Disclaimer: I don't own Sons of Anarchy or any of the characters you recognize.

I had to make some changes in the time line on her trip to New York. Nothing major at all and I'm not even convinced that you'll notice it but it bugged me. I don't like when it doesn't add up. Basically, she was there for a much shorter time than I wrote at first.

As always; I'm so grateful for all reviews, favs and alerts. An extra thank you to the guest reviewers since I can't thank you in person.

Chapter 25: Who gave you that, Sunshine?

"Miss Sanders. I was starting to worry that you'd left us." Ally said as Ava entered her office. It was late at night but there was still quite a lot of activity. Ava assumed that someone who had the SOA as clients were kept quite busy at the moment.

"No. I told you I'd be back." She put the copied file on Ally's desk. "This is a copy, with a quite lousy copy machine I might add. Don't know if you want to take proper copies."

Ally sat down and started to flip to the pages. "I want proper copies of the photos at least."

"I have the original with me, but I want it back. I want to hang on to it."

"Off course. One minute." She picked up the phone and a couple of minutes later a younger man came into the office. "I want you to make first class copies of this file." She nodded to Ava who handed the young man the file. "If one page goes missing you're fired. I want them as soon as possible."

"How many?"

"Five." Ally didn't even look at the man who took the file and walked out again. She kept reading and Ava looked around in the office. It was expensive, she would imagine that a lawyer representing the entire Charming charter would make their fair share of money. At least they wouldn't lack cases.

She turned her eye to Ally who was still reading the papers. Six months ago she would have been ashamed of someone reading that. Now she wasn't. She didn't care. It wasn't only because of Happy, it was because of Grace and she remembered what Al had said, about have the tigress look. If exposing her past – that she was quite embarrassed about – could help her with this, she would. She didn't care who knew as long as it meant that Grace was safe.

"So, exactly what is the plan?" Ally said as she flipped through the remaining pages. Ava appreciated that she didn't comment on anything that was in the papers.

She explained the plan, in detail, and Ally's smile widened more and more as Ava explained. When she was done they both got up.

"And I'll dress very properly tomorrow morning."

Ally laughed. "Yes, please do. Look your very best."

"I will." She took Ally's hand. "Thank you."

"Just doing my job."

"No, thank you for not commenting on that." She pointed at the pile of papers at Ally's desk. "Or having the pity face."

She nodded and looked at Ava. "I don't do pity. But you're welcome."

-o0o-

Happy was relieved. They were finally on their fucking way home. With Abel.

Happy was walking down the stairs when Bobby's phone rang. Gemma gave Maureen a hug. He picked up the phone to call Ava.

"Still miss me?"

"Miss your dick."

"It misses you."

"I'm meeting them in a while."

"All set?"

"Yes. Do you trust me?"

"Babe, you know I do."

"Good. Clark is coming with Grace in the morning after the meeting."

"You're that sure?"

"Hey! I thought you trusted me!"

"We're on our way back."

"You got Abel?"

"Yes."

"Oh, thank God. So glad to hear that."

Happy looked up and saw Bobby going over to Jax with the phone. He had a serious look on his face, something was not right and Happy prayed that it didn't have anything to do with their ride. Then he realized, Bobby wouldn't have given the phone to Jax if it was. That was Clay's business and this was something else.

"Babe, I need to go."

"Ok, see you soon then."

"Yeah. Give 'em hell."

"I will."

He walked up to Bobby, Clay and Opie. Jax's face fell, pretty much back to the position it had been before he got Abel back.

He hung up the phone and looked at Clay. "Tara's been kidnapped."

Happy closed his eyes. This was fucking unbelievable, they just couldn't catch a fucking break.

-o0o-

Ava had her best dress, shoes, jewelry and a carefully laid make-up. Her hair was in a nice bun at the lower back of her head and Ally had nodded appreciatively when she saw her. "Very good."

They were sitting in the same room they had met them in the last time. It wasn't that long but it felt like a lifetime ago. Just as last time the others were late. Ava was going over everything in her head to make sure she wouldn't miss anything.

They finally came and both her and Ally stood up. They sat down opposite them and just as the lawyer was about to open his mouth Ally held up her hand.

"Last time we listened to you, I think it's our turn to talk. Don't you?"

"By all means, we are very interested to hear what you have to say." The lawyer said with a fake smile.

Ally leaned down and picked up the five copies of the file, giving them each a copy.

"This is a copy of a file with information about my client." The lawyer immediately started to flip through it but halted a few pages into it.

"What is this?"

"My client has kept records over the different... indiscretions Mr. Jonah Richardson has submitted her through. There are also some interesting incidents with Mrs. Mary Richardson. A signed testimony from a Judge about her verbal abuse of my client, among other things. That time was in court and her son was charged with the rape and assault of Miss. Sanders."

Ava looked at Mary who turned her eye down on the table.

"I don't see how any of this is of any interest to Ms. Sanders capabilities as a parent." He tried to look confident but Ava could hear the slight tremble on his voice, he was still flipping through the file. Then he stopped and she could see his jaw dropping. He looked up at her, down on the paper in front of him and finally turned his head to Mary and Eric.

Ava smiled. "Was that the pictures of my back?" It was a series of them, taken over the last six years, the only scars missing was the last ones.

Eric immediately opened the file and she saw the second he found that picture as well. He looked up at her and he had the face; shame and pity. She hated that face.

"I know that this isn't of any interest what so ever to my capabilities as a parent. That's not what I'm going to use it for." She said to the lawyer.

"What are you going to use it for?" Eric asked and she turned her attention to him.

"If I hear that you have even been within half a mile of the family court, I will send a copy of this file to every major news station on the west coast. Every single pice of information on what your son and wife have done will be on the news. I will agree to every interview request that I get. I will spill my guts about you family in every fucking morning TV couch I get invited to. All of it. I will ruin your political carrier and reputation. And I'll enjoy every second of it. The extra juicy part is that you're suing me for a kid that your son don't even admit was his. He never even signed the papers. I'll be sure to point that out."

"You can't prove that Jonah did this to you." Mary said and pointed at the photos.

"I've had a restraining order against him for six years. The government found me and Grace in such danger that they've spent a lot of money to protected me from him. It might not hold up in any legal court. But I don't care, the court of the public opinion is ruthless. You both know that."

No-one said anything and Ally collected her papers and took Ava's copy as well. "Did you have anything you wanted to add?" Ally looked around the table, Eric was still looking at the pictures. "No? Ok then, Ava. Let's go."

As they walked towards the building exit, Mary and Eric caught up with her. She motioned to Ally to leave them alone. "What?"

"If you let us meet Grace we'll give her the right to the inheritance that she's entitled to." Mary said. "Even if he never signs the papers." Mary obviously thought that Jonah was still alive.

"What?" Ava wasn't sure what she meant.

"As Jonah's daughter, she's entitled to a substantial amount. Millions." Eric explained.

Ava steeped up to him, he was taller but she was furious, she stared him right into his eyes. "My daughter isn't for sale. Don't ever approach her, if I hear that you have I'm sending out those files. If I even fucking see you here in Charming again, I'll send out those files. Is that clear?"

"Yes." Eric said and took Mary's arm when she seemed to work up her famous rage once again.

"I never did this for the money. I left him because I didn't want my child anywhere near him. I've spent every cent I had the last seven years to stay away from him." She took a deep breath. "I don't want you in Grace's life. More importantly; Grace doesn't want you in her life, she hates her dad as much as I do since she had to witness some of what your son did to me."

That was the first time she got a reaction from Mary but Eric squeezed her arm again before she managed to say anything.

"We didn't know." He said instead.

"I might believe that if your moron wife said it, but you, you just choose to ignore it. Don't pretend otherwise." Ava said. "You're not loosing anything on this. He never signed the papers so there is no record of him having a child. No reporter will ask for it as long as you leave the two of us alone."

Eric nodded and Ava turned around and walked away. Eric ran up to her when she reached the door, leaving his wife behind. "If Grace would change her mind?"

"Excuse me?"

"When she's eighteen, would we be allowed to contact her then?" The comment made her realize that Eric might actually be interested in Grace, not just what she could to his political career. It didn't change her mind in the slightest but by the time Grace was eighteen, it wasn't up to Ava anymore.

"Yes. When she's eighteen, but if she doesn't want anything to do with you then either, you need to leave her alone."

He nodded. "For what it's worth; I am sorry."

Ava didn't respond, she nodded her head to him and then walked outside.

Ally was waiting next to her car. "I thought Gemma was a tough bitch, but you... you're right up there with her."

Ava might not have thought that she was worried, but a knot she hadn't even been aware of started to loosen in her stomach. Suddenly she was hyperventilating and a fog seemed to lift from around her. She had no idea that she had been so focused, that she the only thing she had thought of since Eric and Mary stepped into the library was the moment she had just been through. She could hardly remember anything from the last few days except that half an hour with Al on the bench, when she for a moment had let the panic take over her.

She hadn't realized that she was about to faint until she felt Ally putting her in the back seat of her car with the legs outside.

"Put your head between your knees." Ally's hand was in her neck, pushing her forward. "Deep breaths."

Ava felt tears that dripped down on her skirt and something else that she suspected was snot. She ignored it and tried to control her breathing.

When she felt in control again she sat up. Ally handed her a tissue. "I'm sorry. I... I don't know what happened."

"I was waiting for it." Ally said. "No-one is that controlled and it's usually a sign that they'll explode when they can finally relax."

That's when something else hit Ava. Something she should have paid more attention to. "Shit! You need to take me to the clubhouse."

"Sure."

She ran outside and found Piney inside. "I'm really sorry."

"About what?" He said.

"Tara. I totally... I don't know. I was so focused and... I don't even have an excuse." She suddenly felt sick and ran into the bathroom and threw up. Several times and it was painful since her stomach was pretty much empty.

Piney had followed her and when she turned around she saw him leaning agains the wall behind her, when she stood up he soaked a towel in the sink and handed it to her. "When's the last time you ate something?"

Ava thought about it for a few seconds while wiping her face. "Does coffee count?"

Piney shook his head. "How have you been sleeping?"

"Not well." She admitted. Maybe the lack of sleep hadn't been all about not having Happy in the bed next to her.

"Ally warned me about this." He took her out to the bar and made her scrambled eggs and coffee. Then he sat down next to her. "Eat. I'll tell you all about Tara while you're eating."

"I just threw up, Piney."

"Just the tension being released. You need food and sleep. Just eat." He insisted.

Ava started to eat and the food did make her feel better physically. It would take her quite some time to feel better psychologically. How could she totally ignore what was going on with Tara? A woman she had just started to consider as her friend, that was horrible.

"So were do we stand?"

Piney gave her a tired smile. "Knee deep in shit, I'd say."

"So what has happened?"

"A man named Salazar called me, he had kidnapped Tara and a woman named Margaret, some administrator at the hospital. He wanted us to do some things for him in exchange for her."

"Who is he?" She did notice the very vague 'some things' from Piney, but decided to leave that for now.

"He used to be the president of Caleveras." Piney brought out the bottle. The name ringed a bell to Ava. She continued to eat while he was talking, every time she stopped eating he stopped talking. "Yesterday Stahl came here, the hospital had contacted the police and told them that Tara and Margaret was missing."

It took Ava a few seconds, her brain still wasn't working properly. "Oh, by the way, I know her." Then something else clicked. Where she had heard about Caleveras before. "That president, is he the guy you dug into the ground and threatened? The one who was responsible for the drive by."

Piney looked at her with a surprised face. "He told you about that?"

"He shouldn't?" She wasn't sure about what the rules really was. Happy had said it was ok since she was his Old Lady and she had never questioned that.

Piney shrugged. "We talk to our Old Ladies, if we think they can handle it. I guess he thought you could." He watched her until she started eating again. ""We were going to do a drop of the money yesterday. The police fucked it up. According to Stahl it was our fault."

"What a surprise." She answered with her mouth full of food. She really hated that woman. She swallowed. "I think that she contacted the Richardsons. Can't really figure out what she thought she would gain from that."

"No, except from fucking with the club in general." He sighed. "Tara got Salazars girl."

"Got?"

"Stabbed her, she agreed to keeping her alive if he let Margaret go."

"So she's ok?"

"Yes."

"Now what?" She took a sip from the coffee and felt the caffein kicking in. The food did it's job as well. Piney had been right, she needed food, probably sleep as well but she had a suspicion Happy would keep her up that night.

"The guys are coming back in a while and you're going to go and get your girl. We'll take care of all this."

"I'm really sorry that I was so out of it." She felt a need to say it again. What she really felt a need to do was to apologies to Tara.

"There wasn't anything you could've done anyway."

"Still. I'm sorry." She looked down at her empty plate. "Thank you for the food."

"So our baby girl is safe?"

"Yes. She is."

"Good." Piney got up and she stood up next to him. "Are you ok to drive?"

"Sure."

He took a closer look. "Yeah, that's not going to happen. I'll get Dog to give you a lift to the airport."

Ava thought about protesting but she didn't think it would matter. Instead she took his arm and when he turned around she gave him a hug. "Thank you, Piney. You've been great."

"You're welcome darling." He patted her back and since he was used to pat bikers in cuts, it was quite a hard pat. "That girl needs you."

-o0o-

Tig opened the doors to the van and welcomed them home. Happy was so fucking relieved to be back and he looked around for Ava and Grace. He turned to Filthy Phil who was unloading the van.

"Where's Ava?"

"In Oakland, picking up Grace from the airport." He answered.

He picked up the phone and called her.

"Are you back?"

"Yeah, when are you here?"

"About and hour."

"Good." He moved away from the others. "Miss you."

"Sorry, didn't catch that." She had her teasing voice.

"Yes you did." He said and hung up the phone.

Kozic came up to him and gave him a hug. "Your Old Lady did great. Piney sent her with Dog to pick up Sunshine."

"Where's Piney?"

"Waiting for Gemma in the cabin."

"Why didn't she drive herself?"

"She's..." Kozic started. "You should probably talk to Piney about this shit."

What the fuck was this about. "She's, what?"

"Once she was done it got to her. Or something like that." Kozic said and Happy knew he was staring at him. "Piney got her something to eat. She's fine. He just thought she needed the lift. He told me to ask you to give him a call."

"Ok." That would have to wait. Ava would probably tell him anyway.

They both walked into the clubhouse and the chapel. Tig and Kozic got them up to speed with the situation with. It didn't look good. Alvarez and the Mayans couldn't risk that Salazar was taken alive. He knew to much about their H-business. And Tara wasn't any of Alvarez concern, they needed to keep him in check while finding Tara. And he wasn't that easy to keep in check. They were going to start with Salazar's aunt, he had kept Tara and Margaret in the aunts house when he let Margaret go.

They got out and he heard a scream.

"Happy!" Grace rammed his legs. "I missed you!" She said when he picked her up. He gave her a long hug.

Suddenly he heard a laughter and turned around and looked Bobby. "What?"

Bobby pointed at Grace and Happy took a closer look at her t-shirt. It was pink and it said 'Reaper crew' on the chest.

"Who gave you that, Sunshine?" Bobby asked.

"Randell made it for me." She held it out to show it properly. "He called it silkscreen. It's nice."

Happy put his arm around Ava's waist. "All good?"

"Yes." She said.

Bobby reached out for Grace. "Come on Girl. Give me the report on the New Yorkers and what they are up to. And we need to show Gemma that t-shirt."

Grace nodded and Happy took Ava to his dorm.

"What happened?"

"I have kept a file on everything on Jonah and his parents. Testimonies, pictures, all of it." She put her arms around his waist and kissed his neck. "I told them I'd send a copy of it to every major news station on the west coast if they tried anything."

He looked at her. "A file?"

"Yes." She stepped closer to him.

"Pictures?"

"Yes." She nodded again, she looked tired but had a slight smile that he recognized. She was turned on just by seeing him. He liked that.

"Why didn't you tell me that?"

"I wasn't sure if I'd use it. Besides; I had it under control."

"Still, you shuold've told me. She's my girl too." Happy thought about it for a few seconds. Then he made up his mind. "Can I see it?"

That made the old look on her face come back. The one she used to have but had lost over the last few months. "Why?" She said while looking at pretty much everything but him.

He reeled her in and made her look at him. "Why does it make you uncomfortable?"

"I don't know. It's some nasty pictures, reports and stuff. And it doesn't matter anymore."

He kissed her. "Kozic said it got to you. What happened?"

"I almost fainted, then I realized that I hadn't even thought about Tara and when I talked to Piney I threw up." He took a closer look. "I brushed my teeth."

That made him laugh. "That's not it." He kissed her again and he was getting hard, even in the middle of all this shit, he wanted her, bad. "Feeling better know?"

"I'm fine. Great even when I have you and Grace back."

He slid his hand up her dress and felt the crow. "Kept that pussy wet?"

Ava was stunned for a few seconds and then looked up at him. He was really thinking about that right now?

"Seriously?"

Happy got closer and now both his hands was underneath her dress, squeezing her ass. "We're waiting for someone and Tara isn't going to be any safer if I look for her while thinking of you." He had a smile on his lips and then leaned down to suck on her lip. And that was pretty much all she needed, she had missed him. She put her arms around his neck and his hands was inside her underwear, pulling them down.

"So this would make you more concentrated?"

"Oh, yeah." Happy said and then moaned when she found his dick inside his jeans.

"Missed me?" She mumbled into his neck. "Or just my pussy?"

He pulled her down in his lap and she straddled him and sank over his dick while watching him straight into his black eyes. His hand was around the back of her neck and he kissed her. She knew why, he wasn't much for sweet words and she was ok with that. Sometimes she liked to tease him about it though.

She moved over his dick and his hands was still on her ass. As so often he flipped her around to finish. This time it was a bit sooner than expected.

"That quick?" She asked when she was on her back and he kissed her again while running his hand along her side and in between them to rub her clit. And she came, as hard as he always made her come and just before he gave her the last few hard thrusts.

He took her chin and looked at her with a crocked smile. "That quick?"

"Smarty pants." She laughed and pushed him so he rolled off her. When she sat up he took her arm and pulled her down on his chest.

"I did miss you." He kissed her. "And I'm fucking proud of you."

"Despite fainting and throwing up?"

"Despite that. And despite not telling me about Tara."

"You need to take that with Tig and Piney." She sat up again and went into the bathroom, picking up her panties on the way.

"I know, babe." She heard Happy moving around as well. "Just pissed that I missed it on the phone."

"Honestly, I hardly thought about it. Felt like a complete ass when I realized it." She walked outside again and tried to sort her hair out.

"Nothing you could've done."

There was a knock on the door. "You two kids need to finish up later!" It was Chibs thick accent and Ava felt herself blush.

Happy laughed. "No tellin' them we'd been done for a while." He kissed her again. "I'm taking Grace for a ride tomorrow."

"Ok." She looked at him for a while. "Ready to go out?"

"Yeah."

Happy watched Ava from behind as she walked ahead of him through the clubhouse. He had missed her and that crazy kid as well. Grace skipped towards him when she saw him and he shook his head when he saw her t-shirt. She hadn't spent that many days in New York and she had obviously charmed the shit out of those guys as well.

"Can you take me for a ride tomorrow?"

"Sure thing, Sugar." He knelt down and gave her another hug. "What did Gemma say?" He pulled the hem of her t-shirt.

"That she'd make me a much nicer one." Grace still had a huge smile on her face. "With the reaper on it." She kissed him and then ran up to Ava and took her hand.

He shook his head and watched her and Ava walk outside.

"All good with her at least?" Clay asked.

"Yeah, all taken care of."

"That's good to hear." Bobby said and they went outside to see what Salazars aunt had to say.