It had been three months since all the events had happened. Three months in which Sage finally had the space to breathe again without constantly having to run into her younger sister. Just a few days after Amanda Trager's visit, she had decided to leave Charming again, disappointed that she had to do so without Sage, Violet and Hayley.

Jax' look that he had given Amanda when she came by the clubhouse before she drove back to Arizona to say goodbye to Hayley was burned into Sage's mind. Probably no one had ever looked at her mom with so much hatred and menace, his blue eyes like daggers that could attack Amanda at any moment.

On one hand, Sage was happy that her niece at least had a father who would do anything for her while her mother was in prison. On the other hand, she had felt the bile rose in her throat as she had to watch how protective Jax was over his daughter. Sage could've needed that protection back then for their son. Instead, Jax didn't really care how she felt during that time, even if he regretted that now.

But, as difficult as it still was for her sometimes, Sage had decided to be the bigger person and let go of her grudge against Jax. Since she now lived permanently in Charming and would probably run into Jax a few times per week, she needed to learn to fully forgive himᅳ but that didn't mean she would ever forget either.

But living in Charming also had its good sides. She had a family here, a real family. If she needed help or if she and Happy were simply exhausted and needed a few hours to recharge, all it took was a phone call.

Tig, Gemma, even Ima were always willing to watch Violet for a few hours or go to the park with the baby. Out of desperation, Sage and Happy had been to the doctor several times, worried that there was a reason why Violet slept so little and cried so much. It turned out she had colic.

Nothing serious but definitely unpleasant for a baby and it broke Sage's heart to know her daughter was in pain. But with some tips from Gemma and the doctor, they now had the colic pretty much under control and Violet was doing much better.

Happy had given up his "side job" as a contract killer. He didn't like that he had to give it up, but he understood Sage's point. He had made some good extra money. But the club was now also making some money from legitimate business, which benefitted them all.

He knew that Sage wasn't a fan of him now spending some time in a brothel. Happy made sure that every time he had to accompany Jax she knew about it and that she didn't have to worry. He wasn't interested in the whores one bit, he had his wife at homeᅳ so why would even risking a look when he had everything he needed at home?

Jax, on the other hand, let out all his pent-up frustration by fucking the boss of the whores, Colette. As long as it didn't hurt their business, the SAA and the rest cared little what their Pres did in his free time.

Again Sage sat in the clubhouse while Happy, Tig, Chibs and Jax had a meeting with Colette. The redhead wasn't happy and you could tell that she still felt insecure because her body didn't look the same as it did before the pregnancy.

She hadn't gained much weight, it was just her stomach that hadn't reshaped yet and was now covered in a few stretch marks. Not many but still a difference from before.

Sometimes she hated looking in the mirror, but one look at Violet was enough to remind her that it was all worth it.

Two weeks ago she decided that she just needed a little change and instead of ginger, her hair was now a warm, monotone blonde with a few blonde strands that only contrasted slightly with the other color.

Sage would definitely go back to her natural hair color and just let her hair grow out until it was completely red againᅳ but she also liked the blonde and would just keep it that way for a while.

While they waited for the men to return, she sat down at a table with Ima, a plate in her hands. Grinning, she watched as her father's girlfriend repeatedly lifted and lowered Violet into the air, all the while a wide smile on the five-month-old baby's tiny face.

"She loves you already", Sage said with a chuckle, using the short break to eat the plate of Gemma's spaghetti in peace.

Gemma always made sure that Sage was well looked after, after all, she knew how stressful the first year with a baby could be and the matriarch just wanted to support Sage and Happy.

"What a view. The porn star is now taking care of babies." Gemma sat down, flashing a grin at the two women. "I have to say, I never thought I'd be sitting at the same table with you", she told Ima.

"I can only give that back", the blonde replied quickly, a sweet smile on her lipgloss covered lips. "But apparently everything and everyone can change, huh?"

Violet's happy squeaks echoed through the large room. Since the baby learned that she could make noises like that, she did it almost constantly and Sage was always delighted by it.

"Isn't she cute?" With a smile that spread from ear to ear, Sage looked back and forth between the women and ran her hand over Violet's head as the baby was now placed in Ima's lap, wrapping wrapped the three women around her finger with her smile. "God, I could take a thousand pictures of her!"

"Do it, you won't regret it", Gemma advised her, leaning over to tickle Violet's stomach with her nails. "By the time she's a teenager and rebels, you'll need the cute photos to remind you how cute they used to be."

Ima just chuckled in amusement while Sage rubbed the tip of her nose before placing her fork on the empty plate. "The teenage years are going to be fun anyway. I have to take care of a rebellious teenager while also keeping Happy from ripping teenage boy's heads off because they looked at her a little too long."

"Oh baby, you'll definitely have your hands full once the time comes", Gemma snickered. "That's why I'm glad I had a boyᅳ not that that's easier. But I'm sure you'll have it all under control."

"Oh, well, if not, I'll just let things happen and watch the chaos unfold", Sage replied with a soft laugh before reaching for the diaper bag hanging around her chair, fishing out a bowl of pureed fruit.

"Do you wanna feed her?", she asked Ima, holding out the closed bowl with a plastic spoon to the blonde. "Or want me to take her again?"

"I have to call Nero and ask if I could change my shift." Ima handed Violet back to Sage, but not before placing another big kiss on the baby's cheek. "I'll be right back."

"Sure, take your time", Sage smiled at the blonde before placing Violet properly on her lap.

When she opened the bowl, the baby pounced on it like a starving creature that hadn't had anything to eat in weeks, making Gemma and Sage laugh.

"You can tell she loves her fruit", Gemma commented amused, simply enjoying the peace that had finally returned. "I have to wake Hayley up soon, otherwise she won't sleep later."

"Is she staying with you tonight?" Sage asked casually as she started to feed Violet before she starved to deathᅳ or at least made it look like she was.

"Yeah, Jax and Nero have a business meeting in Stockton tonight and they don't know how long it'll take. So I offered to watch Hayley", Gemma explained as she happily watched Violet eat her food. "She quickly learned how to eatᅳ that's good. Are the nights better?"

"Oh, I hope nothing bad." There was pure pride plastered on Sage's flawless face as she caught Gemma's words, making her nod eagerly. "She has. I think the pureed fruit and her porridge are also helping her with the colic. She's definitely feeling better since she needs less milk mᅳ and the nights have also become much quieter."

"That sounds good, baby." Gemma patted Sage's leg encouragingly before resting her arms on the table. "You and Happy should have a night just for yourselves again. You know how important that is for a young couple."

"Happy isn't that young anymore", Sage replied with a cheeky but loving grin, but finally nodded. "I know that's important. Most of the time we're so tired that we just go to bed once Violet falls asleep. Sometimes I'm afraid that Happy might look for some relief somewhere else. Especially nowᅳ",

"Now that the guys are often in a brothel",  Gemma completed the young woman’s sentence. Her brown eyes bore urgently into Sage's green orbs. "That man loves you, sweetheart. Happy isn't like Jax, or some of the other men here who seek refuge in sex with other women. But yes, you two definitely need more time for intimacy againᅳ that's just part of a functioning relationship."

"I know that, Gemma", Sage nodded gently. As she prepared another spoonful for Violet, she looked over at the matriarch. "So you think I don't have to worry about him taking a look at another woman?"

Frowning, Gemma let out a soft scoff. "Why should he? Just because you don't have sex every day anymore? I think he can handle keeping his dick in his pants for a few days."

"That's not what I meant", Sage replied with a quiet laugh before uncertainty crossed her face. "I meant more because my body doesn't look like it used to. But I'm already working on it."

"Do you want to explain to me what's wrong with your body?" Genuinely interested and slightly confused, Gemma pushed her bangs out of her eyes. "You carried his child, I'm sure he loves and appreciates every inch of your body, baby. Besides, a body changes with age."

"Well, you look perfect and you're over fifty",  Sage remarked enviably, but she still thought about Gemma's words. "He never said anything, sometimes it even seems like he's trying to get even closer to me than before. It's probably just my insecurities that are driving me crazy."

"It's definitely just your insecurities", Gemma assured her confidently before holding out her arms as Violet was done eating. "You wanna come to me, yes?"

Chuckling, Sage grabbed Violet's bottle from the table, which she pushed into her daughter's hands and waited until her daughter closed her tiny fingers around it in concentration. Sometimes it worked for Violet to hold her bottles herself, and sometimes it didn't. Anyway, you could see the pride in Sage's eyes at every little thing Violet did.

Then she passed her daughter over to Gemma and scooted back her chair. "I'll clean the bowl, I'll be right back."

"Yeah, go ahead", Gemma said casually while she was already busy entertaining the baby on her lap. "Sage?", she exclaimed, causing the blonde to turn around again.

"Hm?" Halfway in the kitchen already, Sage frowned.

"Why don't you leave Violet here, go home and cook Happy and yourself something nice? She can stay at my place, I'm sure Hayley would be happy about  having another baby there", Gemma offered, an offering smile on her lips. "And tomorrow morning, after you've had a good night's sleep, you can pick Violet up."

"Would that be ok for you?" Sage thought about it for a moment, but she quickly liked the idea of having an evening and a night just with Happy and being able to sleep in. "Well, if two kids aren't too much for you, then I'd take your offer."

"Perfect", Gemma hummed happily. "Don't worry about me, you know I like spending time with my grandchildren."

"I know", Sage replied with a small smile before she disappeared in the kitchen to clean Violet's bowl.

Gemma may not have been Violet's grandmother, and it was probably quite strange that her ex-boyfriend's mother took over the role since Sage's own mother definitely wouldn't be a grandmother to Violet. But Sage wouldn't have it any other way and with Happy's Mom, Violet now had two grandmas who cared about her and loved her dearly.

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As discussed, Violet had stayed with Gemma and Sage had used the time to finally make a bigger dinner again. For the last few months they had lived on quick meals and ordering food.

During dinner, all you could hear was a contented sigh or two or the clink of cutlery hitting the plates, which now stood empty in the middle of the table, not a bit of sauce left on the white porcelain. As the couple sat back and relaxed, Sage's legs stretched out before she placed them over Happy's lap. Since he was sitting right next to her, it was pretty comfortable.

"Thanks for dinner, babe", Happy rasped, a genuine smile on his lips. "You definitely haven't forgotten how to cook."

Shaking her head, Sage let out a laugh. "I didn't, that was pretty goodᅳ and I usually never praise myself."

"Which you should do more often from now on." Happy's expression was intense, stubborn even. "Gemma told me about your conversation today when I dropped off Violet's stuff earlier."

"Really?" With a groan, Sage tipped her head back, rubbing her face gently so she wouldn't smear her mascara. "This woman can't keep anything to herself."

"She can, but only if she wants to. Apparently she wanted me to know", Happy replied, just like him, a grin tugged at Sage's lips.

"Apparently", Sage muttered, huffing. With a soft sigh she looked at Happy, whose eyes were always on her. "I still have to get used to the fact that you're walking into a brothel sometimes nowᅳ even if it's just for business. The women there are perfect. I mean, they have to be."

"And?" Happy asked simply as he took Sage's foot in his hands and started kneading, eliciting a deep, pleasant sigh from the blonde as she immediately relaxed under his touch. "Besides, perfect is in the eye of the beholder, little girl."

She looked at him uncertainly, almost cautiously. "So you don't get weak between all the women whose job it is to excite men?"

"No, and I've told you that before." Happy gently pushed her legs off his lap to lean forward, his elbows resting on his knees as he reached for Sage's hands after she had assumed approximately the same position.

"You're perfect, Sage", Happy told her as their eyes met and locked. "And your body, I fucking love it even more than before. You gave me the best gift ever by giving me Violet."

"I love you, you know that?" Sage gave him a genuine smile, her heart almost exploding with emotion. "And if you're ever missing something or when you're frustratedᅳ please just talk to me before you seek refuge elsewhere, okay?"

Her trust in men was clearly destroyed back then after what had happened with Jax. Her idea of a happy relationship had definitely changed and the pain of being cheated on still lingered. But even worse was the fear that it could happen again.

There was no way she could handle this a second time, not if it meant losing Happy. Jax may have been her first love, but Happy was her true love and the man she couldn't imagine her life without.

"I'm not like him", Happy insisted adamantly before he grabbed her wrist and pulled her over onto his lap, his arm circling her waist. "I love you, little girl. You're the only one I want", he tapped the tattoo on her left ring finger, then the one on her right ring finger.

"I wouldn't have married you if I ever planned to fuck another woman again." His tone was deadly serious, as was the look in his dark brown eyes. "I belong only to youᅳ as you belong to me."

Sage smiled again, her green eyes moving away from Happy's to look at the tattoos on her and his fingers. It was only a month ago that the two said yes to each other. A small wedding with just the immediate family and a big meal in the clubhouse that Gemma took care of together with Dawn, Ima, Lyla and some Croweaters.

Then she looked at the one large picture on the wall above the dining room table, one of the many they had taken that day. A hint of a grin crossed her lips as she thought about forcing Happy to take so many picturesᅳ but she just wanted to have lots of memories of the day.

But the picture in the dining room was definitely one of her favorites. In her simple white dress she held Violet in her arms, their little Peanut also in a white ruffled dress, her hair just as red as Sage's. Only the freckles were missing for Violet to become the spitting image of her mother.

Happy stood behind Sage, his arm around her waist while his other hand was placed on Violet's back. It was one of the few images where Happy genuinely laughed. Sage's face, on the other hand, was contorted with amusement but also pride because Violet had let out her first real squeak right at the moment Tig had made the picture.

It definitely wasn't the picture perfect picture, but for Sage it was. Because it was one of the most beautiful moments of the day.

"Mhm...I'm glad we got married so quickly. It just feels right to have your name and be your wife", Sage whispered with a smile against Happy's lips, from which she stole a kiss. "Was everything good today? Any problems? I heard Jax has another business meeting in Stockton with Nero."

"At least now everyone knows you're definitely off the market", Happy croaked with a smirk,  running his hand down her thigh. "Long day but a good one. Jax and Nero just have a meeting with someone, nothing big. But I was thinking about something."

Sage sat up curiously. "Oh yeah? About what?"

"You once told me that I should think about opening up my own tattoo studio", he began, then paused for a long moment and pulled a rolled-up folder out of his kutte that was hanging over the chair behind him. "That's a business plan for the studio. But not just for that, but also for you."

"Wait, for real?" Sage's eyes widened with excitement, a huge smile on her lips. She had always thought that Happy had the potential to run his own business. However, she looked at him a little confused. "What do you mean for me too?"

Happy opened the first page, revealing the draft of the pre-written business plan. Sage's eyes scanned the text until she finally raised both eyebrows and stared at Happy.

"You want to run a shop with me? A tattoo studio together with an art gallery?", she asked in shockᅳ but she was shocked in a good way. “You could really imagine that?”

"Why not? I want you with me, preferably always so I can keep an eye on you. Besides, your paintings are slowly piling up in your room, you need more space for them", Happy explained matter-of-factly, sounding almost like a businessman.

A businessman with a mesmerizing, raspy voice that put Sage under a spell. Sheepishly, she cleared her throat before she nodded in agreement.

"That's true, I'm slowly running out of room. And I've built up a pretty big customer base here and someone always wants tattoos. So actually that's the perfect idea", the blonde thought out loud, scratching her forehead thoughtfully.

"But where do we get the money, baby?", she asked, finally spotting the amount they had to raise at the end of the list.

"The club would invest. We would have our business and the club would have another legitimate business." Happy wasn't sure if Sage would be a fan of it, but this way they could afford the rent for the shop and the money for all the equipment. "It's still our business alone, we have the say, you don’t have to worry about that.”

Sage nodded now and then to show Happy that she was listening and thinking about all of thisᅳ and she liked the idea.

"So everyone in the club invests. That means that our income at the end of the month will be also shared with the club, right?" Sage asked, just to make sure that she had understood everything correctly.

"Yeah, but only a small part. Tig doesn't want anything, he said he doesn't want to take any money from his kid", Happy let her know, and he understood Tig in that regard now that he was a father himself.

"What about your gallery in Seattle, babe? You wanna keep or sell it?", he asked with a frown, gently rubbing his thumb against her soft skin.

Sighing, Sage let her shoulders slump, but then smiled. "I'm going to sell it. That way we have even more money that we can put into our business here."

"Are you sure?" Happy's stoic expression brightened as he looked at his wife with a smile and tucked some blonde strands behind her ear. "Means you wanna start business with me?"

"Uhm, hello? Of course I do." Sage let out a laugh and shook her head in amusement before taking Happy's face in her hands, kissing him lovingly. "I love the idea and I know it can work. And I also want to invest in our future."

"You won't regret it, little girl", he promised her sincerely, running his hand to the back of her neck. "It's going to be good, I have a feeling."

"I know. It can only be good if the two of us take care of it", she hummed confidently. "The gallery in Seattle was my baby, the first thing I worked really hard for. But my life is here now and most of the clients have stayed with me anywayᅳ and I'm sure they will continue to do so."

"And you can be proud of that." Happy captured her lips again before looking at her with a grin. "If they are smart, they will remain your customers."

"Well then let's hope I have smart customers", the blonde chuckled, tilting her head to the side. "Then we just have to find a building that will fit, right? And do you need a license or something?"

"Already have one", Happy told her with a rasp. "Years ago I thought about opening up my own studio and got a license, but then I didn't do it. And as for the building, there are two empty ones. They're in town. What do you think about checking them out tomorrow before we pick up Violet?"

"Okay, that sounds pretty good. All we really need is lots of space." Sage liked the idea more and more and the tingling in her fingers to start right away became more intense. "That would be perfect if we could rent one of these. We should definitely check them out tomorrow."

The SAA nodded satisfied. "Good, then we have everything sorted out."

Happy adjusted Sage on his lap so that he could get up with her, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth as Sage's teeth sank into her bottom lip and her legs wrapped around his waist.

He would make the most of his free time with his wife before they took another step towards a future together tomorrow.

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authors note; hey guys! I published the last Happy stories from my drafts only a few days ago. If you haven't already, it would mean a lot to me if you could check it out. It's called SKIN AND BONES and you can find it under my published stories! I'll leave the cover below. Thanks for all the support. 🥰🖤