*HERE IS MY NEW DEAN STORY.. HOPE THAT YOU LIKE IT*
"Dean, I'm running to the store. I'll be right back can you please keep an eye on Kennedy? It won't take me longer than 10 minutes," the voice of my wife Saige plays in my mind as I stand outside of the grocery store she went to in the midst of chaos. "I just have to pick up one thing," I hear her say as the police and ambulance gather around the grocery store.
"Really?" I asked her as she stood in front of me looking as beautiful as ever; her blonde hair hanging in curls just over her shoulders and her deep blue eyes staring back at me as she's dressed in the most beautiful white sundress. "Our family and friends will be here any minute," I said. "Whatever it is can wait till tomorrow or later when everyone leaves. What do you need to get?"
"Baby," she says with her beautiful smile. "I could wait till tomorrow but I need it now. I promise it will only take me 10 minutes. I'll be right back," she says before she gives me a soft kiss on the lips. "I love you, Dean. Kennedy is taking her nap. I should be back by the time she wakes up."
"All right," I said giving her a soft kiss on her lips. "I love you." And like that she was out the door and on her way to the store.
I am snapped back to reality by the feel of a hand on my shoulder as I hear the police talking into their walkie talkies and their lights flashing as one officer talks into a bull horn. "We have the building surrounded. Please come out," he says pleading with the man inside holding my wife and others hostage inside the grocery store. Saige didn't need to go today but she was insistent on picking up one thing she absolutely needed. When the 10 minutes was up and we were pressing 30-40 minutes past the time she should have been back I started to get worried. I started to panic just a little and then I got the text from her. Dean, grocery store is being robbed. Being held hostage. Trying.. and that was all that was sent from her. I sent her thousands of texts back and tried calling her numerous times but no answer. I turned on the news to see the police and ambulances arriving on the scene as the news broke. I left our 3 year old daughter at home with my mom and headed to the store with my best friend Roman in hopes of Saige being released any minute now. Twenty minutes have passed since I arrived and nothing but the police negotiating with the suspect and still no word from Saige.
"It's going to be okay," says my friend Roman as he holds onto my shoulder with his large hands. "I'm sure Saige is in there trying to talk this guy into letting them go. Saige is good with stuff like that. If she wasn't she wouldn't be a lawyer. She's good at what she does."
"I guess," I say as my heart races as I hear the officers talk about how one shot has been fired from inside the building and there is a hostage needing medical attention but the suspect isn't letting anyone go. "She is good at what she does," I say as I nod my head. "She's totally got this man," I say as we hear another gun shot fired from inside the store making my heart stop followed by another shot as I feel myself lose it. "Do SOMETHING!" I say to the officer. "MY wife is in there do something!"
"Sir," he says, "you need to back up. We are doing the best that we can. If we rush in there it could become worse," he says as he is interrupted by his phone ringing. "What? All right, we need to get the S.W.A.T. Team in there now," he says into the phone before he hangs up as Roman tries to pull me back. "Sir, you need to back up. We are going to do what we can. Just relax."
"Relax? My wife is in there and you want me to relax?" I ask with panic. "Do SOMETHING"
"Sir, we are working on it," he says as he motions for a couple officers and I am pushed aside as they gather around him and the S.W.A.T. team goes into place to enter the grocery store. "If you have a clear shot take it," says the officer as a reporter comes up to him.
"What's the word officer? I know there have been three shots fired is the gunman still alive and well?"
"At this time it appears that 3 hostages have been shot. We don't know the severity of the situation until we are able to get in there but we do know for now there have been 3 hostages shot."
"Can you tell us the ages and genders of the victims?" asks the reporter.
"We only know that two men and one woman have been shot at this time. We are making the move to.." he says as the S.W.A.T. Team fires a shot into the glass sliding doors before they rush inside the building. My heart races as the police run in with them including the officer talking to the reporter. I try to run into the building too but I am stopped by a police officer and told to stand back. Roman pulls me back as the officer says, "The gunman is down. We need some help in here NOW!" he says before the EMT's run past us and into the building. I stand in shock as I wait for word on my wife.
Standing outside after the EMT's and officers go into the building feels like an eternity waiting on some news. Families gather around waiting for some type of information on their loved ones. Roman stands with me as we wait trying to reassure me that everything is going to be okay and everything is going to be all right. A little relief sets in as hostages are released. Little by little they exit the store smiling as they see their loved ones gathered around waiting for them. They run over to them; husbands reunited with crying wives, wives reunited with worried husbands, boyfriends and girlfriends reunited, parents and children reunited but as the time goes on and more and more people are celebrating their happy reunion as I stand waiting for my wife before I realize she's not coming out as they start wheeling people out on stretchers. They bring one person out in a body bag which I am told is the gunman followed by a man on a stretcher with an oxygen mask fighting for his life as another man is wheeled out behind him and then I see it. My whole world crashes down around me as I see Saige being brought out on a stretcher, the white sundress now covered in a dark red from the blood she lost, the dried blood on her hands as they wheel her closer. My eyes fill with tears as Roman lets me go as I run over to my wife as she has on an oxygen mask. "SAIGE!" I scream out in a plea and an agonized cry as I take her hand. I feel her soft hand wrap around mine as I hold her hand as I walk with them to the ambulance. They load her onto the ambulance and I join them before they shut the door. "Saige," I say as I cry holding her hand into mine. "Please, Baby, stay with me. Please."
"Dean," she says softly. "It hurts," she says pointing to her gunshot wound.
"Shhh. I know, Baby," I say. "It's going to be okay."
"Theā¦The.." she says trying to speak. "baby." She says before she closes her eyes.
"Saige," I say. "Wake up! Please wake up," I say with tears in my eyes and an agonizing plea in my voice. "Saige," I say as I break down into tears as the EMT does what he can to revive her. My hand still attached to hers, my vision blurred with tears, tears streaming down my cheeks, my throat hurting from the lump formed and my heart in an agonizing pain as I watch him try to bring my wife back to me through CPR. He gets her breathing again but her beautiful deep blue eyes remain closed as we continue our ride to the hospital with her hand hooked into mine.
As we arrive at the hospital they run as they wheel Saige into the emergency room. I stay with her until they tell me I can't go back with her. I don't want to separate myself from my wife but I have no choice. I kiss her lips softly and tell her how much I love her before they wheel her through the double doors. I watch as the doors shut in my face and she disappears from my sight. My heart aches as I take a seat in the waiting room waiting for any information on my wife. It's not long before Roman and Saige's parents join me in the waiting room. The wait is agonizing, painful and devastating. Time drags on as we wait. I feel like a lifetime has passed since they took her back before the doctor comes out into the waiting room. "Ambrose, Saige Ambrose," he says causing me to jump to my feet.
"Is she okay?" I ask as I make my way over to him.
"Mr. Ambrose," he says and I hear it in his voice; the sympathy, before he shakes his head. "We did what we could. We tried our best but your wife Saige didn't make it."
"No," I say as the tears fill my eyes, the lump in my throat forms. "She's not dead," I say in agony. "She's not."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ambrose, we did all that we can and the baby didn't make it either."
"The baby?" I ask. "Saige was pregnant?"
"About 6 weeks we believe," he says, "I'm sorry, Mr. Ambrose."
"NO!" I yell out as I fall to my knees as my world crashes down around me and time stands still.
"I'm sorry," he says once more before I feel Roman's hands on my shoulders as I cry out in a long and hard agonizing cry. I feel anger, I feel rage but most of all I feel lost without my wife and to know she was pregnant makes it even worse. We wanted a second baby so badly. The times we had together flash through my mind, her beautiful smile on her face the day I met her when I was out on the road wrestling, I never met someone so beautiful in my life. She stole my heart the moment I saw her. The talks we had during the beginning part of our relationship. The hopes and dreams we had in our lives. Everything I did I did for her. Every goal I reached I did for her. The joy on her face the night I proposed to her in Paris, the day I married her and told her she would be in my life forever. We were going to grow old together, have tons of babies together and I would love her till the end of time. A couple months after our wedding and our honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico the joy on her face as she presented a positive pregnancy test to me telling me we were having a baby, the image plays in my mind. She was so happy that day. The day our little girl Kennedy came into the world we love her more than anything she made our lives better and made our family complete for three years until we decided it was time to have another. Saige was beautiful, she was an amazing wife, my best friend and the only person that truly knew me. She had a heart of gold, she was an amazing mother and Kennedy loved her with every beat of her little heart. Saige was different than any other woman I had ever met in my life; she was the one. She was the one I was going to grow old with, the only woman that I would ever love, the only one I wanted to have a life with. She was irreplaceable. No one would ever measure up to her. We had hopes and we had dreams for our future but this day we were robbed of that life together. I was robbed of having a wife and having my best friend and our daughter was robbed of having a mommy. We buried Saige 4 days later and my life with my daughter would never be the same again. It was time to accept that Saige was gone and there was no future for us. It was over and I would never love again; I couldn't love again.
TWO YEARS LATER:
"Daddy!" yells Kennedy as I walk into the front door of the home I once shared with Saige after being on the road for a couple weeks doing an Australia tour. "You're home!"
"I'm home!" I say with a smile as I scoop my little beautiful blonde curly haired daughter with the same deep blue eyes as her mother into my arms. I give her a kiss on the cheek. "Did you miss me, Ken?" I ask.
"Yes, Daddy," she says with a smile. "I missed you this much!" she says putting her arms out as wide as she could to show me.
"I missed you too," I say as I give her another kiss on the cheek. "So what have you been up to while I was away?"
"Nothing," she says. "I drew lots of pictures with Grammy," she says, "and we painted."
"I can't wait to see them," I say with a smile as I put her down.
"I'll go get them," she says with a smile before she runs off to get her pictures to show me as I walk into the living room to see my mom straightening up Kennedy's toys.
"Let me help you, Mom," I say with a smile as I walk over to help her clean up the Barbie dolls and baby dolls that are thrown around the living room.
"Thanks, Dean," she says with a smile. "So how was the road?"
"It was good," I say. "It was really good. I'm glad to be home though. I missed my little princess."
"She missed you too," she says. "Did you find any women out on the road that you were interested in?" she asks.
"No, Mom," I say putting the dolls into her toy box. "I'm not looking for anyone."
"Dean, it's been two years," she says. "It's time to start moving on. Kennedy needs a mother figure in her life and I'm not talking about myself. And you need someone that can love you."
"Mom," I say as I play with my wedding band. "It's too soon. I'm not ready to move on. I think Kennedy and I are doing just fine by ourselves," I say. "And no one will ever love me the way Saige loved me and the only mother that Kennedy needs to know is Saige."
"I'm not saying a new woman would replace Saige but I'm saying it's time for you to be happy again. Ever since," she starts to say.
"I know, Mom, ever since Saige died I haven't been the same Dean I used to be. The day Saige was taken from us I lost a part of my heart. A part of my heart I know I'm never getting back. It's not fair to Kennedy to bring another woman into this house or to have someone pretend to be her mother. I can't do that. I promised Saige that my heart would be hers forever and it will always be hers. No room to love anyone else. I'm happy with the way my life is right now," I say as Kennedy runs into the room reminding me of her mother so much. She is the spitting image of her mom and I see Saige in her a little more every day.
"Look, Daddy!" she says with excitement. "I made this for you," she says showing me a picture of a family drawn on a piece of orange construction paper. "That's me and that's you," she says with a smile as we sit down on the couch and she sits on my lap.
"And what's that?" I ask pointing to a brown scribble on the picture.
"That's the puppy you promised me," she says with a smile. "I want a puppy, Daddy, can we get one?"
"Maybe," I say with a smile. "I have to think about it."
"Pleeeeeease, Daddy," she says as she looks at me with those beautiful blue eyes and like her mother they can melt my heart in a second.
"Okay," I say with a smile, "we'll get a puppy."
"Yay, Daddy! You're the best!"
"I think you're the best daughter," I say with a smile before I kiss her cheek softly. "And who is this?" I ask pointing to another person in the picture but they aren't with us they're in the sky.
"That's Mommy," she says. "Mommy is watching us and she's happy."
"I bet she is happy," I say with a smile. "Happy now that you're getting the puppy you wanted," I say with a smile before I tickle her and her little giggles fill the room.
After spending a good part of the late morning researching puppies and people selling puppies I found someone selling a litter of lab puppies and set up an appointment to take Kennedy to see them later in the afternoon. Keeping my promise I take her to meet up with the woman selling the puppies as a surprise. "Where are we Daddy?" she asks as we pull up in front of a house.
"It's a surprise," I say with a smile as I park the car. "I think you'll like this surprise though."
"Are you sure? I don't like surprises," she says speaking the truth. Kennedy is the only little girl in the world that I believe doesn't like to be surprised about anything.
"I'm sure," I say as I get out of the car and walk to the back to get her out of her booster seat. "It's a really fun surprise," I say with a smile as I take her hand and make our way to the front porch. I let her ring the doorbell and we stand waiting for the door to open.
The door opens in front of us as a woman with dark brown hair stands in front of us. "can I help you?" she asks.
"I'm Dean, we talked earlier about the puppies," I say.
"Puppies!" cheers Kennedy. "You're getting me a puppy?"
"If you want one," I say with a smile.
"I do, I really do," she says with a smile.
"Hi," says the woman. "My name is Clara and who is this little cutie?"
"My name is Kennedy," she says with a smile.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Kennedy," she says with a smile. "Do you want to come see the puppies?"
"Yes!" she says with excitement.
"Okay," she says with a smile. "Follow me," she says allowing us to come into her house. I shut the door behind us before we follow her through the house and down to the basement. "Now I have three females and two males," she says, "two of the females are chocolate labs and one of the females is a golden lab. The two males are both black labs," she says. "They are good with children and they have had all their shots. They're ready to go to a new home."
"Great," I say with a smile as we reach the pen she is keeping the puppies in. They are a lot bigger than I thought but they are so cute. Kennedy lets out a squeal as she sees them.
"They are so cute!" she says as she watches them play and roll around with each other as she holds tightly to my hand. "I like that one," she says pointing to the one brown puppy in the corner by itself chewing on a toy. "That is a cute puppy."
Clara smiles at her and says, "that is the sweetest of the litter. She is very laid back and she likes lots of cuddles. Do you want to hold her?"
"Can I, Daddy?"
"Sure," I say with a smile.
"Okay," says Clara as she gets the puppy out of the pen and hands her to Kennedy. The smile on Kennedy's face makes me smile. She pets her and the puppy gives her kisses making her giggle. "What do you think?"
"I like her," says Kennedy with a smile. "I like her a lot. Daddy, I want this puppy."
"Are you sure?" she asks.
"Yes," she says, "she is the one I want."
"Okay," I say as I pull out my wallet. "How much?"
"$550," says Clara.
"Okay," I say as I pull the money out of my wallet. "Would you prefer cash or check?"
"It doesn't matter," she says. "Kennedy, you're making a good choice," she says.
"Thank-you, Daddy," she says with a smile as she pets the dog. "I'm going to name her Elsa," she says with a smile.
"Such a fun name," I say thinking of how many times Kennedy and I have watched Frozen together. I pay Clara the money for the puppy after she gives me a run down on how to take care of Elsa. She tells me the food to get her and tells me that we need to have a lot of toys for her.
After getting the instructions for the puppy she shows us out and I put Elsa and Kennedy into the backseat before we stop at the pet store on our way home to pick up food, a food bowl, a water bowl, some toys, a collar and a leash for Elsa. I haven't seen Kennedy this happy in a long time. She loves her already. When we get home we get Elsa settled in before I order us some Chinese food for dinner and after dinner I give Kennedy a bath and get her ready for bed. "Thank-you for the puppy, Daddy," she says as I tuck her into bed and Elsa climbs in next to her. "I love her."
"Anything for you, Princess," I say with a smile before I kiss her forehead. "What story do you want to hear tonight?"
"Um how about Snow White?" she asks. "I like Snow White."
"Okay," I say with a smile as I pull out the Snow White book to read to her. "I like Snow White too."
"Me too, Daddy," she says as she makes some space for me in the bed. "I never want a mommy like her step mommy. She's mean."
"You don't have to worry about that," I say as I open the book. "You'll never have a step mommy. The only mommy you have is in Heaven and she's watching you every day."
"Good," she says, "I miss mommy though. Do you miss her?"
"Every day," I say with a smile. "She loved you so much, Kennedy."
"I loved her too," she says. "Why did she leave us?"
"It was just time for her to go I guess," I say. "God tells us when it's time to go and apparently that was mommy's time to go but she's never really gone," I say looking at the picture of Saige, Kennedy and me sitting on her night stand; it was taken a week before we lost Saige. "She's always going to be with us. She's always with us," I say with a smile.
"I know, Daddy," she says. "I just want a mommy hug and a mommy kiss," she says.
"Me too," I say with tears in my eyes. "So let's read Snow White and then go to bed. You have a big day tomorrow!"
"I know. I start kindergarten!"
"Yes you do," I say with a smile. "Are you excited?"
"Yes," she says, "is it going to be fun?"
"I'm sure it will be," I say with a smile, "but if you never let me read we'll never make it to tomorrow morning."
"I'm sorry, Daddy," she says as she cuddles up with one of Saige's scarves. She's carried it with her since the day she left us. It is something she found comfort in after the tragedy of losing her mom. It was hard for both of us and the last couple years have been tough for us but we are in this together. "I'm ready now."
"Okay," I say with a smile as I begin to read the story to her and within a matter of minutes I look over and she's sound asleep looking as beautiful as ever, clinging onto the scarf, her lips puffed out as she sleeps and her blonde hair covering her face. I close the book and brush a piece of hair out of her face before I kiss her cheek softly. I lay the book down on the night stand and turn off the light. "Goodnight, Kennedy," I say with a soft smile as I get up out of the bed and instantly her deep blue eyes pop open.
"Don't leave, Daddy," she says, "Stay with me."
"Kennedy, we talked about this. It's time for you to sleep in your bed by yourself."
"I'm scared, Daddy, please stay with me," she says. "Please." I haven't slept in my bed since the night Saige left us. I have slept anywhere but in our bedroom. The bed is still left the way it was the day she left to go to the grocery store. I can't bring myself to sleep in there and most of the time I have slept in Kennedy's bed with her. It's uncomfortable but that's the only way she will sleep at night. "Please," she says.
"Okay," I say as I make my way back to her bed. I climb into bed next to her. "Now it's goodnight time."
"Goodnight, Daddy," she says as she turns to face me. "I love you the most of all!"
"I love you too," I say with a smile as she closes her eyes and falls asleep again. "Goodnight, Saige," I say to the picture as I look at my wife's beautiful face. "I love you most of all," I say grabbing the picture off the stand and kiss it softly before placing it back down and going to sleep.
*A/N: So what do you think? Is it a keeper or no? What do you think of Dean's relationship with his little girl? Do you think there could be problems in the future if Dean were ever to move on? Do you like this story? Please review and thank-you for reading.
