THE BRIGHT LIGHTS of the hospital began to piss Happy off as he let out a low growl as he paced back and forth, running both hands over his bald head over and over. It wasn't really the lights that pissed him off, but the fact that he couldn't be with Cal to give him the most painful death possible.

But he couldn't leave Tessa here aloneᅳ even if she wasn't alone. Gemma had come here as soon as she heard the news, trying to be there for the guys and the two women, both of whom were currently in two different rooms, leaving Jax and Happy in the waiting area at St. Thomas while Sawyer, Abel and Thomas were with Lyla at her house.

"They'll be okay." Gemma's calm yet firm voice ended the silence, her intense gaze darting between the men before she stood up. Hands resting on her hips, the matriarch let out a sigh. "Why can't you be with them? You're their partners."

"I don't fuckin' know, mom", Jax explained through gritted teeth, letting out a snort. "We should've killed that bastard right away."

"Keep your voice down", Gemma warned as she whacked the back of her son's head, not ready for anyone here to report the guys. The last thing they needed right now were cops showing up.

"The hell, mom?!" Jax groaned in annoyance, rubbing the back of his stinging head.

"No, he shouldn't just die", Happy spat, the first time he'd said anything since they'd been here. "He deserves to be in pain, lots of pain."

"You use your torture methods and I'll put a bullet between his eyes", Jax said, keeping his voice down under Gemma's admonishing gaze. "Deal?"

Happy nodded without having to think about it too much. He knew he would have to share Cal with Jax, after all, not only Tessa but also Tara was attacked. And there was no way he was going to just do the easy, short partᅳ he wanted to do the painful part.

"Deal", he grunted with a barely noticeable nod, receiving one from Jax in return.

"They'll be okay", Gemma repeated her words from before as the men started pacing again, but her words didn't do much, the two men way too worried about their Old Ladies.

Another twenty minutes passed before Tara finally entered the waiting room, an exhausted smile on her lips. Before she walked over to Jax, she stopped in front of Happy and placed a hand on his arm.

"You can go to her, she's with Dr. Selva on the first floor. The first room to the right of the elevator", the brunette explained and shot the Killer an encouraging smile before seeking refuge and comfort in Jax' arms, the blonde visibly relieved that his wife seemed to be okay and had nothing more than a small gash on her temple.

Happy's mind, however, was racing as he stormed out of the waiting room and headed for the room Tara had spoken of. A sign on the wall explained that he was in the gynecological ward, making his heart beat violently against his ribcage.

His stomach turned at the thought that something might have happened to his child because of the fucker he should've killed long ago. The guilt Happy had felt since he saw Tessa sitting on the floor in the practice, tears streaming down her cheeks mixed with the blood that was oozing out of the gash on her temple, the already slightly bruised side of her face and the blood that was coming out of the corners of her mouthᅳ he just couldn't forget the sight.

The worst part was that he wasn't allowed in the ambulance because he wasn't married to Tessa yetᅳ so he had to follow them with his bike and that was the last time he had seen his Old Lady.

None of this would've happened if he had hired someone to take care of Cal inside, to kill the bastard. But no, he had to be stubborn and wanted to do it himself.

When he finally got the courage, he pushed the handle down and stepped into the room, startling both the doctor and his girlfriend for a second, to which he only grumbled a 'sorry'.

His heart sank, a big lump sitting in his dry throat, at the sight of his Old Lady. Her face, bruised and battered, now looked significantly worse than before. Her cheek area was swollen, covered in purple/greenish spots. Her face had been cleaned and freed of the blood, but it still looked just as bad.

As her bloodshot eyes desperately searched for his, new tears brewing in them, Happy immediately crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her, his hand buried in her hair as he tried to control his breathing, which was shaking with anger and so many other emotions he had never felt before.

"I'm here, little girl", he whispered against her dark hair, pulling her even closer as she let out a strangled cry, breaking his heart further. "You okay?"

He knew how stupid the question sounded, but he wanted to know how she was doing, what the doctors had said and, above all, if she and the baby were okay.

Tessa looked up with a sniff without really moving much in Happy's arms. She needed him right now. "I think it could've been worse", she explained with a slight shrug. "My cheekbone is broken, but there's not much they can do about that except giving me painkillers. They also told me to put ice on my face regularly. And my ribs are bruised, hurts like a bitch", she said, trying to laugh the pain away, but to no avail as new tears clogged her throat and she let her forehead fall against his chest. "I'm scared of the ultrasound, Hap. What if something happened to the baby?"

Happy's features, hard as stone, became even harder as he listened to everything Tessa had endured. She must be in a lot of pain and he would transfer all of that onto Cal later, making sure the Bastard would feel much worse pain than his Old Lady for what he did to her.

"We'll take care of it at home. You'll stay in bed for the next few days anyway", Happy grunted determinedly, his gaze stern as Tessa was ready to protest, her lips already slightly parted. "Don't even argue with me on this, woman. You need rest and so does the baby", he told her, his almost black eyes piercing hers before his features softened. "The baby will be okay, I just know it."

"We'll see in a minute", the doctor intervened after he had given the couple a moment, his sympathy for the young woman great. "Would you lay down on the chair over there for me? I'm sure your partner can help if the pain is too greatᅳ but, as unpleasant as it is, we need a endovaginal ultrasound and one of the abdomen."

"That's okayᅳ all we want is to know how the baby is doing." With Happy's help, Tessa got up from the lounger, groaning softly in pain. Her whole body was sore and felt like she was hit by a truck. "Fuck, this is already annoying."

"Hey, slow down", Happy demanded with concern evident in his tone as he led Tessa to the chair at the other end of the room. "Come here."

He didn't hesitate or wait for an answer, instead he crouched down and helped Tessa out of her pants, the muscles in his jaw twitching as a soft whimper slipped past her lips twice, showing how painful taking pants off was for her.

As soon as she was free of her pants and her slip, he gently pushed her towards the chair and stood right next to her, reaching for her hand, which he squeezed comfortingly as he heard her swallow. "Our baby will be okay, Tess."

"I really hope so. What ifᅳ" she cried out, fresh tears filling her eyes, unable to finish the sentence.

"Stop", Happy grunted, shaking his head quickly. "No 'what if's'. The baby is okay, little girl."

She hoped so, she really fuckin' hoped so. Losing the baby would be the worst outcome that would probably throw her off track for a while. And she knew Happy would blame himself forever. And how was she supposed to explain something like that to a five-year-old who was so excited about becoming a big brother?

"Where's Sawyer?", she croaked out, closing her fingers around Happy's hand. "Does he know something happened to me?"

"Sawyer is with Lyla, I dropped him off there after Tara called me", he explained, at least to alleviate one of his girlfriend's worries. "And no, he doesn't know anything yet. But we'll have to come up with an explanation by the time he sees you."

Tessa nodded with his quiet sigh. "I know, we'll think of something."

Happy grunted in agreement before he watched the doctor sit down on the chair in front of Tessa and announced that he would start the examination nowᅳ which he did immediately while the SAA put his arm over Tessa's head, squeezing her shoulder supportively as she briefly grimaced.

The ultrasound screen was turned away from them so that only the doctor could see what was going on, which made Happy nervous and Tessa also shifted nervously on the chair. Apparently doctors only turned the screens when they were absolutely sure that everything was okay with the baby.

"Here it is." With a satisfied smile, Dr. Selva turned the screen and pointed at the baby. "There's your baby. At first glance everything looks fine."

Tessa and Happy both breathed a sigh of relief, both of them finally able to ease up a little as they saw their baby on the screen. It was amazing how much they could already see. The face, or rather the side profile, was easy to recognize and made both of them gulp, their emotions all over the place.

"Can anything still happen? Or is there absolutely no risk anymore?" Happy wanted to know, his voice as gruff as always, which briefly unsettled the doctor.

"There is always a risk." However, the doctor raised a corner of his mouth as he examined other areas with the ultrasound device. "But everything looks good here. Nothing in the area seems to have been damaged, everything is in sync and looks completely normal."

Tessa grimaced again as the rod pressed uncomfortably against her insides, rearranging her organsᅳ at least that's how it felt. "So we don't have to worry about the baby?"

"No, the baby is fine." Dr. Selva carefully removed the rod and handed Tessa a small stack of tissues so she could clean herself up. "By the way, you are fourteen weeks pregnant, but I assume you already know that."

"Yeah, we just had an examination a few days ago", Tessa said with a small smile and let Happy help her back to her feet again.

Once fully dressed again, the couple was asked to move to the lounger so that the doctor could do another ultrasound of the abdomenᅳ just to be absolutely sure.

ᅳ

THE PAIN FORGOTTEN FOR A MOMENT, Tessa ran her thumb over the ultrasound picture in her hand that they had received from Dr. Selva. There was nothing that could make her happier than her children, even if one of them hadn't even been born yetᅳ and Happy, of course.

"Sawyer's nose looked exactly the same back then", she told Happy excitedly, his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders as they slowly walked down the hall. "Maybe they even look alike!"

Happy let out a raspy laugh, relieved to see Tessa's smile back. "Don't all babies look the same in these pictures?"

"No, they don't!" With a soft gasp, the Laney woman shook her head in amusement, immediately regretting it when it responded with a pounding throb, causing her to place a hand against the side of her head. "Ugh, the headache is killing meᅳ but the doctors said I can't take too many pills and only certain ones."

Happy's concern was immediately back. Stopping in his tracks, he gently pulled Tessa aside so they weren't in the way. "Do you wanna stay here for a night or two? Painkillers through the vein always work better."

"No", Tessa shot back quickly before wrapping her arms around Happy's waist and burying her face in the crook of his neck. "I want to be with you and Sawyer, that's all I need to feel better."

Happy nodded briefly, secretly relieved. He just wanted her with him. "Okay, then we'll ask Tara what you can do if the pain doesn't get better."

This time Tessa nodded curtly. They stayed in that pose for a long moment, neither of them showing any signs of pulling away from the otherᅳ until Tessa's next question fell from her lips.

"Where's Cal?", she asked, swallowing quietly as she snuggled her face more comfortably against his chest, inhaling the smell of his shirt, a mixture of body odor, sweat and fabric softenerᅳ and it couldn't be more soothing. "Is he...so...did Tara kill him?"

"Cabinᅳ and no, he's alive. This time Chibs and Tig are staying there so he can't fuckin' run away again until Jax and I get there", he assured her, his gruff voice laced with gentleness. "The paramedics trusted Tara to call the copsᅳ of course she didn't. So Chibs and Tig were able to take Cal to the cabin."

"Okay", Tessa breathed out, her voice shaking slightly. "I want him to go away, Happy, I just want him gone", she added, her voice almost cracking.

"You're safe, baby. This time for real", he promised, deadly serious. "Cal won't live to see tomorrow."

Tessa looked up, a sad but also grateful expression on her bruised face. "So you're not home tonight?"

"No", he answered with a sigh as he gently pushed some hair out of her face, rubbing his thumb as gently as possible over her uninjured cheek. "But Gemma will stay with you."

"Fine", she nodded with a soft sigh, but then flashed him a faint smile. "Thank you baby, for everything. First my dad, now Calᅳ I don't know how I'll ever thank you."

"You don't have to", he croaked, planting a kiss against her forehead. "We're family, and no one has the right to hurt my family. I'll always take care of that, baby."

"I know, baby", she hummed softly, her eyes closed as his lips briefly met hers in a gentle, loving kiss that she returned, not caring at all about the pain. "I love you", she whispered with the gentlest smile.

"I love you too, baby", Happy rasped in return, the slightest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth before his features hardened again. "Come on, we have to get you home and in bed. Rat's gonna pick Sawyer up from Lyla and bring him over."

"Okay, sounds like a plan", the dark-haired girl agreed before following Happy into the elevator, clinging to him until they parted ways at the exit and Happy and Jax made their way to the cabin while Gemma drove the two women home.

This was one hell of a shit day and Tessa was more than ready to take a shower and then snuggle up in bed with Sawyer, trying to get some sleep until Happy would return.

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