Charlie Bishop and Happy Lowman were childhood sweethearts as they grew up in Bakersfield, California, but fate intervened sending Charlie with her parents to Alaska. Now, several years later, they are both in the same place again, but will fate int...
Jax walked beside his mother as they took a short cut through emergency. They'd been at St. Thomas to visit Jax's son, Abel before heading home for the evening. Jax's words about his son were cut off when a gurney came through the door with Trammel by its side and an EMT on top of the person lying on it, doing chest compressions. Jax heard his mother gasp as he saw the amount of blood all over Trammel. Gemma clutched his arm and pointed at the body lying lifelessly on the gurney.
"Jesus, Jax, it's Charlie!"
Jax ran forward and grabbed Trammel's arm as he started to pass him. "Trammel! What happened, man?"
Trammel wrenched his arm away from Jax and pointed at him with the hand holding a shot up bullet-proof vest. "Not now, man!"
Gemma grabbed Jax. "You go get Happy and get his ass here. I'll try to find Tara and see if she can find out what the hell happened." When Jax just stood there watching the gurney that was going through the doors, Gemma yelled in his face. "Go, Jax!"
He finally nodded and ran for the door as Gemma headed back upstairs to the maternity ward.
Two hours later, the whole club was waiting for word from Tara on Charlie's condition. Finally, she came into the waiting room and kneeled down in front of Happy, who was sitting with his hands over his face. When she touched him on the knee, he moved his hands and looked at her with tears in his eyes. Tara cleared her throat.
"According to what I could find out from Trammel and the EMTs, Charlie was lending support to a prisoner transport coming through the county. They were intercepted and... they were caught in automatic gunfire. Charlie was hit five times before she went down, twice in the chest, but she was wearing a vest. The other three shots hit her in the left shoulder, the right thigh and a graze to the temple." She took a breath before continuing. "They lost her once in the ambulance but were able to revive her once they arrived here. They have her in surgery now."
Happy nodded and took a shuddering breath as Tig laid a hand on his shoulder. Jax looked at Clay then Tara. "Anyone else hurt?"
Tara nodded as she wiped her eyes. "Yeah, Trammel's partner was killed, as were the two prison guards. A few civilians were injured but nothing life-threatening." She looked back at Happy, taking his hand and squeezing it. "I'll be in there until they're done. I'll let you know as soon as I know something more."
Happy nodded. "Don't leave her alone, doc."
Tara shook her head and gave him a small smile. "Of course not."
Once she was back through the double doors, Happy lifted his gaze to where Clay was sitting beside Gemma. "Was this us?"
Clay shook his head and frowned. "What? Of course, it wasn't us. Why would we need to stop a prisoner transport?"
Happy shook his head as he leaned forward. "You know what I fucking mean. Was this our firepower that almost killed my... Charlie?"
Clay shook his head as he looked down at his hands. Finally, he looked back at Happy. "I don't know, brother, but I'm gonna find out."
Happy nodded. "They all die, but I want the fucker who had his finger on the trigger."
Clay leaned forward and clapped a hand on Happy's knee. "Definitely brother."
Happy nodded as Wayne Unser walked into the room with a frown on his face. "Tell me that this wasn't you, that you didn't have a hand in this cluster fuck."
Clay shook his head. "No, it wasn't. Jesus, Wayne."
Wayne shook his head. "I sent her. Hale was supposed to go but he had court. If I hadn't sent her... "
Gemma got up and put her arms around Wayne, hugging him. "Don't Wayne. This wasn't your fault any more than it was ours. Don't take the blame."
Jax nodded in agreement. "Mom's right, man. It's the job and all of you know that going in. She isn't going to blame you or anyone but the one that did it."
Tara came out of the back and nodded to Happy. "She's out of surgery. As soon as she goes into a room, I'll let you know."
Happy nodded, breathing a sigh of relief as his shoulders slumped.
Happy sat in the uncomfortable chair beside Charlie's bed, her hand held in his in a death grip. the only sound in the room was the beeping of machines, the steady sound of the oxygen going into her lungs, and his quiet sobs. He could let go of the fear here in the solitude of her room where nobody could see him break down.
He'd been so scared that he had lost her after so many years of looking for her. He wouldn't tell her that he looked for her for a few years after he got out of juvie, that he had ridden up and down the coast, looking for any trace of her or her family. Now, he knew that they had gone to Alaska, but at the time, he'd only known that when he got out, she was gone without a trace. He'd felt adrift and alone without her until he'd found his brothers, but now that he had her back in his life, he didn't intend on losing sight of her again.
As he looked at her under the white hospital sheets, looking so pale and small, he realized that he had loved her since they were ten, and he'd probably go to his grave loving this small, feisty woman. He'd make sure that she always knew how he felt. He wiped his face and grinned slightly. She'd always been his old lady but neither of them had known it.
