Happy was waiting in front of Lyla's door and knocked again, internally hoping not to wake the kids since it was only four in the morning. He knew that Lyla wasn't asleep, the light in the kitchen still brightened the dark area and gave away that the older Dvorak sister was still awake.

And he just had to check on Debbie before he would head back home. He fucking killed his daughters biological mother and even though Kim couldn't be called a mother, he had to tell Debbie about it soonᅳ she had a right to know.

Of course he would keep quiet about the real reason; after all, Debbie was only four. And even if she were old enough, he wanted to keep his daughter away from that side of him as much as possible and protect her innocence.

"Happy, hey." A blonde opened the door, but it was Ima, not Lyla. The tiredness was written on her face. With dark circles under her eyes and no make up, she looked different than usual. "Is Avery okay?"

"She's okay", he grumbled and pushed past the blonde, stepping a little further into the hallway. “Can I see Debbie?”

"Yeah, sure, Lyla's with her right now", Ima informed him after she closed the door and pulled her robe closer around her body. "Did something happen? Or why can't this wait until tomorrow?"

It wasn't that Ima had a problem with Happy's visit, she just suspected that he wouldn't let Avery out of his sight for a second after what happened. Which in turn made her worry and wonder what was going on with her best friend.

"Chibs is with Avery, she's not alone", Happy assured the blonde when he noticed her worried look. "I just wanted to see Debbie."

"You can, she just fell asleep again", Lyla told him as she came down the stairs. Unlike Ima, the other blonde looked even more exhausted, which wasn't a surprise. "How's Avery? Can I go see her?"

Happy exhaled tiredly. "How do you think she's doin'? The way everyone's doing after a relapse. But she can do it, I know it."

"Of course she can", Lyla insisted, her voice firm. Then she pulled the SAA into a hug. The blonde didn't care that Happy wasn't the type for hugs. He looked worse, more tired, and older than she and Ima combined, and Lyla could imagine how he must feel like right now. "We're all here for her, she can do it."

Either he was just too tired or he really needed that hug right now, which he probably wouldn't admit out loud. But he just let it happen and pulled the petite blonde closer, knowing that Lyla was just as worried as he was.

With a faint smile, the blonde pulled away from him and put a hand on his arm. She was sincerely grateful that Avery had found someone like him who would stand by her even during hard times. "Debbie is in my room, you can check on her."

"Thanks." Grumbling, Happy walked towards the stairs, but stopped again and glanced at the two women, who were now leaning against each other to give each other some support. "You two can come over later, I think it would be good for Avery."

"We'll do that", Lyla promised. She would've checked on her sister either way. Then she left Happy alone and gently dragged Ima into the living room.

Happy, on the other hand, tried to walk up the stairs as quietly as possible so he wouldn't wake Elli, Kenny and Piper. At Lyla's room he entered quietly and sat down on the side of the bed where Debbie was sleeping.

For a while Happy just watched as his daughter sleep peacefully. She made a noise every now and then, making the Killer smile. Sometimes she even talked in her sleep. Without waking her, Happy placed a hand against her cheek and ran his thumb over her small face, which was almost completely covered by his hand.

Sometimes he still couldn't believe how big she already wasᅳ and yet she was still so small. And in his eyes, she would always be his baby, no matter how old she was.

"Daddy?" With her eyes still closed, the four year old shifted, balling her hands into fists and rubbing her eyes before she looked at Happy. She recognized him straight away through the small night light on the side of the bed. Although she already had a feeling who it was before she had even opened her eyes. "Are you t-taking me home?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, bug." As always, his tone towards Debbie was much softer and calmer. "No, you stay with Lyla, okay? I just wanted to check on you."

"But I w-want t-to go home, please." Now wide awake as if she had never slept, she threw back her blanket and climbed into Happy's lap, her little arms wrapped around his neck.

"Why? Don't you like it here?", he asked as he pushed some of her hair back and then placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"I do, b-but I miss you and Mommy", she said with a shrug, snuggling more into Happy. "Can I go w-with you?"

"Debs...I don't know." Sighing, the SAA cradled his daughter closer against his chest. How could he say no to that? Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to take her home with him. "Mommy's not feeling so good right now, you know?"

"Why?" Looking worried, her head snapped back so she could look at her dad. "T-then we have t-to take care of her, daddy! Is she sick?"

"Something like that", he nodded curtly. Debbie was simply too young for this truth too. Besides, it was in the middle of the night and he was tired himself. "Sure you want to come home with me?"

"Yes", the four-year-old replied eagerly, reaching decisively for her stuffed turtle before wrapping her arms back around Happy's neck. "I want t-to go home."

"Okay." Without letting go of her, he got up and carried her down the stairs. He made his presence known in the living room by clearing his throat, whereupon both women turned to face him. "Debbie wants to come with me, thanks for watching her."

"Okay, sure." Lyla got up from the couch, rushed over to the two of them and placed a kiss on Debbie's cheek. "I'll come over later, then we can play some games."

"Oh yeah, with Mommy! Maybe she'll feel better t-then." The four-year-old beamed at the thought that this could make Avery feel better. "T-thanks for letting stay, auntie Lyla. Bye Ima!"

"Bye sweetie! Can't wait to play some games later", the blonde who was still sitting on the couch waved at the little girl. "Cuddle with your mommy, that'll make her feel better!"

"I will", Debbie promised, nodding eagerly.

ᚔ

As soon as Happy walked through the door he had to let Debbie off his arm after she wriggled free and immediately took off her shoes and jacket so she could check on Avery.

Chibs came out of the living room and ruffled the four year old's long brown hair, who gave him a sweet smile in return. "I have t-to cuddle with Mommy a lot, that's w-what Ima said!"

"Oh, I'm sure she'll be happy about that", the Scot winked at Debbie. Of course the girl was happy that everyone liked her idea and smiled even more.

“C-can I see her now, daddy?” She looked up at Happy questioningly and slipped her hand into his. "And are you coming to cuddle too?"

"Wait a second, bug", he told his daughter before looking back at Chibs. "Everything okay? Were  there any problems?"

"Well", Chibs sighed. "I had to call Tara, she's still with Avery right now. Avery's been throwing up so much that I just wanted to have Tara look at her just to be safe. I hope that's okay."

But after Avery couldn't stop throwing up and even got to the point where she was just dry heaving, he just wanted to be on the safe side.

"Fuck." Grunting, he ran his hand over his scalp before rubbing his face. "No, it's okay. It's better Tara examines her before something worse happens."

Just as he mentioned Tara, the doctor came out of the bedroom and allowed Debbie and the others to get a look at Avery. Paler than usual and still shaking, Avery lay in the sturdy bed in which she seemed so fragile at the moment.

"Oh no, Mommy d-doesn't look good!" With sadness in her eyes, Debbie looked through the crack and as Avery tried to sit up when she spotted Debbie, sobbing, the four-year-old just wanted to hug her mother. "Daddy, can I p-please now?"

"I don't think that's a good idea", Tara intervened before Happy could answer, gently running a hand over Debbie's head. "Your mommy's really not feeling well right now."

"But I want t-to c-comfort her", the four-year-old protested. She had always been strong-willed, something Happy was quite proud of.

"I won't keep my daughter away from her mother. Avery's not a danger", he grunted lowly after telling the almost five-year-old that she could go cuddle with Avery.

"I see it like Hap", Chibs chimed in, who watched as Debbie climbed onto the bed and immediately snuggled up to Avery. "Avery needs this now, and Debbie probably does too."

The doctor just sighed, finally having to admit that they were probably right. "Okay, if you think it's a good idea", she said to Happy while handing him a box of pills. "It's for the nausea. No more than four a day and only every three to four hours."

"Yeah, I do", Happy insisted sternly, not in the mood to be told what was best for his daughter and Avery. He studied the box before nodding curtly. "Okay, I'll take care of it."

"I'll come over again tomorrow to check on her. Make sure she drinks a lot", Tara told Happy, took another look into the bedroom and then made her way outside with a sigh. It was obvious that she wasn't happy about leaving a four-year-old with a junkieᅳ and yet she tried not to judge too quickly, after all, she really liked Avery.

"Want me t' stay, brother?" Chibs asked, placing a comforting hand on Happy's shoulder, squeezing it. “Is Kim gone?"

"No, you can go home. But you can also crash here if you don't feel like driving anymore." Happy was the last person who would throw one of his brothers out of his house in the middle of the night. Then he just nodded at Chibs' question. "Yeah, no one's gonna find her. Tig and I took care of it."

"Good, then no one stands in your, Debbie's and Avery's way now anymore." Chibs' slapped the killer on the back, smiling encouragingly. "I'll take the couch if that's okay."

"Sure, take what you need", the SAA grunted, threw the pack of pills on the dresser in the hallway and then headed for the bedroom after snatching a bottle of water from the kitchen. As he took off his kutte and hung it over the back of the chair and took off his hoodie, Avery's eyes met his.

There was sincere gratitude in her glassy eyes. Gratitude that Happy didn't deny her the opportunity to spend time with Debbie even though he had every right to do so.

After taking off his shoes, he climbed into bed, slipped under the covers and snaked his arm around both of them. Debbie lay in the middle, peacefully cuddling her stuffed turtle and Avery. Apparently she was still quite tired, as her eyelids kept fluttering.

"Thank you", Avery whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "For still letting me see her."

"You're her mother, I won't take her away from you", Happy croaked, barely able to hide his tiredness. Nevertheless, he still let his fingertips dance over Avery's arm until she stopped shaking. "I told you that you wouldn't get rid of me so easily. It's going to take a lot for that, little girl."

"I'm sorry about before, Hap." She was just so fragile at the moment that just hearing those words made her tear up once again. "I love you, both of you. More than anything. I won't make that mistake again."

"It's okay, babe. We love you too", he assured her, his eyes already halfway closed. He definitely needed some sleep. "Get some sleep, things will already feel better tomorrow."

"Yeah, you're probably right." She sniffed away her tears and wrapped her arm around Debbie as well and placed her hand on Happy's side. Thanks to the pills Tara had given her, she fell asleep quickly.