A Few Awkward Weeks Later...
"Really?" Rory strutted around the apartment in her bath towel with the phone to her ear. "No, I'm not. I have to come back in a few days for Emma's checkup but we're doing well here. I think he's coming around."
This time when Johnny tried to get Rory to go home he was at least respectful and did so in a caring manner but it still didn't work. Rory knew he and Brad hated the idea of her being anywhere near Happy, especially with an infant, but that was their issue to work out. Peeking in to see Emma still sleeping Rory went back into the bathroom to blow dry her hair. As the dryer ran, Happy arrived using his key and upon seeing she was not ready and the bassinet was right in the living room he wanted to run. Taking a seat, he eyed her suspiciously as she slept.
"Ah shit," he whispered as she squirmed. "Don't cry." On cue, she opened her eyes and began to wail and the sound immediately alerted Rory.
"What happened?" She asked, her hair half dry, and checked the clock. "She's not due for another bottle for like forty five minutes."
"Nothing happened." He said anxiously. Strides had certainly been made but he was still keeping a careful distance between him and the child. Rory knew he'd need some prodding.
Rory made a bottle but checked Rory first for a wet diaper and the like before deciding she was probably just hungry. "I hate that, makes me feel so shitty. I'm still new at this and sometimes I look at her and have no idea why she's crying."
Happy actually smiled at that a little. It was nice seeing Rory in such a drastically different role. "Porker was just hungry."
"Be nice," Rory stuck out her tongue. "She's not a porker she's just big boned."
"Porker." He repeated and sat back down. It was slowly becoming more normal, although still weird, but Happy didn't like how quickly he became accustomed to Emma's presence.
"Can you finish with this?" She moved her eyes from the bottle to Happy. "My hair will be totally weird on one side."
Happy shook his head and Rory sat, monumentally disappointed. "Okay. I'll just put it up then."
"Why don't we just hang in tonight?"
Closing her eyes, Rory counted to ten in her head before looking at him again. "No. I'm going out. If you want to go home or stay here, fine, but I'm not locking her away or pretending she doesn't exist for your comfort level."
"I'm sorry." He grumbled watching how carefully Rory placed Emma in her bassinet.
"You don't have to hold her but finish giving her this." There was no softness in her voice; Rory was demanding it and Happy knew he had to no matter how badly he didn't want to. He took the bottle from her and, with Rory's help, began feeding Emma again. "Don't jam it in her mouth, just hold it there. Sometimes she doesn't finish and she won't be able to spit it out if you're holding it too hard."
That little bit of advice as she walked back into the bedroom terrified him. The entire time he swore he would going to choke the baby accidentally. It wasn't until Emma completely drained the bottle that Happy actually took a breath.
"Not too bad, huh?" Rory asked from the bathroom doorframe. "Next time maybe you can hold her?"
"Maybe."
"She needs to be burped."
"Okay." He nodded and waited for Rory to take over. She paced over and scooped up Emma with one arm while draping a long burp cloth over Happy's shoulder. "Me?"
"Yeah." She snapped and positioned the baby on his shoulder. "Tap her back lightly." Rory have his arm a few pats before for reference and sat back to watch. "You can use a little more force or we'll be here all day."
"I don't want to break her."
"You won't break her, I promise." When Emma let out a loud, short burp both of her parents smiled. Rory stood and helped adjust the baby in his arms and instantly the infant smiled as she looked up at Happy. Of course, Rory knew it was most likely more from the bottle and burp than Happy himself but it was a beautiful sight.
With tears in her eyes, Rory grabbed the diaper bag and pushed the stroller toward the door. Happy looked down at the little girl's smile, her eyes closing slowly as she began to fall asleep, and felt a wave of monumentally overwhelming love crash over him. He thought the realization of how he felt for Rory was difficult but that sent him spiraling.
"I don't want to carry her down the steps." He admitted quietly.
"You're fine." Rory eyed the stroller and pulled a face. "Would you have a problem carrying that?" She pointed toward the black messenger bag she'd been using for Emma.
"I guess not." He shrugged after seeing how clearly it wasn't covered in pink bunnies or something equally ridiculous. "Why?"
"I'm going to wear her. It's easier."
"Alright, whatever that means. Let's go before Gemma kicks my ass."
--
They took Rory's car to the gardens where they were holding the annual fundraiser for upkeep and renovations. Rory had Emma wrapped tightly to her chest, her little face barely peeking out to keep the sun from disturbing her sleep. No one knew of Emma's existence except for Jax and Happy felt his palms grow sweaty as he and Rory strolled over, hand in hand, toward the two tables the Sons filled up. Half-Sack bounced over, happier than the others to see Rory, but when he opened his arms for a hug Happy stopped him with a hard palm to the chest.
"Hey man," he said defensively. "I didn't mean anything."
"Just be careful." Pointing to the scrunched face against Rory's chest Happy felt a strange surge of excitement and pride when Half-Sack smiled happily.
"Holy shit, you had a baby?"
"No," Rory whispered. "We kidnapped her."
"She's ours." Happy barked and nodded at Jax, his major supporter through the entire ordeal. Sack got a closer look before turning to the others. Just those two simple words meant more to Rory than anything he had ever said to her. Her heart swelled and she smiled at him sweetly.
"I love you." She said for the first time since their fight when she first arrived home. Happy smiled and winked at her as Sack raised his voice.
"Uhh, guys," Sack called out to the others. "Hap is a fucking dad."
"Shut up, prospect." Tig hollered and threw a handful of balled up napkins in their direction.
"It's true." Happy announced, leading Rory closer to them with a firm hand on her lower back, and proudly presented the girls to the club.
Gemma watched with Luann as the club gathered around the new family with joy and offered many congratulations. "Poor Hap," Gemma said. "Baby girls are the worst."
--
"You're doing really well." Rory said as she laid Emma in her bassinet. "How do you think it went today?"
"The guys were happy, it felt good."
"You know what else feels good?"
She sauntered over to him with a devilish grin and a look in her eyes Happy knew too well. It was a miracle for him since she refused to sleep with him after he'd ditched her in the middle of the night. Standing close, she pulled her shirt up over her head and sucked on her bottom lip.
"Fucking finally." He gripped her shoulders and pushed her back onto the couch eagerly. It didn't take long for him to strip to his boxers but Rory was still dressed as he got to his knees. "Can't help me out?"
"You want me so bad you can do the work."
He did. Happy quickly got Rory down to just her panties, their lips locked the entire time. Giving her some extra attention rather than jump right to it Happy left a trail of red marks down her neck and chest. The snap of elastic as she pulled her hand from his boxers and pushed them down made him lift her from the couch and lay her out on the carpet. She'd have rug burns but Rory loved it. Happy guided her leg around his waist and slipped into her torturously slowly. She gasped, her nails digging into his back, and focused on not shrieking the way she so desperately wanted to.
"You're so fucking tight." He grunted, his hips moving faster and faster as he slammed into her. Rory smiled as he held her wrists tight together above her head and she wriggled playfully against his grasp. The compliment helped diminish her postpartum body fears as did the eagerness and passion he showed as they moved in sync.
When he slowed, in hopes of prolonging their romp, Rory gripped his ass and lifted her hips toward him. "Please don't stop," she begged, yelping as he slapped her ass, "Harder Hap."
He obliged, knowing she was seconds away from climaxing, lifted her a few inches and kissed her hard to keep her quiet. Happy always knew, he could feel her tighten around him and her little moans were higher and sputtered right before she orgasmed.
"Goddamn it." He growled as he finished, the words vibrated from his mouth to her skin as he buried his face in her breasts. "You're not running again."
"I'm not." She said breathlessly. "I'm home now. I swear."