Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was late at night when Jax Teller, the Vice President of the Son’s of Anarchy, Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original, was driving his 2003, Harley-Davidson Dyna-Glide Super Glide Sport. It was one o’clock in the morning, early in the Saturday morning. He had just received the news that his newborn son, Abel Teller, would make it through his two surgeries, one to fix the hole in his stomach, caused by the drugs his mother had been consuming during the pregnancy, and the other to fix his heart defect. Although originally given a twenty percent chance of him surviving, Jax had just been given the news that he was out of the critical stages of possibility of surviving and would now be in the incubator in the NICU, at St Thomas hospital. Jax Teller’s ex-girlfriend had been one of the doctor’s working on Abel’s case, and knowing she was an accomplished doctor put his worries at ease, however, he did not know how to act, with Tara Knowles arriving back in Charming. She had left him ten years, when she had told him he wanted to go to college in Chicago and become a doctor. He had been heartbroken when she left, however, he had years to reflect on their relationship. He was able to acknowledge how toxic it was. She never felt comfortable around his motorcycle previously club, and although Jax knew that the club was dangerous, and not entirely legal, they were his family, his legacy, and he could not just leave them. They had been dating since he was 16 years old, and for the first six months it was perfect. They were over the moon with one another, and then things changed. He prospected into the club and did not have constant time for Tara. Arguments started whenever he was late to answer her phone calls or text messages. Regardless of having told her how busy he was working for the club; she would constantly assume that he was stepping out on their relationship. He had been offered more pussy than any 16-year-old would be offered, but he turned it down, for Tara, knowing he loved her. It did not stop the fights, especially when Jax could only tell her that it was club business. As they got older, the fights got worse. Tara was constantly making any free time Jax had when he was not working for the club, to be with her, and only her. If he got a text message or call telling him to come in, they would argue before Jax would leave, and she was furious if he did not let her know when he was home. Arguments led to proper fighting, and eventually Jax found himself having things thrown at her, and on top of that he had been hit more than once, whether slaps or punches. However, he never fully understood that this was not okay. Not then. As he got older, he realised, that they should have ended long before she left. She did not support his goals and ambitions. His goals to one day become the president of the club, with his best friend, Harry “Opie” Winston, as his Vice-President. He found that Tara never pushed him into that direction, but rather kept trying to get him to remove himself from the Club.

Jax was aware that he had grown up, and now found himself, speaking and conversing with Tara about Able, and if it was not regarding his son, then he would just ignore her. As much as he had loved her, he now had too many things on his mind to worry about Tara and her intentions. Abel had a small chance of living; their gun warehouse had just been torched and his ex-wife had just overdosed.

This is what brought him out to the streets so late at night. Instead of going to the clubhouse, and drowning his sorrows and concerns in alcohol, weed and pussy, he decided to go for a long ride to help clear his head.

He was half an hour out of Charming, riding past a forest, when his headlights caught sight of something strange. Walking out of the forest towards the road was the figure of a girl, of a woman. The first thing his eyes caught were her clothes. She was wearing a long, yellow, jumper. It was sun yellow, and had unicorns printed over the entire jumper. The light of his motorcycle meant he could make out the lavender and green striped tights, which led to what looked like, plastic, bright electric green, jelly sandals. He had to doubletake at her outfit. Having spent his entire life in Charming, he was used to seeing women in jeans or shorts, tank tops and singlets, or plain t-shirts. Then there were the women at the clubhouse that often wore shorts that showed the bottom of their arses, skintight dresses that left little to the imagination and tops that showed their ample cleavage. He had never seen a woman in such an odd combination of clothing. It was as if she had gone into a charity store and selected the first things she could find. After he got over what clothes she was wearing, he looked closer and was able to make out some of her features, though not much. He could tell she was short, although unable to completely determine how small she was, it was clear she was a lot shorter than he was. Then there was her hair. It was a dark chocolate brown, and he could not stop looking at the amount of hair she had. He could see it was done in a high ponytail, done up high on her head, but the bottom of the ponytail reached below her waist and there was a lot of hair. It was voluminous and he could only imagine how it would look out. No one in Charming had hair quite like her, and it just seemed to add to his curiosity surrounding this girl who had just come out of the forest.

The sky was clear, and considering how far away Jax was from civilisation, the moon could be seen shining from the sky and the stars could be made out easily. The girl in question was walking through the grass between the forest and the road, and looking directly into the night sky, and it seemed as if the light from the moon was shining down on her, because she looked to be glowing in the moonlight. Suddenly he heard low growl, and his eyesight moved from the girl and towards where the sound came from, which was the tree line of the forest. Jax bristled, as the growl got louder, followed by a second growl, and then came a howl. Jax’s eyes went to the girl, and to his surprise, she was not looking worried like he was. Instead, her face lit up with a wide smile, and he was able to make out pearly white, straight teeth. Then his eyes flited back to the tree line, and he saw three large dogs slowly exit the forest, all walking in synchronisation, low growls coming deep from their chests, they leapt forward and ran towards where the girl was standing.

Before Jax could even yell out a warning, he shook his head in bewilderment. The three dogs had leapt onto the girl, and she went toppling onto her back and the three dogs let out barks, as they dipped forward playfully, wagging their tails. Jax felt his body perk up as he heard a tinkering bell like laugh as she started patting all the dogs that were soaking up the affection being provided. Suddenly however, the playfulness stopped, and all three dogs jumped off her, before standing stiffly, turning to face where he was still sitting on his bike by the road. The three dogs quickly stood in front of her, growling, now, towards him. The girl stood quickly and turned to face where he was watching them. Jax, for once, had no idea what to do now. So instead of saying anything, he quickly turned his bike back on, and peeled away from the clearing and back towards Charming. His mind not drifting far from the unknown girl.

---

Jax walked into the clubhouse the following morning, his mind still on the woman from the night before. He looked around the main room and could not help but chuckle. Juan Carlos ‘Juice’ Ortiz, their intelligence officer was passed out on top of one of the pool tables, completely nude, a brunette croweater cuddled into his side, both completely naked. Filip ‘Chibs’ Telford, a Scottish man who came from their SAMBEL charter in Ireland, was lying on one of their large couches, an empty bottle of Irish whiskey clasped tightly in his arms. The prospect, Half-Sac was already up, and starting to clean the rubbish that littered the entire room. He sat quietly at the bar, and watched as Half-Sac quickly ran into the kitchen and came back with a full mug of coffee for him, and Jax let out a grunt in acknowledgment and thanks before taking a large mouthful of the hot liquid. It was not long before doors could be heard, and over the course of the next three hours, Alexander ‘Tig’ Tragger, the Sergent at Arms, Happy Lowman, a NOMAD and Robert ‘Bobby’ Munson had exited their respective dorm or apartment’s that were in the clubhouse. Clarence ‘Clay’ Morrow, Harry ‘Opie’ Winston and Pierment ‘Piney’ Winston had all arrived from their homes. Luckily, it was a Saturday and work had already been caught up on, so they all had the day off. It was Chibs that noticed how quiet Jax was being and remembering that he was not at the party the night before, he was curious what had occurred to make him so quiet.

“Jackie Boy,” his Scottish accent prominent in his hungover state. “Didn’t see you last night, everythin okay?”

At Jax’s sigh, all heads towards him, suddenly remembering he had never arrived to join in on the party. Jax shook his head, getting the image of the night before out of his mind. “I went for a ride on my motorcycle, I didn’t get back until quite late.”

“Nah, I know you, brother. Something else happened,” Opie prompted and Jax just grinned, looking towards his best friend, his brother in everything but blood. He always knew when something was on his mind.

“I saw a girl,” he murmured, and suddenly there was a loud catcall, and the men in the room were all grinning, awaiting to hear further details. “Nah, it wasn’t like that. This girl just walked out of the forest, halfway between here and Stockton. She just kept staring and smiling at the moon and the stars, before three dogs, three exceptionally large dogs followed her into the clearing. I left once the dogs saw me and started growling and took off when the girl faced me.”

“What’s a young lass doing out in a forest so late at night,” Chibs wondered aloud, and a few of the others nodded in agreement.

Happy who had been listening silently from where he was sitting on a stool at the bar frowned at the description. A young woman, three dogs, being in a forest. It sounded like someone he knew; however, he did not want to voice anything until, he was positive. So, he sat in silence, waiting for Jax to continue. “Man, she was the oddest looking broad I have ever seen,” Jax commented, smiling at the remembrance of what the girl was wearing. “She was wearing a bright yellow hooded sweatshirt, with pink unicorns printed on it. Purple and green striped tights and had a pair of bright green jelly sandals on. I have never seen such an odd combination of clothing before.”

That was when Happy’s suspicions were confirmed. He hung his head and let out a loud sigh, causing everyone to look at him, making him curse himself at being so inconspicuous. Happy just glowered at them, ignoring their questioning stares, and quickly pulled out his phone, storming out of the room, making the men look at him questioningly. Jax followed him, concerned, not knowing if it was something he said, or something else was on his mind, and although Happy never opened up or spoke, Jax liked to make sure he was aware that people were in his corner.

“Ma,” Jax heard Happy speak, and watched as Happy sat down on one of the picnic tables that were outside the mechanic workshop. “Have you seen Luna and Sunshine recently?” It was a few moments later when Happy let out a groan. “Three weeks ago? Did she at least take her phone with her?” Happy nodded his head at whatever he heard before he ran a hand over his face exasperated. “A tent, a fucking tent, ma?” Happy murmured something unintelligible. “Someone saw her last night, so I am going to try and find her. Thanks ma, I will have her call you.”

Happy quickly hung up and turned to face Jax, glaring at him, making Jax want to curl in on himself. “The only reason I am not taking you to the ring for eavesdropping, is because I need your help.”

“Sorry,” Jax apologised quickly. “I wanted to check on you, but you were on the phone.” Happy just glared at him. “What can I do?” He asked. Although Jax was brimming with questions, he decided to just listen to Happy for the time being.

“I need you to drive me to where you found the woman yesterday, we will need to take two cages, and large ones at that.”

“Do you know…”

“No questions,” Happy growled. “Later, right now, I need to get to where you found the girl.”

Jax hesitated for just a moment before nodding in agreement. After running inside to grab his own trucks keys, he then ran to the Teller & Morrow Mechanic’s office and grabbed a set of keys for another truck in the lot. Grateful that his mum was not in the office and could not stop him for questions he did not have the answers for. Meeting Happy by the truck he had grabbed the keys for, and Jax wasted no time in throwing him the keys before jumping into his own truck, before moving out of the gate to the lot and after making sure Happy was close behind him, he started driving out of town.

Chapter Text

Forty-five minutes later, Jax pulled over the side of the road, just like he had the night before. Moments later, Happy pulled up behind him, and Jax could not help but look at him curiously. This was some of the most talking and facial expressions he believes he had ever seen on Happy. Given that most of it was talking to his mother, and afterwards, and the facial expressions were of exasperation, but it was different than the aggressive glares most of them were used too. He watched as Happy opened the door to his truck before he jumped out and grunted at Jax. “Down there?”

“Yeah, she was right in the middle of that clearing,” Jax nodded at where Happy had pointed. Jax followed Happy down to the middle of the clearing, before walking closer to the tree line that led into the forest. “Uh, Hap, what are we doing?”

“Finding her,” he growled.

“How?”

“Tracking,” he grunted. “Not the first time I’ve had to do this with her.”

Jax knowing that this was not the time for questions to be answered, just followed quietly behind Happy, as they entered the forest. He looked all to familiar with this forest, even though, as far as Jax was aware, Happy had never entered it before. He must have been truthful about tracking whoever this woman was before, as he watched Happy inspect the ground below them, looking for footsteps. It was twenty minutes later, when Happy started walking further in, at a slightly aggressive pace, he knew that Happy had found what he was looking for. Not too long later, they arrived at a section of the forest, which had the sun shining down on them. A small gap between the trees. His jaw almost dropped at the sight before him. There was a small, unlit campfire, and next to it was two bedrolls that appeared to have sleeping bags or blankets on top, with a small pillow. There was a large backpack lying next to the bedrolls. There were other nicknacks around the area that showed evidence of civilisation. Happy shook his head, in what could only be described as fond exasperation, as a small smile showed on his face. Jax almost dropped his jaw at this, never having seen a proper smile grace the enforcers face before.

“Sit down, Jax,” Happy grumbled. “We may be here for a while.”

They sat in silence for what felt like hours, and it seemed that Happy had no intention of moving. It was not an awkward silence, he was used to Happy not speaking, but he knew that the club would be calling soon to wonder where they were, and from the way Happy was acting, he did not think anything could pull him away from this task. Not even the club,

Suddenly the sound of barking and footsteps was then heard, as well as a high-pitched giggle. Both Happy and Jax stood up quickly, as the noise became louder and closer to where they were waiting.

“UNCLE HAPPY!” Jax heard a loud squeal before he saw a little girl, no older than four, sitting on top of one of the largest dogs he has ever seen before, come bounding into the campsite. The dog was clearly a German Shepherd, however, it appeared to be a few inches taller than the usual German Shepherd and it came to a screeching halt when they got closer, and both were able to see that Happy was not alone. Jax took his eyes off the dog, and instead looked at the little girl sitting on top of the dog, as if it was a horse. She had chocolate brown hair, which had a small curl. It was done in two pigtails, with bright yellow ribbons holding them in place. She was wearing a spaghetti strapped, pastel pink dress, with a long-sleeved white t-shirt with navy blue stars on it. She was wearing sky blue leggings underneath the dress and had similar shoes to the woman he saw the night before. Upon looking closely at the girl, he could see similar traits between her and Happy. They had the same olive coloured skin tone. One of her eyes was the same almost black colour as Happy’s, but the other was silver. She had dark eyebrows, and long eyelashes. They had the same high cheekbones but hers still had baby fat over them, and same full lips. The main difference was the nose, hers was small and slightly upturned. He turned and watched as Happy’s face completely transformed from his usual stoic expression to one that showed pure, unfiltered happiness as he got down on his knees and opened his arms wide.

“Sunshine,” he greeted, and if possible, his smile got wider as the little girl scrambled to get off the dog and took off in a run towards Happy before flinging herself into his arms, where Happy pulled her to his chest as if she was the most precious person alive.

“You surprised me, Uncle Happy,” the girl chirped, her voice slightly muffled from her face being pressed in his neck. However, the moment was disrupted by a loud growl coming from the dog, causing all eyes to turn towards him. The dog had moved closer to Happy and the girl he had called Sunshine and was staring straight at Jax as if he were the biggest threat alive.

“Who is the man, Uncle Happy?” The girl asked, no fear on her face, only curiosity.

“This is Jax, little girl,” Happy grumbled. “He’s one of my friends. He is safe,” he reiterated.

Sunshine tilted her head to side and scrutinised him in a way that was extremely like Happy it almost made him chuckle at the similarity. She gave a small huff and nodded. “Banana, heel,” she commanded, and at once the dog stopped growling and stood to attention. “Familiarise yourself,” she added and Jax watched as the dog slowly walked towards him. He shot a quick look at Happy who had a smirk on his face.

“Let him sniff you, and familiarise your sent, so he knows you are safe and wont harm her,” Happy advised, and upon following his instructions, the large dog that hip reaches the top of his legs, walking in a circle around him, sniffing quickly, before he let out a bark and walked towards Happy who was now standing, and had Sunshine sitting on his waist, with her arms wrapped around his neck.

“Where’s your mum, Sunshine?” Happy asked, noticing how she had not arrived since Sunshine had been here.

Before she could reply, a dreamy like voice answered instead. “Right here, Happy,” she said, her voice airy and light. It did not sound normal. It almost sounded unfocused, but also had a bell like tinkle to it. Jax almost had to doubletake at what he saw. Both at what she was wearing, and at her face and hair. She was wearing overalls, which had flower prints all over them, with a rainbow striped long-sleeved t-shirt. She had bubble-gum pink boots on her shoes, with rainbow socks that went over her knees that matched her top. He saw that she wore multiple gold bracelets that covered her wrists, and there were two-three rings on almost every finger on both hands. She had a gold necklace that had a sun on the end, and another that had what appeared to have both bottlecaps and corkscrews on it. Her hair was in two space buns on her head, with half the hair, and the other half was out and was in slight curls, reaching the bottom of her back. There were daisies placed around the space buns with a few petals that were randomly littered through the rest of the hair. However, it was her face that stood out. She had the same olive skin as both Happy and Sunshine, and lips. She had high, defined cheekbones that stood out elegantly on her face. She had the same nose as Sunshine, perfectly straight, small and with a slight upturn at the end. He could see she had a defined jawline, but it was soft unlike Happy’s which was angular and sharp. Instead of his dark, almost black eyes, hers were molten silver, and had long eyelashes that brushed the top of her cheekbones. She was gorgeous.

“Luna,” Happy growled out. “What are you doing?”

“Well,” Luna tinkled out, before giggling. “Sunshine and I were missing you, so we decided to come visit.”

“Ma said you left two weeks ago,” he commented, and Luna smiled widely, nodding fast.

“Yes,” she giggled, then added matter-of-factly, “we’ve been camping.”

“Uncle Happy, it has been amazing. We watch the stars every night, and we go look for pixies and fairies during the day. IT HAS BEEN SO FUN!” Sunshine squealed so loud, it caused both Happy and Jax to flinch at the volume.

Happy leant down and placed Sunshine on the ground, who ran towards Luna, who decided to sit on the ground, her legs crisscrossed. Sunshine quickly sat in her lap, and Luna wrapped an arm around her waist, smiling lovingly at her. Banana quickly walked up to them, before lying down, and placing his head in Sunshine’s lap. Next thing Jax saw was three more dogs walk into the campsite. The same three dogs he saw last night. He could not overcome how big all three, now four, dogs were. The three that just walked out he could clearly tell were an Alaskan Malamute, Golden Retriever, and a Bernese Mastiff. They growled lowly but walked calmly towards both Luna and Sunshine, recognising there was no threat at that moment, before they all laid down, staring at both Happy and Jax.

Before Jax could introduce himself, Happy spoke again. “Why didn’t you drive,” he sighed. “Or at least call me so I could pick you up?”

Luna and Sunshine looked at each other, before facing Happy and letting out a synchronised laugh as if what he asked was odd, instead of them finding them in the middle of a forest. “Why would we want to drive?” Luna asked mystified. “We like walking.”

“Cars contribute to the fumes that stop us from seeing the stars,” Sunshine said hotly. “Do you not want us to see the stars, Uncle Happy?”

Happy rubbed his face with his hand, before holding the bridge of his nose with his thumb and pointer finger. “Okay, that answers that, but why didn’t you call?”

“Then it wouldn’t be a surprise?” Luna questioned, wondering what was wrong.

“Did you even pack a phone?”

“No,” Luna smiled serenely. “We wanted time with nature, just us.”

“Yeah, Uncle Happy. If we brought the phone, we would get bothered with calls. So, we left it at home. We even hid it,” Sunshine let out a giggle and looked up at her mother who was nodding happily, in agreement with her daughter,

Jax was struck dumbfounded, watching Happy tilt his head backwards, and groan in frustration, listening to one of the oddest conversations of all time. “What the hell am I going to do with you two?” He growled, causing Sunshine and Luna to both laugh together, grinning widely at Happy before Luna turned to face Jax and tilted her head.

“Hello Jax,” she said, smiling at him. “I hope you got home safe last night. You took off in such a rush I was worried.”

Jax just looked at her bewildered, not knowing how she knew his face due to it being so dark the night before, and how she knew his name. Of course, Happy could have told her when he has visited her, but her certainty caught him off guard.

Happy let out another groan and looked at Jax apologetically. “How did you…?” Jax trailed off.

“The wind told me, of course,” she said matter-of-factly. Jax looked towards Happy who just shrugged her shoulders.

“Yep, mama came back last night and told me we would have a visitor today. She didn’t tell my uncle Happy would be coming too, she surprised me,” Sunshine squealed, looked at her mother who stared down at her smiling. Before Jax could continue, his phone rang, and he quickly stood up and walked slightly to the side.

“Jackie Boy,” Jax heard Chib’s through the phone. “You and Happy have been gone three hours and nobody knows where you are, what the hell is going on?”

Jax turned around to look at the three other people in the forest. Happy was now sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree trunk as the woman, Luna sat across from him, still with Sunshine in her lap, as Sunshine was speaking quickly, her little hands and arms waving around as she spoke. Jax let out a small chuckle, “you wouldn’t believe me even if I told you. We’ll be back soon.” Without waiting for a reply, Jax quickly hung up the call and walked back to the group.

Happy looked at him expectantly and Jax just shrugged. “We’ve been gone for three hours; the guys were getting worried.”

“Time flies when sitting under the sun and surrounded by the warm breeze blowing through the leaves,” Luna smiled, causing Sunshine to nod.

“Yes, nature doesn’t require a clock, it’s just us, the sun, the moon, the stars and the trees,” Sunshine said agreeing with her mother, whilst Jax just looked between the mother daughter duo, with a bewildered expression. He had thought it before, but he can honestly say, he has never met anyone quite like them yet.

“Yes, I know, Luna, I’ve heard the spiel before, but I came here to talk about something else other than nature and your hatred of phones.”

“Happy,” she said shaking her head back and forth.

“Little girl,” he rasped. “We brought two trucks with us, come back with me. It isn’t safe to be wondering by yourself with a phone.”

Jax tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling he got in his stomach at the look of sadness on Luna and Sunshine’s faces. They looked at each other before turning to Happy and both their eyes widened, and their bottom lips jutted out forming a synchronised pout. “But Uncle Happy,” Sunshine whispered. “We hate cars.”

“Happy,” Luna said sadly. “We hate houses.”

“We just want to be under the stars,” Sunshine agreed, and her mother pulled her closer to her chest as they cuddled each other. Jax would have thought someone told them that their worst fears were coming true, and not that their camping trip was ending.

Happy ran his hand over his face, looking away from the duo. “Compromise,” he started. “You come back with us now, and you stay at my house. It’s secluded and away from the main town. You get a phone, and you can go explore the woods or wherever, but you stay at my house.”

“Happy,” they said in synchronisation.

“No, you know my life can be dangerous, if you are coming to Charming, then you listen to my rules,” Happy said sternly.

“Yes, Uncle Happy,” Sunshine said mournfully, and Luna just gave a pitiful nod before standing with Sunshine attached to her hip before putting her on the ground to Banana. She then turned and started walking around the campsite, picking up bits and pieces and putting them in one of the saddle packs that were on the ground. She then rolled up the bed mats and blankets and stuffing the blankets into another pack. There was an awkward silence in the air as Luna continued packing everything away as Sunshine snuggled into the fur of the German Shepherd, as Happy just looked up to the sky scowling. Jax just shuffled on his feet not knowing what to do as he looked at the two miserable females as they got ready to leave the forest and head towards the trucks. It only took ten minutes before Luna finished, and once done, Sunshine and Happy both stood up.

Banana stood up and gave a large yawn and stretched before moving closer to Sunshine who pressed against his side. Slowly the other three dogs followed, walking swiftly over to Luna who gave all three a quick scratch.

“Luna,” Happy started gruffly. “Have them check Jax so they know he’s safe.” Once Luna gave a nod in acknowledgement, she turned to face Jax who remained quiet.

“Mars, Venus, Pluto,” Luna said softly, and the three dogs all stood to attention, looking at her extremely focused. “Familiarise yourself with Jax.”

Slowly, the three dogs walked up to Jax and surrounded him, sniffing him, before they all let out huffs and walked back to Luna. “Good job,” she cooed at them before she picked up two of the packs and placed them on top of the Bernese Mastiff, bending over to buckle a strap, so the packs would not fall off the dog. She then grabbed a third pack and placed it around the Alaskan Malamute, attaching it the same. She then grabbed the two bedrolls and connected them to that saddle pack and nodded at her handywork. She then walked over to Sunshine and gave her an apologetic smile and picked her up, quickly placing her on Banana. She wrapped her small legs as much as she could around the middle of the dog, and grasped some of the fur, holding on. She then walked over to a large backpack and heaved it up onto her shoulders and pulled the straps tighter. She and Sunshine looked at each other giving a firm nod before they started walking back the way that Happy and Jax came. The Golden Retriever, Venus, trotted forward and led the way, while the other two dogs walked behind Luna and Sunshine, staying far enough back to give them space, but close enough to protect them from harm. Happy held up a hand telling Jax to wait, and they stood quietly until the two humans and four dogs were far enough away that Luna and Sunshine would not be able to overhear them.

Once they were far enough away, Jax turned to Happy astonished. “Who the fuck are they Happy?”

“That’s my little sister, Luna, and my niece, Sunshine,” Happy replied quietly, as they slowly started following them back through the forest. “I’m only going to say this once. Luna and Sunshine have a habit of taking off and wandering all over the place. Luna travels with Sunshine around the world for work, which is perfect because she doesn’t like being in one place too long, the problem is she can sometimes just take off and if I’m not home, only Ma will know, and Ma will tell me. She’ll tell Ma where she is going, but not the trip she is taking, and depending on the trip, she will either take her phone or not.”

Jax nodded along to what Happy was saying, slightly confused about the entire situation. “Has it always been like that? How does that work with Sunshine?”

“As a kid she would spend all her time outside, in forests, at a lake. She would spend her night stargazing. When she saved up enough money, she bought herself a mattress and outdoor blanket so she could spend summer nights outside. She has always loved nature and the outdoors. After Sunshine was born, she was confined to the house for weeks except the porch and backyard. When Sunshine reached six months, she started going out exploring again, and at nine months she was back to work and taking Sunshine on trips. Sunshine has spent her entire first four years of life outdoors. Sunshine is the same as Luna when she was a child, except she has a mother that can take her outdoors all the time and can explore whenever due to Luna’s job. They don’t own a car, Luna only uses her phone and laptop for work, otherwise she won’t touch them. I had to set a specific ringtone for myself and Ma, so she knew to answer our calls.”

“Is she always that…”

“Eccentric?” Happy growled. Almost daring Jax to say something different.

“Uh, yes, eccentric,” Jax nodded, not wanting to be beat up in the forest where no one knows where he is.

“She has always been a little…” Happy groaned. “I can’t believe I am about to say this, and if I didn’t help raise her, I wouldn’t believe it, but she is quite spiritual. She just knows things. We don’t know how to explain it, or how it happens, but she just knows facts. Like the fact she knew we would be here today. I am a little unsure how it works in her head, but she has always said that the wind, the trees, or the stars will speak to her and tell her things. Things that she should not know. I am trusting you not to tell anyone that. The only reason I am telling you is because you witnessed it. Nobody in the club is to know.”

“And her being a mother…”

“You better not be questioning her parenting methods, Jax,” Happy growled, turning to glare at Jax, stopping mid stride.

“Just she is a little odd, and everything you’ve told me so far, it makes me wonder,” Jax continued, not recognising the danger he was in. Before Jax knew it, a fist was flying towards his face, and next thing he knew, he was lying on his back, a throbbing pain in his cheek. He opened his eyes when he felt a weight sitting on his abdomen, and all he could see was Happy glowing at him.

“You question Luna, her oddities, her mothering techniques, and how she raises Sunshine, I will do more than punch you. Luna is the best parent I have ever met in my entire life, I have never met a more loved, looked after and cared for child than Sunshine. You make another comment on it, and I will take you to the ring and make sure to break enough bones in your body that you can’t ride for a year.”

Jax shook his head in disbelief, before Happy punched him in the face again, feeling a crack before blood started pouring down his nose. “You understand?”

“Sure mate,” Jax groaned, his hand grabbing his nose, and Happy gave him a short nod before standing and holding a handout for Jax to grab, before pulling him up.

Once Jax was to his feet, clutching his nose, trying to stifle the blood, luckily not a large amount was pouring out, and followed behind Happy who had taken off to catch up with Luna and Sunshine. Once they exited the forest, Jax looked around and found Luna and Sunshine standing near the trucks by the side of the road, Sunshine still sitting upon the German Shepherd and the other three dogs were surrounding them. As they got closer, Jax and Happy could see the miserable looks on their faces, and although Jax turned around to avoid seeing the sadness, Happy just stood there, maintaining eye contact. Although he hated upsetting his sister and niece, he knew that he needed to put his foot down in this circumstance. The Mayan’s had just blown up one of their warehouses, and Darby had been trying to sell drugs in Charming again, and he did not want to risk their safety.

“Come on you two, bags in the boot, Sunshine, and Banana, in that truck. Luna you’ll be in the font. Pluto, Mars, and Venus can go with Jax.”

At that, Sunshine and Luna looked over at Jax and at the sight of his bloody nose, Sunshine let out a giggle and whispered something to Luna that made her smile and nod her head, before Luna grabbed Sunshine and put her on the ground, and started getting everything off the dogs, and putting them in the back of the truck that Happy was driving.

Moments later, everyone was in their respective cars and on their way back into Charming, and Happy had to contain the stoic look on his face when he heard the synchronised sighs from Luna and Sunshine as they looked out the window. This followed by a whine from Banana who had his head in Sunshine’s lap caused Happy’s jaw to clench. As much as he wanted to give Luna her freedom right now, he just knew he could not, and she would need to accept this.