The Dream Continues
Chapter 1
'And do you, Melanie Williams, take John Cena to be your lawfully wedded husband, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health for as long as you both shall live?'
Melanie smiled and shifted her gaze from the priest. She could feel her eyes glistening with tears as the guests watched in silence. 'I do.'
There seemed to be a sigh of relief reverberate through the room and she had to stifle a laugh. Her dark eyes slowly moved up the man in front of her as he lifted the veil from over her eyes. When her eyes fell on his face, her heart froze.
'It's over, Melanie. We are wed,' Michael grinned down at her, his hazel eyes glimmering manically.
Melanie let out a blood-curdling scream and felt someone shaking her.
"Mel! Wake up," John's voice echoed through Mel's head. She snapped into consciousness and gasped as if being pulled out of deep water.
Mel looked around her frantically, her nerves on end. She could feel the cold sweat dripping down her back and shuddered. John pulled her into his arms and she slowly relaxed in his embrace.
"You had that dream again, didn't you?" he asked softly, rubbing her trembling back.
"I'm sorry," Mel muttered, pulling away from him. "I don't know why I keep having it. He's in jail."
John and Mel were now living in his newly mended home in Tampa, Florida. Their much anticipated wedding was two days away and Mel had been having this reoccurring dream for the good part of two weeks. Matt, who had grown considerably since the trial, was asleep in the next room.
John sighed and kissed the top of Mel's head consolingly. She was still trembling as the affects of the dream wore off, but calm for the most part.
"You better go check on the baby, he might've hard you scream," John muttered softy.
"Alright, I'll be right back," she sighed and crept out of bed. She made her way out of their bedroom and down the hall to their son's room.
The door was ajar, as Mel had taken to leaving it for easy access into the room without waking Matt. She peeked in quietly to see her son sound asleep, his blankets kicked to the bottom of the crib, his thumb in his mouth. Mel smiled and made her way across the room. She gently tucked the blanket around him before slowly removing his thumb and replacing it with a binky. She leaned over the side, placing a soft kiss on his cheek and left the room.
"I'm assuming he's still asleep," John smiled, meeting his fiancé at their bedroom door.
"Yes, knocked out cold. We should check on him more often. He's started sucking his thumb," Mel mumbled, raking her fingers through her hair.
"I'm surprised Ryann didn't come scrambling down the hall like she did last night," John chuckled, glancing further down the hall at one of the guest room doors.
Ryann had flown down from Philly for the wedding and was staying with John and Mel for she could not afford a hotel room. Mel's parents were staying in a nearby hotel to give the two some privacy.
"She's probably immersed in dreams of Randy," Mel rolled her eyes. "When is he flying in anyway? I thought he was supposed to be here by now?"
John shrugged and followed Mel back into their bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him. "Plans changed, he had to delay his flight a few days, I think his sister got sick or something."
Mel nodded and yawned, falling onto the bed. John sat down beside her and began to absently stroke her hair. She closed her eyes at the relaxing affect it had on her and fell asleep. John noticed and smiled, wrapping his arms around her and pulling the covers over her as she slept.
Mel was awakened the next morning to the smell of coffee brewing and her son giggling. She groggily sat up to see John tickling Matt on the floor and smiled. John heard Mel stir and looked up. He grinned at her before returning to the tickling of his son, who was trying to squirm away from his father's grip.
"John it he spits up from you tickling him, you get to clean it up," Mel said, climbing out of bed and scooping the boy into her arms. He instantly found her hair, tangling his fingers in her long chestnut locks.
"I didn't feed him yet, he just woke up," he stuck his tongue out at her and she rolled her eyes.
"You didn't feed him yet, but you had enough time to make coffee?" she smiled, instigating his quick temper.
"I didn't make the coffee wither," he said matter of factly and got to his feet.
Mel laughed at his face and strode from the room and down the hall. Ryann's bedroom door was open so she figured she was the one who was making the coffee. John followed his fiancé down the stairs and into the kitchen where Ryann was indeed sitting at the table drinking a mug of coffee and reading the newspaper.
"Morning," she waved as the three trooped into the kitchen.
"You're up early, yesterday you slept until at least three in the afternoon," Mel pointed out, grabbing a bottle from the fridge and popping it in the microwave.
Ryann shrugged, "I figured it was unhealthy to sleep so late so I got up early this morning to indulge in my coffee. I've been deprived of caffeine for so long," she smiled.
Mel mouthed 'Oh' before setting Matt in his highchair and taking a seat across from her best friend. John began to pull out mugs and poured the steaming hot coffee into them. The microwave beeped as he handed Mel her cup and she made puppy eyes at him.
"Could you hand that to me, please?" she asked, batting her eyelashes comically.
"You get it."
"Come one, John, you're already standing!" Mel whined and Ryann laughed.
John sighed and thrust the now warm bottle in to Mel's outstretched hand. She blew him a kiss and turned to her son to help him drink it.
"So I guess the Diva Search restricted coffee while you were trying out?" Mel asked, returning to her previous conversation.
Ryann nodded and sighed, "Yeah, I must admit, even though I was disappointed to get cut I was also relieved. I couldn't eat half the shit I normally do and it was really getting to me. But hey, I got to meet the Miz…and Ashley Massaro, who is a really cool chick."
"They'll be at the wedding I think," John muttered, sipping his coffee.
"So will half the WWE," Mel laughed and Matt yanked on her hair. Mel yelped and pulled the boy into her arms as he drained the bottle.
Ryann watched with amusement as Mel burped Matt, who was playing with his mother's hair, his wide blue eyes on John as he drank his coffee behind her.
The four were interrupted with a sudden ring of the doorbell. John placed his mug on the counter as Mel got to her feet. "No, no, I got it," he sighed and moved lazily out of the kitchen and down the hall to the door.
Ryann leaned eagerly to see who it was and jumped to her feet when she saw Randy walk in. Mel narrowed her eyes but did not move, her silent question answered with the sound of Randy's voice.
"Hey, John, sorry I'm later than I should be, my sister was pretty bad," she heard him say.
"Randy!" Ryann squealed and Mel shook her head when she heard Randy mutter something that made Ryann giggle.
The group moved into the room just as Matt let out the burp Mel had been waiting for and they all laughed. John kissed his son's forehead as Randy appeared, carrying an ecstatic Ryann.
"There's the bride-to- be!" he laughed, placing Ryann back on her feet before swooping down on Mel and kissing her cheek.
"Hello, Randy," Mel smiled bouncing Matt on her knee as he watched Randy take a seat across from his mother.
"I thought you were going to stay here with us, man, where're your bags and shit?" John asked curiously.
"Nah, I got in really late last night so I just got a room at the hotel the wedding guests are stating at. I didn't want to wake you guys up either," Randy explained.
"Oh, well, we might've been up, Mel had that dream again," John shrugged, finishing off his coffee.
"Again? Mel the man's rotting in jail, why are you so scared again?" Randy asked.
Mel shrugged, not looking at any of them, "I dunno, I'm not scared he'll come after me. I think it's just the jitters of getting married, is all, because every time I have the dream I'm getting married."
"It's alright, everything will be fine," John soothed.
"I'm sure it will," Mel nodded. "It's just my mind playing tricks on me. This isn't the first time it's done that, especially since that night…"
The room was plunged into a grave silence at the memory of Michael's arrest at Marc and Aimee's four months ago. The silence was broken by Matt, who cooed loudly at his father, sensing the uncomfortable atmosphere. The group laughed and Mel cradled the now seven month old boy in her arms.
"Well, we better get dressed, huh?" she nuzzled his nose and he giggled. "Yes, we do," and the two moved out of the room so Mel could change her son's diaper and put on some decent clothes.
"That kid is something," Randy shook his head as Mel left the room, Matt's giggles echoing in the hallway.
"Yeah, he's the only person who can really help Mel cheer up lately. The dream is really getting to her," John sighed, his brow furrowed.
"Have you considered taking her to a doctor, get sleeping pills to make them stop?" Ryann asked.
"I thought about that, but she doesn't want them, says the dream will stop after the wedding. I didn't question her after that."
"Then maybe we should trust her judgment, it's just a stupid dream after all," Ryann shrugged. "I had nightmares after I was kidnapped and they stopped when I was distracted by the Diva Search. I haven't had them since."
John nodded, looking convinced, "You're right, it's just a stupid dream and Michael's locked up for life. His goons are all locked up until their own trials, most of them still recuperating from Mel's vicious attack on them. The guy she kicked in the face is still drinking out of straw, his jaw is so fucked up."
The three sat there all in mutual agreement that the situation was under control. Mel strode into the room a little while later clad in a tank top and jeans. She then started moving around the kitchen to make breakfast, not saying a word to anyone.
"Where's Matt?" John broke the silence.
"In his playpen in the den," she shrugged, cracking a few eggs into a bowl and beating them. "How do you guys want your eggs, scrambled or omelets?"
John came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her middle as she added salt and pepper to the eggs. He kissed the back of her neck and she stopped moving.
"Not now, John I'm cooking and we have guests," she muttered.
"I'm just showing you how much I appreciate you," he smiled, his breath warm on the back of her neck. "And I like my eggs scrambled."
Mel laughed and turned in John's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him, "I know you do, hun. But we can't scramble anything until the honeymoon, take my meaning?"
John laughed and nodded, "You crack me up, kid. I love you."
"I love you more," she winked and turned her attention to Randy and Ryann, "So, how do you want your eggs?"