When Stella entered the clubhouse she only found Chibs sitting at a table. She wasn't surprised to find him awake so early in the morning. With his face hidden behind the newspaper, she adjusted Gabby on her hip, who was quietly singing and playing with Stella's long hair, and crossed the room until she finally stood in front of Chibs.

"Good morning, lass." Chibs sent a smile in her direction before putting the newspaper aside,  standing up. "What are ye' doin' here?"

"Morning Chibs." Stella returned his warm smile before her gaze shifted to the hallway that led to the dorms. "I'm looking for Happy. Is he here?"

After pulling her into a short but warm hug, he took off his glasses and held his hands out towards Gabby, whereupon the three-year-old, with a broad smile on her lips, held out her arms and wrapped them around the Scot's neck after Stella had handed her over to him.

"Good morning t' you too, sweetheart." Chibs tickled Gabby's stomach, the belly laugh echoing through the room eliciting another smile from the adults.

However, Chibs turned his attention back to Stella. He looked at her with a slightly worried look on his face and sighed. "Hap's in t' back, but go without Gabby. I'll keep an eye on her, I don't have anything t' do anyway."

"Why without Gabby?" Stella straightened up, looking nervously up at the older man.

She knew it wasn't about one of the Croweaters being with himᅳ in that case Chibs wouldn't let her get in the back in the first place to spare her the sight. And, even though Happy was struggling emotionally, Stella trusted him that he wouldn't cheat on her.

He never did cheat on her before and his promise to never hurt her like that was enough for her to believe him. Happy was a man of few words, but he was a man of his word.

"Took a few bottles of beer and a bottle of whiskey. I'm pretty sure he's passed out. Gabby doesn't really need t' see tha'",Chibs said with a sigh. "What's goin' on with you guys, lass?"

"Okay, she really doesn't need to see that", Stella admitted in a murmur, placing one hand on her hip while running the other hand through her hair. "Some fucked up shit, Chibs. But I can't talk about it yet, especially because I don't know much about the situation yet myself."

As much as he would like to know what was going on between the two of them, Chibs nodded understandingly. "Okay, then we'll wait until you're ready t' tell us about it. But everything is fine between Happy and you, right?"

"Yes..yes", the raven-haired woman nodded eagerly with a reassuring gesture of her hand. "We're okay."

At least she hoped so. Until now she didn't know if they were actually okay or if it would all be too much for Happy. But she believed in their relationship, that the two of them could survive anything. Even if cancer didn't give them much longer, they would still be able to handle it.

Dread filled her again as she thought about not being here much longer. It felt shitty knowing that your time on Earth could be cut short in an instant. Now she knew how Tara must've felt when she found out about her breast cancer diagnosis and Stella admired her sister for how brave Tara was and accepted her fate.

The former Knowles definitely wasn't ready to just accept her fate.

"You okay?" As Chibs placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, Stella's lowered head snapped up, a tight smile on her lips.

"Yeah", she nodded curtly before placing a kiss on Gabby's cheek. "I'll be right back, behave for Chibs!"

"Okay mommy!" Gabby rested her head on Chibs' shoulder as she watched Stella leave before Chibs distracted her by sitting down on the couch with her before he started to tell her a random story.

It didn't matter how hard Stella tried to put on a brave face, a child could always tell when something was wrong.

And sooner or later Stella would have to explain to her what was going on, what could happenᅳ but first she had to talk to Happy. Out of modesty, she knocked gently on his door before entering. A deep sigh escaped her throat as she looked over to the bed.

The room was clean, as always. Only the empty bottles of beer were standing next to the bed, one of them tipped over. And an almost empty bottle of whiskey sat on the bedside table, the lid still open so it was ready to drink at any time.

Then, on what was actually her side of the bed, lay Happy. Passed out and snoring softly, he lay on his stomach, his tattooed arm hanging out of the bed, his fingers brushing against the floor. Another sign that he had spent the night here alone, he was fully dressed. Even his shoes were still on his feet.

The acrid smell of alcohol made Stella's stomach turn. Normally that didn't bother her, but so early in the morning and with an empty stomach, it wasn't exactly pleasant. Before she woke Happy, she opened the window to let in some fresh air.

Then she walked around the bed, pushed the beer bottles aside with her black platform boots and crouched down. Slowly and gentle so she wouldn't startle him, she let the back of her fingers brush over his cheek. Again and again until he slowly woke up.

Without opening his eyes, he wrapped his fingers gently around her wrist, brought her hand to his lips, and pressed the softest kiss against her palm. He didn't have to check who it was first, he knew his wife. Her smell, her touchᅳ he just knew it was Stella.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, little girl", he croaked, his voice still extremely deep and raspy since he wasn't fully awake yet. His words sounded slurred, probably from the residual alcohol in his system. At least his breath still smelled relatively strongly of a mixture of beer and whiskey.

For a moment, Stella closed her eyes, swallowing the lump in her throat as he finally opened his eyes. Regret and fear reflected in his dark pupils, showing her his vulnerable side once again.

"Slide over, baby", she asked gently, pressing a kiss onto his alcohol-infected lips.

Grumbling, Happy scooted over so Stella could lie down next to him. For a few moments they both just lay there on their sides, looking into each other's eyes, until Happy was awake enough to have a conversation.

"How are you doing?" His much clearer voice broke the moment of silence as his hand slid through her hair before resting it at her hairline, letting his thumb brush along her jawline. "I'm so fuckin' sorry I left you alone with Gabby yesterday."

"It's okay, she slept all night", she assured him quietly before she placed her hand against his cheek, his stubble scratching against her palm. "How do you think I'm feeling, Hap? I feel like shit. I'm scared. I don't want to die yet. And I don't want to lose you becauseᅳ"

With a kiss, Happy interrupted his wife's rambling, nuzzling her head closer to his to deepen the kiss that was filled with nothing but love and admirationᅳ even a hint of longing despite only being away from her for one night.

The kiss was overwhelming and so different from any she had ever had from him that she couldn't help but melt against him. Not even the pure taste of alcohol bothered her at the moment. Her hand slid from his cheek down to his chest as she sighed deeply into the kiss until Happy finally pulled away. Still, he stayed close enough that she could feel his breath hitting her face.

"I'm not going anywhere", he emphasized seriously, staring at her as he lifted her chin up with his thumb. "And you're not going anywhere either, little girl. I'm not letting you die, you hear me?"

A few silent tears ran down her cheeks, whereupon she heard him swallow before he pulled her so close against his body that she almost couldn't breathe. Still, she stayed in that position, wrapping her arm tightly around his waist with her face buried on his chest.

His rapid heartbeat, which she could clearly hear, also told her how much the situation was affecting him. Stella tried to calm down, just so she wouldn't mess up her make-up before she had to go to work.

"Just come home later, please", she asked meekly, her grip only getting tighter. "I need youᅳ more than ever, Happy."

"I know", he rasped, emotion thick in his voice. "And I'll be there, I promise."

"Thank you." With the tiniest of smiles, she lifted her head and let her lips ghost over his again. "I have to go. Gabby has to be at daycare and my shift starts in half an hour."

“You're going to work?” Happy sat up and gently pulled her up with him, incomprehension crossing his face. "You can't go to work, Stella."

Touched by the immediate concern he felt, she tilted her head to the side after wiping her cheeks dry. "I'm okay, Hap. I'm not in any pain right now and if I don't feel well I'll take a break, I promise."

"I don't like that, woman", he grunted, but he also knew that Stella needed every distraction right now. On the other hand, he wanted to have her around him twenty-four hours so he could control her condition.

When he was worried, the killer tended to become quite possessive, although he quickly overstepped some boundaries with his overprotectiveness. But this was about his wife who probably had cancer, how was he supposed not to get all overprotective?

"I know", Stella replied understandingly. "But I don't want to quit. I want to make as much money as possible so I can leave Gabby and you somethingᅳ"

"Don't even dare to say it, Stella", the SAA warned stubbornly and let out a low growl that rattled  through his chest, his grip on her neck tightening, but not to the point of hurting her. "I told you I wouldn't let you die. Not everyone with cancer diesᅳ and you'll be one of those people."

Sighing, Stella wrinkled her nose. She wanted to believe him, so badly. Of course she didn't want to die, not now and not in five or ten years. She wanted to be able to watch Gabby grow up, to be able to celebrate at least twenty or thirty more wedding anniversaries with Happy. But she couldn't ignore the fact that she was slowly crawling towards death at the momentᅳ even if Happy wanted to keep her alive at all costs.

But she decided not to start a new argument and just raised a corner of her mouth. "We'll find a way, I'm sure. But I really want to go to work, Hap. Please don't take this away from me", she pleaded softly before reluctantly releasing herself from his grasp so she could get up.

"Fine." With a grumble he also stood up, unsteady on his feet for a second, whereupon he received a worried look from Stella. "I'm fine, don't worry", he reassured her. "Leave Gabby here with me, I'll pick you up with her later."

"Are you sure?", she asked cautiously, but found the idea of being picked up by the two of them quite nice. Happy nodded immediately too. "Then I'll call daycare and let them know that Gabby won't be coming today."

"Take it slow, okay? I won't stop you from going to work..but you have to promise me to take care of yourself, Stella." It wasn't a request Happy was making, it was more of a command that sounded like a worried admonishment. "And tonight we'll talk about what we'll do next."

"I won't do anything that will cause me more problems, you should know that, baby", she said, her expression as serious as his. Then she nodded, barely noticeable, already dreading the conversation. But she knew it had to happen. "Yeah, okay. I'll see you later."

Happy wouldn't let her go without a proper goodbye, he never did before and certainly wouldn't start with it now. Possessive yet gentle, he pulled her towards him by her wrist and let his hand slide to her lower back, his lips capturing hers again. This time it was a shorter but no less intense kiss.

"I love you, Stella", he rasped against her plump, with dark red lipstick covered lips.

Fuck, he really loved this woman. And he definitely had to do something about the cancer. At the latest when Gabby would take a nap, he would search the internet for all possible treatment options and definitely take her to a doctorᅳ or see the one Stella went to yesterday.

"I love you too, Happy", Stella whispered back, who despite her platform boots still had to stand slightly on tiptoes to reach Happy's lips, from which she stole another kiss.

Before she could get emotional again, she slipped out of his grasp and cleared her throat on her way out.

Only when the door was closed did Happy sink back onto the bed. With his elbows resting on his knees, he dropped his head into his hands and ran his palms over his scalp, letting out a deep sigh.

It was almost impossible for him to control his emotions. The alcohol had numbed him yesterday, helping him fall asleep while others would probably have suffered alcohol poisoning after that amount. But now that he could think clearly again and was fully aware again that his wife was terminally ill, or on the way to becoming so, everything came back to the surface.

The knock on the door only irritated him more until he realized that it could also be Gabbyᅳ although the knock was too strong and loud for it to come from a three-year-old.

"What?!", he barked annoyed, shortly afterwards Chibs poked his head through the door.

"Brother, what's going on with ye'?" On Stella's way out and as she said goodbye to Gabby, the Scot didn't miss the sorrow in Stella's brown eyes.

Even when he looked into Happy's watery eyes now, he quickly realized that something must have happenedᅳ and he immediately had a suspicion that he didn't hope was actually the case. Maybe Stella had lied to him earlier. "You and Stella, have you broken up?"

"What?" Happy asked with a huff, but then he shook his head and rubbed his eyes with the rounds of his palms. "No, of course not. Do we look like our marriage turned to shit?"

Chibs let out a sigh of relief before taking a seat next to Happy, realizing that the SAA needed someone to talk to, even if Happy himself would probably deny it.

"Do ye' wanna talk about it?", he asked calmly.

"No, I have to take care of Gabby. I told Stella to leave her here", Happy grunted, kind of glad that he had an excuse.

Before he could get up, Chibs grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him back down onto the bed. "Juice just got up, he's taking care of Gabby. What's wrong, Hap? Are ye' okay?"

Great, now Happy knew what some people meant when they said it was hard to keep up a facade when someone asked them if they were okay. It was as if all his skills to appear emotionless had failed.

So that Chibs wouldn't see him even more vulnerable, he turned his head the other way where he just stared at the dark wooden wall.

"Stella probably has cancer. Pretty sure she does", he said with a swallow. "And I have no fucking idea how to deal with it. And I know she feels the same way."

There was a long silence in the room as Chibs tried to let the news sink in. He had expected a lot, but never such horrible news that would hurt all of them.

"I don't know what to say, brother", the Scot answered honestly after a few minutes, his voice calm but filled with real emotion. He placed a comforting hand on Happy's shoulder when he heard him sniffle before quickly wiping his eyes again.

Hell, Chibs had no idea how the killer was able to maintain such control over himself. Even though Chibs wasn't a fan of admitting it, he would probably break down crying if he found out that his Old Lady had cancer and might die if he had one.

"I don't know what to say or do myself", Happy admitted with a shrug, sniffling again. "But I can't let the same thing that happened to Tara happen to her, Chibs. She's my wife, I fuckin' need her. Gabby needs her mother!"

Deeply touched by the couple's fate, Chibs nodded in understanding, squeezing Happy's shoulder. "We're here, no matter what you need. I want you t' know that, brother", Chibs said adamantly, empathy laced in his tone. "We're all here."

Happy answered with an appreciative grunt, knowing that Chibs knew he was grateful for his brothers. "Please don't tell anyone yet. I wanna let Stella decide for herself when she wants to let everyone know."

It was wrong to tell Chibs about it in the first place without  Stella's permission, but Happy had to get it off his chest. He had to tell someone to somehow come to terms with it himself.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone", Chibs promised firmly, definitely  understanding this request. And he would keep his mouth shut. “Do you know more yet?”

"No, I only found out yesterday. Stella apparently too." The SAA lazily pushed himself up and rubbed his tired face. "Don't take it personally, but I just wanna spend time with Gabby right now. Can you bring her?"

"If ye' need t' talk to someone about it, you know where t' find me." Chibs stood up and slapped the younger man's back. If he was that affected, he didn't want to know how Happy felt. "I'll get you Gabby."

"Thanks, Chibs", Happy grumbled before he took a deep breath and put the empty bottles and the whiskey away so Gabby couldn't accidentally drink from them. He definitely needed distraction and would appreciate every minute with his daughter even more right now.