was still safe.
"The coroner's office released Shark's body. We're gonna bury him tomorrow while everyone is still in town." Jax told him.
"Sorry, man, but I want to get on the road as early as they'll let us. It's a long ride up to Tacoma." Happy was shaking his head.
"No." They were both startled when Ace spoke up. She disentangled on one arm from the blanket and rubbed her right eye. "No, I want to go. It's my fault he's dead, Happy."
Happy leaned his head back against the pillows, and scrubbed his head roughly with his left hand. He knew that he stood no chance against her, but their last trip through the cemetery had come between them, setting him up to push her away.
"No, that's on me, baby." He sighed. "I pushed Shark away because I knew he wanted you. A smarter move would've been to use him as another line of protection, kept everyone safer. It kind of pisses me off that he turned out to be smarter than me."
"I need to go, big man." Ace kept pushing, and Happy gave in, just like he knew he would.
"The second I say it's time to go, we leave." He warned. "I'm not letting you land yourself right back in here. I want to go to Tacoma."
"We'll go the second you say so, I promise." Ace tilted her head back, a weak, sad smile on her face.
"Tacoma's ready to roll whenever you are, Killah." Kozik said. "Bowie really needs to get back, Maryanne's been holding everything down as best she can, but with barely half a crew, shit's falling through the cracks."
"We'll leave straight from the cemetery. If we park over by the West entrance, all of us should be able to get out quickly."
"I'll make sure the road's clear for you to get out." Jax assured them. "It's the least we can do."
No Other Man Alive
Dressed in her black funeral dress again, Ace tilted her face up to the sun as she sat in the stupid wheelchair, waiting for Happy to bring around the truck.
"Doing alright, sweetheart?" Tig asked, smoking behind her.
"Sun feels good." Ace answered. "Listen, Tig, I just want to thank you for everything. You held us both together. I won't forget that."
"Aaaah, it's no big deal." Tig shrugged off the praise, but he still ruffled her hair. "I'm just glad you're both clear of it."
Anything else either of them might have said was cut off by the sound of Tacoma's Harleys rolling up en masse with the truck, Happy's ride on the trailer behind. Tig flicked away the smoke, and put both hands out to Ace. Gripping his forearms, Ace got herself up, shocked by how weak she really was.
"Doing alright?" Tig asked, and she leaned heavily on his arm, nodding. He opened the door for her, and she looked in at Happy, a little panicked at whether she'd be able to make it in on her own. Happy slammed his palm against the wheel, irritated at his injured hand.
"You're gonna have to help her in, Tig." He said, resigned. Tig looked at him, then down at Ace. There was no way to get her in the truck without getting good and personal.
"You helped me shower, Tig, just get me in the truck." Ace hissed.
"You did what?" Happy shouted, hand going to door handle as Tig lifted her into the truck with one hand under her arm and the other on her hip.
"Easy, big man." Ace lay a steadying hand on his right arm. "It was before I went to the hospital, it was the only way to make sure they couldn't lift any DNA off of me. Tig helped me because I asked him to, to keep you safe."
"I didn't even look, I swear." Tig put both his hands up in surrender, then closed the door behind Ace. Happy just snarled in response, as Tig took off in the direction of his ride.
"It really wasn't that serious." Ace told him as he pulled out behind Bowie's crew, Tig following behind.
No Other Man Alive
"Come on, we're leaving." Happy got his good arm around her waist, careful to keep his hand high enough not to bother her stapled wound. "You look like you might puke."
"No, I'm just tired." Ace answered, but she did feel a little nauseous, mostly due to all the stares she'd been getting through the whole ordeal. "Does everyone know what happened to me?"
"Probably." Happy admitted, catching Bowie's eye and making a twirling motion with his casted hand. Apparently it got the message across well enough because Tacoma started peeling away from the crowd, to cross the cemetery. "Your phone was used to send out those pictures. They were sent to every contact in your phone book, which meant that the charter Presidents all got it."
At that, Ace pressed a hand to her staples and leaned over, dry heaving. Happy kept ahold of her as best he could with one arm, but looked around desperately for someone to help. The truck was a long way off, and there was pretty much no chance he'd be able to get her there alone.
"I knew this was a bad fucking idea." Happy muttered.
"I'm fine." Ace spat into the grass, and straightened up, eyeing the approaching Sons with resignation. "One of these days I'd really like to find some dignity."
"I got her, Killah." Kozik jogged over, and after Happy nodded permission, scooped Ace up, careful to tuck the skirt of her dress under her. "Wow, you need a cheeseburger or three, Ace High."
"Right. Well this isn't humiliating at all." Ace commented, but rested her cheek against Kozik's cut, the familiar smell of leather a balm to her wounded pride. "Get me out of here, please."
"Come on." Happy growled. "The sooner we get out of Charming, the better."
The knot of Sons followed Kozik across the grass to where they had set up. Happy walked on Kozik's left, and Tig was on his right, the rest of the Tacoma a loose wave behind them.
"This fucking cast is bullshit." Happy muttered to no one in particular.
"Chill out, brother." Kozik answered. "Its a few weeks, and we'll get you back to normal. How many times has this club leaned on you for help? Now it's time to lean back. It's the whole reason any of us joined a club, so that we'd never be alone, so quit fighting us."
Happy opened the door and waited while Kozik slid her onto the seat. "Good?" He asked her, and Ace smiled and squeezed his hand.
"Thanks, Koz." She answered, and let him go as Happy crowded him out and shut her door. The two of them double checked the trailer before Kozik headed to mount up.
"Are you sure you're up to this drive?" Happy asked her, reaching awkwardly across the wheel to start the truck and put it in drive. She turned sideways, putting her back to the door.
"Yeah. I want out of here. Take me out of here." She told him.
"Let's go." Happy answered her, and leaned over to draw her legs across his lap, grateful for the late model truck's bench seat.
Ace looked between the edge of seat and the door out the back window, she could see Tig and Lorca, and a few other Tacoma Sons. More importantly, she could see Charming falling behind them. When they passed the Welcome to Charming sign, she turned her eyes back to Happy.
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