'Come on…' Amanda thought as she waited for the footsteps to approach and stepped out of the shadows, Alex seeing her.
"Mandy… such a surprise…" Alex said quietly, stepping back a bit.
"Yeah… and once again, I thought we were in a good place… but since I've gotten pregnant, you've avoided me." Amanda responded, Alex noticing the absence of the hoodie and looking down, seeing Amanda's growing baby bump. "Alex, tell me the you don't hate this baby." She said as the two looked each other at their eye level… and she jumped slightly as hers and Finn's son elbowed her in her ribcage, Amanda resting her right hand on her stomach and rubbing it as the little boy was now awake and kicking.
"I… might not have agreed with Finn, but… I'm with you having a family, Mandy, you can rest assured of that." Alex responded.
"Thank you." Amanda replied before the baby kicked and Alex chuckled a bit at Amanda's facial expression. "Hyper, much like Mommy." She said.
"I was about to say, quite an active one in there." Alex agreed.
"A little boy..." Amanda said, Alex smiling.
"Now that is real special. Something about a boy being the first born usually is at times." Alex replied, stepping over to her.
"Yeah… here." Amanda responded, gently placing Alex hand right under hers and Alex jumping slightly as the baby responded with kicking and elbowing against it.
"Strong one too… wouldn't be surprised if he took up a place in the ring. Who knows? Wrestlemania 62…" Alex replied with a chuckle at the end.
"Biggest show of the year…" Amanda said with a smile.
"This little guy… have the right to be in no danger when he comes into the world. Not from me, crazy or obsessive fans, from no one. I'm sorry for how I behaved." Alex replied.
Amanda and Alex hugged and she whispered "Thank you, friend." before they let go.
"You're welcome. Now where were you headed, kiddo?" Alex said.
"Towards the vending machine in search of chocolate covered pretzels and Cheetos." Amanda replied before they headed off…
Amanda opened her eyes as Finn walked into the locker room… and immediately, he set his NXT Championship aside and helped her sit up.
"You okay, lass?" Finn asked as he sat down, arms around Amanda as she looked at him through sleepy eyes and rubbed the back of her head and neck… the migraine itself was gone but she still had a slight ache at the top of her spine and her stomach felt unsettled.
"No… I don't know if I can make it through the next taping, Finn." Amanda explained, Finn putting his left hand to her forehead… there was no sign of a fever but he knew Amanda wasn't feeling okay and helped her lie back down before pulling a blanket over her.
He grabbed his phone to call Hunter but the phone rang and he answered it.
"Hey, Sami." Finn responded.
"Hey, they need Mandy to start off the final taping of the night, any idea where she is?" Sami asked… before he heard frantic footsteps followed by the phone being set down and turned worried.
"She's right here… and just threw up, hellish migraine." Finn responded after once again helping Amanda lie down and opening a bottle of water before handing it to her.
"Damn. Alright, give me a few minutes." Sami replied before he reached the vending machine… he grabbed a Gatorade before heading to their locker room and putting it in the fridge. "Let it get cold but she's gonna need to put some electrolytes back in her body." He responded after closing the fridge and putting his right hand to Amanda's forehead. "She's not running a fever." He said after lowering his hand.
And after sitting up slightly, Amanda watched the website exclusive interview… Finn rested his left hand on her right forearm and lightly rubbed it as Alex got to the part about them.
"A champion who paints himself and his partner, companion, bed buddy, whatever she is to him… up in latex and then crawls to the ring like a lizard for a title fight-" Alex responded, Sami turning the Tv off.
"I guess he didn't warn any of you ahead of time." Sami replied.
"They sometimes say that in this business, no one knows where the line blurs." Amanda responded, having heard that expression countless times throughout her career.
And the two could see that the exhaustion along with the added stress of the fighting between people in the company was finally wearing down on her.
"Get her on home, I'll go tell Hunter." Sami responded, Finn helping Amanda stand up and putting her duffel bag on his shoulder before grabbing his own and the two leaving.
Finn noticed that Amanda didn't reach over to turn the radio on as he drove to the apartment… but he did notice tears running down her face and lightly rubbing her left shoulder.
He had noticed sometimes that she would go quiet, zone out… and after tonight, he didn't blame her.
"He ain't worth crying over, love. Not after what he did." Finn replied, Amanda brushing her tears away.
"I didn't even realise that I had been crying…" Amanda responded, trying to stay as alert as she could.
"You really need your rest then… still hurting?" Finn asked after he stopped the car in the driveway, helping her out before once again grabbing their things.
The doors closed and locked, they headed into the apartment… it had an inviting feel to it, a safe place for them to rest their weary heads and bodies.
Finn closed and locked the door after turning the lights on, cradling Amanda's face in his hands before kissing her on her forehead… his arms wrapped around her tiny body, the two hugging tightly.
Upstairs about 10 minutes later, both were cleaned off and in pajamas before climbing into the king sized bed… Amanda leaned into Finn as he kissed her on her forehead and lightly stroked her hair before his arms wrapped around her as she settled into sleep.
'I'll always be by your side, Mandy… they'll never tear us apart.' Finn thought as he fell into sleep himself.
Everything could wait for a few hours.