"I front a rock band," Chris mumbled, a look of disgust on his face. "I've done improv, I've performed in a play, I'm a world champion…" he slowly removed Skylar's diaper and groaned at the smell. "Oh God, I can't do this… no, I can do this, I've done worse than this…"

Skylar giggled as Chris covered his nose at the smell. The little boy kicked his feet as he sucked on his pacifier, while Chris tossed the diaper bag on the counter where he was changing the little boy. Much to his annoyance, there wasn't a designated changing table in the men's room. There wasn't much else he could do but lay Skylar down on his blanket and try to go from there.

"I'm glad you think this is funny kid," he sneered, digging through the diaper bag. "You're screwing up my day, you know that?"

Skylar lifted his feet and tried grabbing onto his toes, but he couldn't reach them. Chris pulled out a diaper, and then some wipes. He turned back to the little boy, hesitating momentarily as he looked down at the mess in front of him. He took a deep breath, trying to remember the last time he had changed a diaper. Hadn't he changed one of his little cousins once, when he was like fourteen? That wasn't going to be much helpful now, over twenty years later. Sighing, he decided he was going to just have to plunge in and do it.

It couldn't be that hard anyways, right?

Right, he affirmed to himself as the door to the bathroom slammed open, startling Skylar just as Chris was grabbing his ankles together to be able to wipe him down. Chris looked over his shoulder at the man who was stalking in, wearing a suit and tie.

"Hey man, don't slam that door," he said in annoyance. The man stopped walking and looked back at Chris, as if surprised that he would speak to him that way.

"Or what?" the man challenged as Chris turned back to Skylar and began wiping him down.

"Don't try me," Chris warned, not in the mood to start something while he was trying to change a diaper of all things. The little boy started squirming and whining as Chris struggled to keep him still, "And that goes for you too, kid, you just lay there and be quiet."

"That your kid?" the man asked as he stood next to Chris and turned on the faucet.

"No, I kidnapped him because I need a chick magnet," Chris responded sarcastically as he finished wiping Skylar down. He wrapped up the dirty diaper in disgust and looked around for where to throw it out, keeping one hand on Skylar's stomach lest the kid roll off the counter or something.

"Aw man, that's disgusting!" the man said, making Chris turn back just in time to see a nicely arced stream coming from Skylar and landing right on the man's expensive suit. Chris snickered as the man shot him a death glare, before snatching up some paper towels and storming out of the bathroom. Chris looked down at the little boy in front of him who was still sucking on his pacifier as he looked back at him.

"You know, Skylar, you're not that bad," Chris said with a smirk as he grabbed another wipe. "I like the way you think." Skylar just smiled as Chris grabbed the diaper he had pulled out. He glanced at his watch, sighing at the time.

"Alright, so strategy time, kid. I'm going to put this diaper on you, and then put your overalls back on, and since I just bought myself a little bit of time, we're going to head to the store and pick up some toys to keep you entertained for the day. That'll give me enough time to figure out what to do with you. How's that sound?" he asked, putting the straps on the diaper. He then grabbed the overalls, hesitated for a moment, and put them back in the diaper bag.

"Scratch that, you don't need pants, it's nice outside," he said as he lifted Skylar up easily into his arms. He held him in one arm as he slung the diaper bag over the strap from his duffel bag on his other shoulder and picked up the car seat. "You like wrestling, kid?" he asked as they finally stepped out of the bathroom. Skylar clung onto Chris's t-shirt with his small fists, wide-eyed and probably wondering what was going on. "Well, you're going to learn to like it, cause we're going to watch Raw tonight. You can watch me kick everyone's ass, won't that be fun?"

He walked over and pressed the button to the elevator again, readjusting the bags slung over his right shoulder as he held Skylar in his left arm. He looked over at the little boy who was leaning against him, sucking on his pacifier in content, and he felt this strange urge to protect this kid. He was disgusted that someone could just abandon a baby the way Skylar had been abandoned, and it made him feel obligated to fend for him now. The kid didn't have anyone, and he couldn't fend for himself at all, and so Chris would have to fill the role for now.

He only wished it had been better timing so he could really sit down and think about what to do. Just then, his cell phone went off again, and he sighed as he looked away from Skylar. The more he watched the kid, the easier he could get attached. There was this doubt still settling uneasily in his stomach that he had no real ties to the little boy he was holding, even though his mind was telling him he was crazy and that this was his son.

He answered the phone, even though he would've bet Skylar himself that he knew exactly who it was without even checking, "Hello?"

"You know, I hate when you don't pick up the phone."

"Well that doesn't exactly seem really applicable right now, now does it?" he said snidely as he stepped into the elevator.

"Did you get my voicemail?"

"Yes, your highness, I got your voicemail, you want me there an hour earlier, I got it," Chris said as he pressed the button for the floor level. Skylar's eyes brightened at the sight of Chris's cell phone and the pretty blue light that was shining from the keys, and he reached for the cell phone, but Chris pulled back and frowned at the little boy, mouthing no to him. Skylar spit out his pacifier and started to cry as he squirmed in Chris's hold.

"What is that? Is that a baby?" Stephanie asked, her tone changing.

"Yeah, just some kid from some parents standing next to me," Chris lied instinctively, as he crouched down awkwardly to try and retrieve Skylar's pacifier.

"Ah, okay, well I talked it over with my dad and there's no real way to kill the buzz around your return now, and we have to go over your contract before you go out there tonight," she said as he picked up the pacifier on the floor of the elevator. He wiped it off his shirt, before inspecting it closer and wiping it again. "You're on a handshake agreement with my dad and you'd make his life, and mine for that matter, a lot easier if you went over this with us before the show tonight."

"Yeah, sure," he said absent-mindedly as Skylar cried louder in his ear.

"Are you even listening to me, Chris Irvine?" she demanded, and he sighed as he stood up with Skylar and tried to readjust the straps over his right shoulder.

Just then, the elevator door opened and he groaned at the sight of a crowd of people waiting to get into the elevator. He mumbled an excuse me here and there, his cell phone nudged between his shoulder and his cheek as he tried to move through the people trying to get into the elevator, all while trying to get Skylar to stop crying. And while he had a baby crying in one ear, Stephanie was ranting in his other, "You know, we're all under a lot of stress here, and we're trying to make your return run as smooth as possible, and it irks the shit out of me that you're being so nonchalant about this whole thing. Do you know how much work I have to do?"

"Yeah," he said as he rolled his eyes, walking across the lobby.

"And what is with that baby crying? Are you babysitting right now or something?" she asked, just as Chris finally got Skylar to take his pacifier. The little boy instantly settled down, making Chris feel a little more relieved.

"Baby crying? I don't hear a baby crying," Chris responded coolly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Look, I'm going to be busy for a while, so I just wanted to make sure you knew what we expect from you tonight. You know I like it when the shows run smoothly, so just… do what I'm asking of you, will you please?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it, relax," he said as he rolled his eyes, using his bags to push the door open outside. It was a sunny and warm day, and he felt good for the first time that entire day when he felt the sun's warmth on his skin.

"Chris…" she started, and he sighed.

"Don't worry, Stephanie, I'll be there to talk to your dad," he said as Skylar squirmed in his hold again. Chris was slightly annoyed and wished he would stay still, but so long as he didn't have a screaming baby right in his ear, he was happy with a squirming baby.

"Thanks, that's all I'm asking," Stephanie said genuinely, which made him smile a little. There was an awkward pause between them on the phone, pure dead air, before Chris hesitantly cleared his throat.

"I've gotta run, so I'll just see you around," he said.

"Alright, see you whenever I see you," she responded, and he hung up after that. He walked towards the parking lot, Skylar settled into his hold now and looking over his shoulder.

"She keeps calling me," he said out loud as he walked to the little boy, who just continued to suck on his pacifier. "We've only talked once since… well, yeah, we've only talked once, and that was her giving me a pitch to come back," he paused for a moment, "You know, I wonder if that's why they had her call me… women, kid, stay the hell away from them. They're nothing but trouble," he added, and then groaned in annoyance when he felt drool on his shirt. "Skylar, what the hell is your problem? Keep your spit in your mouth kid, before I put you in the Walls."

The little boy just giggled as Chris got to his car. He put down the car seat first and then let the diaper bag and duffel bag slide down to the ground. He then crouched with Skylar and sat him in the car seat as the little boy gazed up at him, smiling and kicking his feet.

"You think I won't do it, don't you?" Chris asked as he strapped the baby in. "Well, you don't know me very well… I believe in starting off kids early, and so it's never too early to get stretched a little and taught how to defend yourself. I might just have to call you out tonight, especially after you drooled on my shirt. You know how much this shirt cost me?" he asked as he snapped the buckle in place that secured the straps in the seat. "It cost me a whole twenty bucks man, that's twenty bucks you owe me, and no, I don't care that I make a lot more than that… actually after that diaper change, I think you owe me a thousand dollars. That's about right."

Skylar took out his pacifier and offered it to Chris, who blinked and then laughed. "I don't want that, you keep that thing man, that's yours," he told him as he stood and lifted up the car seat. He opened the back door to his car and peered in, scowling as he observed the seat belts. "How the hell do you put one of these things in?" he mumbled under his breath as he lifted the car seat and put it in. It couldn't possibly be that hard to figure out.

Fifteen minutes later, he was starting to feel like he was going to break a sweat as he tried pulling one of the seat belts that got stuck. "Goddamn seat belts!" he snarled angrily as Skylar sucked on his pacifier and just watched him. "Where the hell is the damn instruction manual for these things?" he muttered as he tried again to secure the seat belt across the car seat. As soon as he thought he had it, it snapped back. His scowl grew deeper as he glared straight ahead, chomping on his gum angrily. He almost dared Stephanie to call him again right then. Had she done so, he would've thrown his cell phone out of the car and into the street where it would hopefully get run over.

Thankfully, it didn't vibrate.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, cracking his neck as he did so. This could not be so hard. There was simply something he wasn't seeing.

"Uh, mister?" he heard someone ask from behind him. He peered over his shoulder and out the open door to his car to see a girl looking straight at him curiously. She looked to be around ten years old, and he could see what looked to be her parents taking out suitcases from their car that was parked next to his.

"Yeah?" he asked, praying to God that she wasn't about to declare herself his daughter or something. The way his day was going, it wouldn't surprise him at all.

"I've been watching you try to get the baby in, and I think you got it backwards."

He narrowed his eyes at her, not getting what she meant when her mother turned to her and scolded her for talking to a stranger. Right as she was doing so, she caught eyes with Chris for a moment, and her eyes widened. He looked at the woman strangely, wondering what was up with women these days as she approached his car the way her daughter had.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to be brash, but are you Chris Jericho?" the woman asked, sounding amazed and excited. He offered a weak smile and a nod.

"Yeah, that's me," he said, trying to sound friendly as the woman turned to her husband.

"Babe, it's Chris Jericho!"

"Who?" the man asked with disinterest, and the woman glared at him while their daughter tried peering past Chris to see the baby boy she had caught a glimpse of in the car seat behind him.

"Jericho, Chris Jericho!" she told him firmly as she turned back to Chris who offered her a weary smile. "So are the rumors true, are you coming back tonight?"

He somehow kept the smile on his face by the skin of his teeth, "Where'd you hear that?"

"I heard through a friend who read about it online," she said, sounding giddy and he nodded.

"I'm a little busy today with my son," Chris said, moving a little so she could see the car seat next to him. She moved in a little closer to get a better look, smiling all the while.

"Aw, how cute, you have a son! Oh, he looks just like you, what's his name?"

"Skylar," Chris said, looking back at the baby and wondering if he had a middle name. He was then struck with an idea as he turned to look back at the family that was standing next to his car. He offered the woman a warm smile, "Hey, how about I give you and your friend official autographs if you could just help me get my son's car seat secured? We just got a new one, and I haven't quite mastered it yet," he said charmingly.

"Absolutely!" the woman said with a huge grin as her husband rolled his eyes. Chris got out from behind the back seat and ran a hand through his hair, looking over them both. They were both dressed very smartly, as if they had a formal event they were attending. Even the little girl was wearing a nice dress, complete with matching bows in her hair. He looked over to the man of their family, who was wearing a dress shirt and nicely pressed slacks.

"So, you don't watch wrestling?" Chris asked, happy to have a conversation that wasn't with a baby or with a stressed-out Stephanie for a change.

"Like Hulk Hogan and all that?" the man asked, shrugging as Chris snickered. "No, just the wife, I go play poker with my friends, she stays home and watches wrestling, it works."

"Cool," Chris said with a nod as the woman climbed out of his car.

"Alright, you're all set," she said with a friendly smile. Chris blinked, noting that it didn't even take her a minute, before looking in to see Skylar happily kicking his feet while secured in his back seat.

"Wow," he said in amazement. He kept his word and signed the autographs, but all the while he was wondering how easy this would have been if that girl who had left Skylar in his care would've waited and told him face-to-face about him. This kid had a mother, and she wasn't there to take care of him, and he was more than bothered that he was filling in both mother and father roles simultaneously for a son he didn't even know he had until earlier that day.

He sighed a few moments later after saying his goodbyes to the happy family, closing the driver's door next to him. He might as well start getting used to referring to Skylar as his son, since as the woman so politely pointed out, Skylar looked just like him.

"This is my son, Skylar," he said out loud, before hearing the little boy coo and kick in the back seat. He couldn't see him since the car seat was facing the other way, but it didn't make it any easier. "This is my kid, Skylar… something… Irvine," he said again, running a hand over his mouth. "Skylar Irvine… I can't do this," he sighed as he turned on the ignition to his car. Too much, too soon.

"How about some food, kid? I don't know about you, but I'm starving," Chris said as he pulled out of the parking lot. He got no response, and he rolled his eyes, feeling stupid for talking like he was expecting one. He contemplated calling Jay or maybe Rocky to just tell someone about what was going on with him. He thought about it for a while as he drove down the road in silence. Would it do him much good?

"I don't really know what to do with you, Sky," he said with a sigh. "What should I do with you?"

He thought about it for another moment, before snatching up the phone at the red light he was stopped at and hooking up his headset to it. A moment later, and he dialed a familiar number, deciding he needed to talk to someone.

"The Great One here," came the familiar answer, and Chris smirked upon hearing his friend's voice.

"Hey Rock," he greeted.

"Chris Jericho, is that you?" Rock said jokingly. "I heard you're coming back tonight, so I figured you'd be busy hitting on all the ladies and trying to get some guaranteed parties for later tonight man, what's up with you?"

"Rock, man, I'm in a bind," Chris said honestly, and Rock picked up on his tone and sighed.

"Alright Irvine, what'd you do this time? Are you in jail or something, because it might take me some time to get from Miami and bail you out -"

"I'm not in jail."

"Oh, what's up then? Does it have to do with her?"

"No… well… I guess you could… no, what the hell am I thinking, no man, it doesn't have… well, actually…" Chris trailed off as Rock snickered.

"Women problems, it never changes with you, Irvine," Rock said knowingly. "I'm telling you, you should just switch sexual orientation and find a man to make you happy, since you can't figure out the ladies to save your life."

"Yeah," Chris said dejectedly, and his tone set off alarms in Rock's head. There was no way Chris Irvine ever let an insult his way slide without some kind of rebuttal, so he knew this wasn't one of their familiar bantering phone calls.

"Hey man, you okay?" Rock asked, his tone genuine.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just… well, this morning, this girl came to visit me and she wanted us to spend the night together or something, I don't know."

"And this is a problem, why…?" Rock asked, not knowing where this was going.

"Well, it wasn't then, I kicked her out cause I wasn't in that kind of mood and I just wanted some sleep… and then I overslept and I stepped outside and… she left me something outside my door."

"What, a stalkerish kind of letter or something?" Rock joked, and Chris rolled his eyes.

"I wish… dude, she left me a kid," Chris said, still somewhat in disbelief that this was actually happening to him. There was a pause on the other end before he heard Rock laugh.

"Whatever Irvine, come up with something new then call me back," he laughed. "And you really had me going too, that was good man, that was good, I gotta give you that."

"Rock, man, I'm not kidding, she left me a kid in a car seat with a note," Chris said, looking in the rearview mirror to the car seat that carried a certain someone in his backseat. "He's three months old, and his name is Skylar."

"Uh huh, and I'm making my big return to wrestling on TNA later this week," Rock said disbelievingly.

"I'm not joking," Chris insisted. "I'm serious man, I'm dead serious, she says he's my son and she just… she just left him with me, and I don't know what to do man. She's easy and probably gets around, but this kid… he looks like me, he fucking looks like me, and the timeline makes so much sense, and I don't know what to fucking do man -"

"Okay, calm down," Rock said, the joking gone from his voice. "You're serious about this?"

"Yes, I'm serious, I swear I'm not making this up Dwayne," Chris said, and Rock knew he was serious because that was the first time Chris had referred to him in his real name since he had debuted in the company and they'd worked together.

"Wow," Rock said, at a loss for words for the first time in as long as he could remember. "She just left him there?"

"Yeah, right outside my door."

"He's probably not your kid, Chris, you can't just take that shit at face value," Rock said.

"He looks like me," Chris sighed. "He has my eyes… I don't want to believe it but… I think he's mine, I really do."

"A kid is a big deal, you can't just take this kid in no matter how much he looks like you," Rock tried to reason. "You need to go and get some DNA testing done and see if he's yours, because if he's not, you're not responsible for him."

"Yeah," Chris said, feeling better to have someone tell him what he had been feeling he should do. It just made it easier. "I just… I don't know, I have a hard time not believing it."

"She's probably trying to get your money."

"Then why would she just leave him with me? Why not tell me and try to get child support? That doesn't make sense."

"Maybe she's going to come back and say you kidnapped her kid, and she's going to hit you there for all you're worth."

"I have her letter saying she's leaving him with me, so that doesn't make sense," Chris sighed. "None of it makes sense."

"Where's the kid now?"

"He's with me, I couldn't just leave him… none of this is his fault, it's my fault. I was stupid as hell."

"One night stand?"

"Yeah, a year ago, after… well, you know," Chris said.

"Oh," Rock said knowingly. "So that's why you said it involved her."

"Well yeah, doesn't everything?" Chris asked jokingly, even though there wasn't real humor in his voice. "It doesn't matter man, thing is, this kid's here and he's real and he's my responsibility right now."

"Yeah, he is, but try and go get that done as soon as you can, Chris. This isn't a joke, you owe it to that kid and to yourself to know the truth, you're all he's got for now."

"Yeah," Chris agreed. "Thanks for hearing me out man, I appreciate it."

"No problem, giving advice is easier than posting your bail," Rock joked. "Good luck tonight on your return by the way, I'll make sure to watch it."

"Geez, does everyone know about me coming back tonight?"

"I heard from the wife, so yes, cat's out of the bag," Rock said with a laugh. "Take it easy, let me know how things go for you."

"Will do, thanks man."

"Anytime," Rock said as both men hung up. Chris removed the headset from his ear and looked over to the side of the street he was driving on, seeing a Babies R' Us coming up a few blocks away. He grinned at the sight of it.

"Alright kid, time to stock up on your supplies," he said as he turned into the parking lot a moment later. "I'm probably stuck with you tonight, so we need to stock up on… well, whatever it is that you need, we'll figure it out when we're there, how's that sound, Sky?"

He parked the car and got out a moment later, checking the time. He was probably going to have to cancel everything else he had scheduled for the day, and just make sure that Skylar was okay for the night. He hated to cancel anything, but Vince probably wouldn't be thrilled if he showed up to his appearances with a screaming and hungry baby. In the end, it would make everyone look bad and irresponsible.

He opened the back door of his car and Skylar looked over at him as soon as he did. Skylar stared at Chris, before a slow hint of a toothless smile crept to his face. Chris couldn't help but grin at the sight.

"You having the time of your life?" Chris teased as Skylar smiled all the way so that his pacifier fell out of his mouth. He drooled and looked towards it, trying to look for it before Chris picked it up for him and helped put it back in his mouth. He then leaned in all the way to unstrap the little boy.

"Alright, Sky, new battle plan," Chris said as he unhooked the straps around Skylar's shoulders. "I'm gonna go buy you some things so you can be good tonight, and hopefully as a reward, you'll sleep all night and tomorrow morning, we'll go get a DNA test done and go from there," he said as he lifted the little boy out of his car seat. He held him gingerly as he stepped out of the car and closed the door behind him, before shifting Skylar so he was holding him in one arm again. Skylar instinctively clutched to Chris's t-shirt again, going back to looking over Chris's shoulder.

"How's that sound, kid?" Chris asked as he instinctively reached for one of Skylar's feet with his free hand. He rubbed the bottom of his foot through the blue sock that was covering it and felt Skylar rest his chin on his shoulder. "It'll be interesting telling people about you tonight at the show, that's for sure," Chris said with a nervous chuckle as he walked towards the store entrance.

For the first time in months, he was not looking forward to his return.