Part II

"Look, baby. Who is that?" I bounced Addy up and down on my hip as Happy walked over to us. It was their homecoming. After fourteen long months, he was home. She reached out and kept saying 'Dada"

"Come here." Happy said, taking Addy into his arms. I smiled as he wrapped an arm around me. "I've missed the hell out of y'all."

"Same here, baby." I said, standing on my toes to give him a kiss. He deepened the kiss and moved his hand down to my ass as Addy grabbed a handful of my hair. Happy pulled back with a chuckle as he coaxed our daughter to let go of my hair. "Thanks, Addy."

"I've got to get in there for church but it won't take long. You waiting here or going home?" Happy asked. Jax came over with Thomas and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"We'll hang out here. Addison needs a play date with Thomas so she sleeps tonight." I said, scrunching my nose at her. Addison giggled and reached out for me. "Glad you're home, Jax."

"Yeah, yeah." He said with a grin. Happy passed Addison back over to me as Tara took Thomas from Jax. "Tell your baby not to try and beat my baby up again."

"She gets it from her father." I said. Addison played rough. The last time I had watched Thomas while Tara was at work, Addison had blackened his eye. They were too young to understand what had happened but as soon as Thomas started crying, Addison started crying. He still had a faint bruise from it. "It's okay, he'll be right back."

"Do you want me to take her in there?" Happy asked. Addison had started whining as soon as he turned away. Unfortunately, I was used to her crying when we had to leave visitation. I shook my head. "You sure? I don't want her to be upset."

"Happy, she's fine. Go so we can get home." I said, giving him a little push. Chibs made a silly face at Addison as he walked by and she stopped whining for a minute. Happy sighed and walked into the clubhouse. I shook my head at our daughter. "You've already got him wrapped around your finger, don't you?"

"Lexie, are you sure you don't want me to keep the princess?" Mom asked as Addy and Thomas played in the little sandbox by the swing set. I shook my head.

"No, Mom. It's Happy's first night home. I don't think he'd want her anywhere but home tonight." I said, taking the plastic shovel that Addison was swinging around like a sword.

"Tommy, don't eat the sand." Tara said, walking over to him. Addison must have seen what he was doing because she grabbed up a handful of sand and stuck her tongue on it. She threw the rest of the sand down and looked up at me with a disgusted face. I laughed and picked her up.

"I guess you won't do that again, huh?" I asked, wiping her tongue off with my finger. She hid her face against my neck as I held her.

"Let's go, woman!" I heard Happy call from the clubhouse. I narrowed my eyes at him and didn't move an inch. "Please."

"That's only slightly better." I said, meeting him by his bike. He nodded and gave me a kiss before Addison turned around to look at him.

"Tell Mommy to hush and get in the car." Happy said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She giggled and started bouncing up and down. "Let's get home, baby."

"Just waiting on you." I turned and walked to the car as he started his bike. He beat me home by a good five minutes as I had to get Addison into the car seat. She was sound asleep by the time I pulled into the garage. I walked around the car to get her out, only to see Happy already opening the door. I stood by in case he needed any help and led him to her nursery. He stood in the middle of the room, looking around and taking it in. Tara had helped me paint the room a couple weeks after Addison was born. Instead of the boring white it used to be, it was now light gray and pink horizontal stripes. The furniture was black with silver pulls and there was a gray nursing chair in the corner.

"Do you like it?" I asked after he put Addison down and looked around the room again. I watched his shoulders drop and frowned.

"The room's good, baby. I just don't like that I missed out on everything." He said, tucking some hair behind my ear. I shook my head and took his hand, leading him out of the nursery. We walked across the hall and into the bedroom. He gently closed the door behind him before looking around the room. The king sized bed was in the middle of the room with only two night stands on either side of it and a bench at the end. We were lucky enough to have his and her's closets so I could keep the dressers out of the bedroom. "This I like, a lot."

"Good." I said pushing his kutte down his arms. I could feel his eyes on me as I hung it on the front of his closet door where I'd put a hook just for his kutte. "Hopefully you still like this."

"Oh I do." He growled as I started unbuttoning my top. He grabbed my wrists and I stopped. I felt like a teenager again. My heart was racing and I felt a little lightheaded. His lips met mine and I felt every hair on my arms stand on end. He kissed my neck."I missed this."

"And this?" I asked, gently running my nails over his scalp. He nodded and kissed my chest. I moaned and felt myself getting wound up. He picked up where I had left off with unbuttoning my shirt. His hands on my bare skin made me feel like the woman I hadn't felt like in over a year. For just over a year I had been a mother. All of my time and energy had been dedicated to our daughter. Now that Happy was home, I finally felt like more than just a mother again.

"You're perfect, Alexis." Happy said as I climbed back into bed beside him. It was amazing to be with him again. I felt my cheeks turn pink and he kissed my forehead. "We're going to the zoo tomorrow."

"The zoo?" I asked with a little laugh. He nodded and ran his hand over my side.

"Yeah, has Addison been there yet?" That explained it. He wanted to take her to the zoo for the first time. I smiled and shook my head. It was wonderful to see how involved he wanted to be with Addison. "Good, we'll go tomorrow."

"She'll like that. She loves animals." I said, rolling over and putting my back against his chest. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. Addison woke up and started crying around two in the morning. It wasn't unusual but I was more tired than usual. Happy kissed my shoulder and got out of bed. "Happy, I can get her."

"You've been doing that for a year. I got it, Lexie." He was already walking out of the bedroom before I could argue. I put my head back down on the pillow and reminded myself that I didn't have to parent alone anymore. After a couple minutes, I heard him softly singing on the baby monitor. He was singing Sweet Child of Mine by Guns & Roses and it almost had me in tears. I smiled and turned the monitor down a little so he wouldn't hear it and stop singing. When the song was over, I heard him tell her goodnight.

"I love you, Happy. I'm so glad you're home." I whispered when he got back into bed. He kissed my shoulder and pulled me close again.

"There's no where else I'd rather be, Lexie." He said. I smiled and thought that nothing could go wrong. We were a family again.

A few hours later, I woke up to an empty bed. I groaned and pulled on my robe before going across the hall to get Addison. She wasn't in her crib. For a split second, my heart started to race. I was too drowsy to even consider that Happy had gotten her when he woke up. It wasn't until I heard him talking in the kitchen that I realized how silly my panic had been. I took a deep breath and walked down the hall.

"Morning, baby." Happy said. He was sipping on a cup of coffee and there was a stack of pancakes on the table. I gave him a kiss on the cheek before pouring my own cup of coffee. "Can she have pancakes yet?"

"Yeah, as long as they aren't hot and you cut or tear them up for her." I said with a smile. "No syrup for her though."

"Why? She get hyped up like you?" He asked with a smirk. I rolled my eyes and put a pancake on Addison's plate. She started reaching for it before I could even get the first piece torn off. Happy tapped her nose with his finger and she giggled. I put her plate on the high-chair tray and watched her grab pieces with both hands before I sat down to eat as well. Happy watched her for a little longer. He was just watching and smiling.

"Happy, she's not going anywhere. You can eat." I said with a little laugh. He nodded and took the seat at the head of the table, just to the left of me. "Thank you for cooking and getting her up."

"Yep." He said, pouring syrup on his pancakes. We fell into a comfortable silence and had breakfast like a normal family. It seemed so natural, like he hadn't missed a day with us. Addison behaved besides banging her fist on the tray when she was out of food. "She need more?"

"No, she just wants out of the chair. I'll go get her cleaned up if you want to pack the car." I offered.

"What all do I need to pack?" He asked. I paused and decided it would just be easier if I packed the car. "Lexie, I'll do it just tell me what to get."

I listed off what we would need as he followed me into the hall bathroom to clean Addison up. He nodded a few times as I named items and then disappeared. Addison took the first baby wipe out of my hand and started waving it around. She was such a silly, happy baby. I didn't run into any trouble cleaning her hands but when I went to wipe her mouth off, she tossed her head around like some wild animal.

"No. No. No. No, Mama." Addy yelled. I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips. She huffed and copied me.

"She's definitely your daughter." Happy laughed from the doorway. Addy squealed and reached out for him like she hadn't seen him in days instead of minutes. I handed him the baby wipe on my way out of the bathroom.

"Here, smart ass. You clean her face." I said. He laughed and carried her down towards the living room as I went to get dressed. I heard her saying 'no' again and couldn't resist smiling. She was nothing if not hard headed. I pulled on a black and white, chevron maxi dress and some black sandals before joining them in the living room.

"Zooooo!" Addy said, bouncing up and down. Happy grinned and kissed her cheek. She was a fast learner and repeated almost everything she heard. It was both a blessing and a curse. I scooped Addison up and blew a raspberry on her cheek as we walked outside.

Happy mostly carried Addison on his shoulders as we walked around the San Francisco Zoo. She was a little nervous about the monkeys but she loved the big cats and the wolves. We doubled back at saw the wolves for a second time after she kept saying 'puppy,puppy,puppy'. By the time we got back to the car, she was sound asleep. I got her into the car seat as Happy put the diaper bag in the trunk.

"I think she loved the zoo." I said, taking his hand after we got back onto the highway. He looked in the rearview mirror at our sleeping daughter and nodded.

"What do you think about getting her a puppy?" I pursed my lips and shook my head. He glanced over at me and shrugged. "What? You like dogs. We can get a guard dog or something so it can be there with y'all when I'm on the road."

"What about when she wants a pony?" I asked sarcastically. He narrowed his eyes at me and I laughed. "Hap, I'm serious. She's not old enough for a puppy and she can't have everything she wants."

"Why not? If we're able to give her what she wants, why shouldn't she have it, Lexie? You didn't have to want for much growing up." He said. I didn't want to argue with him, not on his first full day back. He was being ridiculous though.

"I didn't want for much? You're kidding me, right? Happy I'm not saying she can't have things but she doesn't need to be spoiled. She's too young for a puppy." I said, hoping he'd at least agree with that. He shook his head but didn't say anything. I could tell he was annoyed so I didn't push it. I leaned back against the seat and looked out of the window. When we got back home, he still wasn't very talkative, even less talkative than normal for him.

"Are you going to stay mad at me, Hap?" I asked, sitting down beside him on the couch as Addison played on her play mat. He sighed and pulled my legs over his lap.

"I'm not mad. I just don't agree with you. She's my kid to, Alexis." For someone that wasn't mad, he sure sounded annoyed.

"I know she's your kid, Happy. She has been since the day we found out I was pregnant. Baby, if we get a puppy I'm going to have to keep up with it and her all the time. I get where you're coming from with it being here when you aren't but that just means I would have to take care of it then to. Can we just hold off for a year or two? Until Addison can actually understand and help take care of a puppy?" It was hard enough keeping up with a one year old.

"Sure, if that's what you want." He still sounded bitter.

"Hap, come on. We're in this together, okay? It's not about what I want or what you want. We're supposed to make decisions together." I said, running my hand up his arm. He nodded silently. "Are you hungry?"

"I don't know, am I?" My shoulders dropped. I hated fighting with him and really didn't think we'd be fighting this soon after he got back. "I'm going to take a ride."

"Okay." I said, trying to keep the anger out of my voice. He kissed me on the cheek and said goodbye to Addison before grabbing his keys off the hook and walking into the garage. Addy started crawling towards the door he'd just walked out of. I sighed and scooped her up. "Come on, baby girl. You need dinner and a bath."

"Dada?" She whined, reaching towards the garage. I kissed her cheek and walked into the kitchen.

"He'll be back, baby." I said, bouncing her on my hip. She stuck out her bottom lip but didn't cry. She was probably too tired from the zoo. I made a sandwich for myself and gave Addison some baby food before giving her a bath and getting her in bed.

"Hey." I woke up to Happy's weight moving the bed and him whispering in my ear. I rolled over to face him and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Lexie. I just needed to clear my head. I've got to get used to this whole freedom and parenting thing."

"I get it." I muttered. I was hurt that he'd decided to leave instead of talk things out. "It's an adjustment for both of us, Hap."

"I know, baby." He got into the bed and rested his head on my chest. "I love you, Alexis Teller Lowman."

"Show me." I whispered into his ear. He smirked and moved over me. I smiled and leaned up, kissing his lips. He was mine for the rest of the night. We would figure everything else eventually.

Things can't always be rainbows and sunshine. Thank you for continuing into this second part with me! I hope you enjoy!