While Avery made sure that Debbie was safely strapped in and well taken care of for the long drive to Boise, Happy walked back to Gemma, whose lips curled at the sight of the Tacoma Killer. She had come to his house before the three of them would leave so she could give Happy somethingᅳ and to take Cookie to her house until they would be back.

There was nervousness in Happy's dark eyes and so far only she knew whyᅳ after all, she had done what he had asked her for. He had had no choice but to fill her in.

"You got it?", he asked in a lowered voice despite the fact that Avery was clearly out of earshot.

"Has anything ever gone wrong if I was supposed to take care of it?", she asked in return with a grin before handing him the small box she had kept well hidden under her folded arms. "When are you going to ask her?"

Happy checked to make sure the ring was undamaged, his back facing Avery so that if she looked over at them she wouldn't be able to see anything. He had made his decision to propose to her in the last two weeks.

He wanted Avery to have the right to decide over Debbie when he wasn't able to. It was no secret that he could have to do time at any time, or a tour with the club took days or even weeks sometimes. During this time he wanted to be sure that Debbie was taken afterᅳ and she was with Avery.

Since Kim gave up all rights, he was able to ask Avery if she would want to adopt Debbie, although he would wait with that until the wedding. If Avery even said yes to his proposal.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason why he wanted to marry her. The feeling of having finally found his place, of feeling at home no matter where he was as long as she was with him, that was the main reason why he wanted this woman by his side forever.

He didn't care that they had only been together for less than a year. Time had nothing to do with feelings. He knew what he wanted.

"I was thinking about Christmas. Is that too much?", he asked Gemma for advice.

Gemma shook her head, her hands on her hips. "No, I think Christmas is great. You already have an idea how you want to do it? The old fashioned way? Or anything special?"

"Yeah", he nodded curtly. "I wanna keep it simple, maybe I'll just give her the box and see what happens."

Nodding, Gemma let out a hum. She hadn't expected it any other way. A huge proposal with all the romantic shitᅳ  that wasn't Happy. Quiet, effortless and still leaving an impression, that sounded more like Happy.

"You're doing the right thing, Hap", the matriarch encouraged him. "Avery is a great woman. Pretty, smart, a family person, accepts the club. Put a ring on her."

"She is", a faint smile played on his lips, pride in his tone. "Thanks Gem."

"Oh, always." Whether he wanted to or not, she put an arm around him and pulled the much taller man into a hug, patting his back. "Drive carefully and send my best wishes to Celine."

"I will", Happy assured after he broke away from the hug and stroded back towards the car where Avery was waiting with anticipation.

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When Happy looked back after parking the car in front of Celine's house, he chuckled at the sight of his daughter.

Her small hands were glued to the cold window, her eyes were as big as plates and her smile stretched from ear to ear as she looked at the lavishly decorated house and front yard.

Christmas lights decorated the outside of the house, the bushes and even the one large tree in the front yard. There were also smaller Christmas—looking figures on each of the steps that led up to the red front door. Of course, the snow made the whole thing look even more like Christmas.

"T-t-this is absolutely amazing!" Debbie announced excitedly, her nose still pressed against the window. "I w-want to visit Grandma every C-c-christmas now!"

"Maybe you should ask Celine if she's okay with that first before you're making plans, peanut", Happy said amused, placing a hand on Avery's thigh when he noticed how quiet she suddenly was.

Her mood was good the whole trip, especially while she played I spy with my little eye with Debbie and watched the landscape go by with a nostalgic expression on her pale but pretty face. Only as they got closer to the old family house did she become increasingly quiet.

"Debs?" Happy glanced outside for a second. Elli, Piper and Kenny had already gotten out of Lyla's  car and were happily playing in the snow while Lyla and Ima got the suitcases out of the trunk. "How about you and Elli have a snowball fight against the two boys?"

Debbie's eyes, which couldn't have gotten any bigger, nodded eagerly. "Oh, t-that's a great idea! We'll do t-t-that."

Within a few seconds she removed the strap and slipped on her thick, purple winter coat. After wrapping the scarf around her neck, she jumped out of the car and joined the others to explore the snow.

"You okay, little girl?", Happy asked the moment Debbie shut the car door behind her, his concerned expression getting her attention.

"I'm fine", she replied with a faint smile, running her long nails gently over the back of his hand, her shoulders tense. "It's just weird being here again."

"Because of Ian?", he asked cautiously, squeezing her thigh after she answered him with only a silent nod. "You wanna stay at a hotel?"

"Noᅳ god no", she let out a nervous laugh. Her mother managed to be here, why couldn't she? "I finally need to learn how to live with this. As harsh as it sounds, I need to get my shit together and get over it. Ian's gone, but that doesn't mean he's not still here anymore. We just can't see him anymore."

In a normal case he would probably be concerned even more now, yet he kind of understood what his Old Lady meant. And if keeping the memories with Ian alive would help her to get over his death, then so be it. Just because a person was dead didn't mean you had to forget about them.

"I know you can do this, Avery." He tried to make her feel better and give her some strength. It was the holidays, he wanted her to enjoy them. "Let's get our stuff and go inside. If it's too much we can always leave, okay?"

Satisfaction set in as he saw her shoulders slowly relax and loosen, the smile on her lips widening.

"Sounds like a plan", she nodded weakly before reaching for Happy's hand again, leaning in to kiss him. "Thanks for your support, baby. It means a lot."

"You know I'm always here if you need me, little girl", he rasped against her lips, connecting his with hers again before getting out of the car and getting the duffel bags out of the trunk. Avery following shortly afterwards to help him.

"It was a good idea to come here", Lyla chimed in, shivering as she pulled her slightly too thin coat around her body. "But it's freezing, I sure as shit didn't miss that."

"I’m telling you", Ima agreed through chattering teeth. "But the kids seem to be having the time of their lives."

"Looks like it", Avery commented, who couldn't help but grin as the two women tried to warm each other by snuggling up to each other. She winked at Ima, who just cleared her throat in return.

"Why are you grinning like that?" Happy asked with a raised eyebrow, his gaze wandering towards the two blonde women. "Wait, is there something going on between those two?"

"Not yet", Avery smiled widely as she rubbed her cold hands together for some warmth. "But I hope soon. Lyla just needs to see Ima's feelings for her."

Happy let out a huff of air, shaking his head with a laugh. "That's why you wanted Ima to come along. Is Lyla even into women?"

"Yeah, she is", Avery told him. It wasn't a secret, so it was no problem talking about it to someone else so openly. "I hope Ima has the balls to make the first step because I believe Lyla won't."

"Guess we'll see", he grumbled, throwing the heaviest duffle bag over his shoulder while placing Avery's on his other shoulder. "But you do realize Lyla has three kids to take care of. That's a whole lotta work, not sure if Ima is up to that."

"She'll get used to it." Shrugging her shoulders, Avery picked up Debbie's green suitcase with Apples on it. The four year old had picked that one out herself just a few days ago when Happy and Avery went shopping with her for their trip. "If she really likes my sister, the kids won't be a problem for her."

"She better be serious about Lyla." Lyla was still Ope's widow, the club still deeply cared about the woman their friend and brother had left behind.

"So protective", the redhead teased with a grin, yet she knew the whole club loved Lyla and only wanted the best for her. And Avery wanted the best for her sister, too. "Look, I know y'all don't trust Ima much but she's not the bitch everyone thinks she is."

"Oh yeah, really?" Happy frowned, not sure if they were talking about the same person.

"Yes, really", Avery responded sternly. "Okay, maybe Ima made some mistakes in the past. But Jax could've kept it in his pants instead of using her to push Tara away. You guys can say no if a woman tries to seduce you, you know?"

"I'll never say no if you try to seduce me", he replied with a wink and gave her ass a quick slap, causing her to squeak.

"You know what I mean!" She playfully hit his arm with the back of her hand. "You and I are together, you better don't say no to me. But I hope that you would say no to others straight away and never even think about cheating on me."

Sometimes she was still afraid that he would become weak if one of the croweaters tried too hard. She trusted Happy one hundred percent, it was just hers insecurities that still sometimes gave her unnecessary fears. She was the problemᅳ not Happy, who did everything in his power to show her that she was the only woman for him.

"I could never, Avery", he gently grabbed her arm to pull her closer, his eyes locking with hers. "I love you, you know that, right?"

"I know", she murmured, her breath visible as she spoke because of the cold temperatures. Her cold fingertips danced over the stubble on his jawline. "I love you too, handsome."

"I know", he rasped, smirking.

"There you are!" Celine, wrapped in a thick coat, stomped through the snow and towards her family.

First she hugged all the children, who were almost fighting over who could hug the woman first. In the end, they all clung together to Celine, whose eyes shone with joy.

Avery and Lyla immediately noticed how happy Celine was to have her family here and neither of them regretted their decision to spend the holidays here in Idaho this year with their mother, who couldn't look any happier.

"Hey mom." Avery was next, wrapping her arms tightly around Celine, closing her eyes for a moment. "Thank you for letting us stay here."

"Oh stop", Celine waved her hand before reaching for Avery's arms, a warm smile always on her lips. "My kids and their families are always welcome!"

"Hey Celine." Happy was also greeted with a warm hug. Apparently all mothers loved hugsᅳ his mom was the same way. If you didn't hug her, she was offended.

"You look good, Hap", Celine said with a smirk as she studied the man in front of her. Her girls definitely had good taste in men. "Bring your things inside so you don't have to carry them all the time."

"We were just about to do that anyways." Avery nodded Happy with her while Celine first greeted Lyla and then Ima. Celine didn't know the latter yet, but Ima was still welcome to stay and celebrate Christmas with them.

The kids also stayed outside longer to play in the snow and Avery was worried that it would take hours to get Debbie inside.

When they entered the house, they were greeted by a pleasant warmth, as well as the smell of cocoa and cinnamon, maybe even a little vanilla. Before Ian's death, the house always smelled of the most delicious things at Christmas, just like it does now.

Everything was decorated, which Celine had stopped doing after she lost her son. Avery's heart clenched painfully at the thought that Ian would no longer be able to witness all of this, and yet she felt a warmth in her chest.

"It feels wrong to feel comfortable here right away." Sighing, she ran her still cold fingertips over a picture of Ian on the wall. "But I think it's great that mom got the decorations out again."

"It's okay to get over it slowly, little girl." A moment later, Happy's hand was placed on the small of her back. "Don't you think he would have wanted it that way?"

"Of course he would have wanted it that way", she said with a wistful smile. "He loved Christmas, even though he always denied it in front of his friends to look cooler", she said, followed by a gentle laugh.

"Sounds like a typical boys thing to do", Happy remarked, amused. He would have loved to meet Ian. From Avery's stories, he seemed like a pretty cool, funny guy.

"Yeah, he always did stuff like that. Hard shell, soft core", she chuckled amused, allowing herself to laugh at the old memories. "I miss him, I really do. But for him I want to move on, become a better person."

"You're already a great person, Avery", Happy whispered against her ear after putting the duffle bags down, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

He was silent for a moment, simply holding her in his arms before he decided to change his plans. Instead of waiting until Christmas, he took advantage of the quiet moment they had and pulled the small simple but elegant black box out of his winter jacket.

He didn't even really notice that he was holding his breath as he placed the box in Avery's palm.

"What is that, Happy?" She knew exactly what it was after she opened the small box and found a beautiful, delicate silver ring with a small diamond on top in it.

Her throat felt dry, but her eyes were even moister as she turned around in his arms. The sheen of her tears covered her blue orbs as she tried not to burst out into tears immediately. Was that actually what she thought? Or was it just a normal ring that he wanted to give her?

"Marry me, Avery." He ran his fingers surprisingly gently through her hair before placing his hand on the back of her neck, looking at her intently. “I know we haven’t been together for long, but I can tell when I have found the right person. And you make me fuckin' happy", he added, smiling weakly.

"You're a great mom to Debbie, and even though you're not her birth mother, you're still thatᅳ a mom. Marry me and I promise you'll gain a big family, little girl", his voice was just a raspy whisper towards the end, his lips now so close to hers that he could feel her shaky breath hitting his skin. "I'm one lucky bastard to have you in my life."

He slowly slid his thumb along her jawline, resting his forehead against hers. "And I want you to be mine, forever."

That was it. Avery let out a sob, too moved by his words to react neutrally. Clutching the box tightly in her hand, she wrapped her free arm around his neck and placed her lips on his. There was so much love in the kiss that she didn't even have to give him an answerᅳ he should know it by now.

But of course she gave him an answer anyway. "I want to marry you, be your wife and get your name. And I promise to give my bestᅳ in every way and situation."

"I love you." He exhaled loudly, the tension and fear that she might say no suddenly lifted from his shoulders. He pulled her body closer against his, one hand resting possessively on her hip while he used the other to get the ring out of the box. "Give me your hand, baby."

Without hesitation, Avery put the box aside and held her hand out for him to slip the ring on. Then the first tears left the corners of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

"I love you too, Hap", she chocked out between two sobs, looking down the ring on her finger. "It's so beautiful..I still can't believe it."

"Well, you better believe it", he chuckled while giving her hip a gentle squeeze.

That couldn't have gone better. He saw how touched she was, how much she loved the ringᅳ and she said yes. There was nothing that could make the killer happier right now, after all he had everything he wanted. 

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authors note; they're getting married! Next chapter will be another cute one until the drama starts again, lol. Have a great day! 🖤