Chapter 3

Rebecca smiled lightly as she watched her husband sleep next to her, hearing his soft breathing. She rubbed his face gently and pushed a few loose strands of hair out of his eyes and smiled, seeing how peaceful Shawn looked. She sighed and kissed Shawn's forehead, then she quietly got off the bed and walked towards the door and down the hallway.

They both had a long night trying to keep Cheyenne calm, but every time they tried to make her feel better, she'd get upset and couldn't control her cries. It was hard for Shawn to see his daughter like that, the way she buried her face in his chest and cried for hours, and felt his heart drop with every movement his young daughter made to not watch another segment of the show. He tried to calm her down by taking her into the kitchen, but it didn't work, and Rebecca decided to turn off Raw. Cameron tried to calm his sister as well, but nothing he did seemed to work. It seemed hopeless to get Cheyenne to stop crying as Shawn held her most of the night.

Shawn's breathing began to quicken as he stirred in his sleep, opening his eyes slowly. As he adjusted to the sharp light in the room, he blinked a few times and felt something beside him. He looked around until he finally felt his arms wrapped around Cheyenne, who remained asleep as she now looked peaceful and calm. Shawn smiled and slowly brought his arms back to his side as he sat up, continuing to look at his daughter. He leaned down slowly, feeling a slight pull in his muscles, and kissed her on the cheek.

"I love you, Chey." Shawn whispered, smiling at his daughter.

Then, he slowly got out of bed and looked around for Rebecca. He took one last look at Cheyenne before leaving the room. He sighed and walked slowly down the hall, planning out the busy day ahead of him.


As the morning went by, Shawn continued his regular routine of feeding the hogs and other animals, including Mr. Snickers, and cutting some of the fields of wheat with his tractor. It was nice to listen to the radio as he worked on the field; every song that played seemed to be catchy and fun. After that, he washed the leftover dirt and pollen off the tractor and worked in the shade with building a new shelve to place shovels and other materials on. He also managed to chop a few blocks of wood before resting against the barn, feeling the hot sun on his face as he drunk as few sips of water and
breathed heavily from the tiresome work.

He tried to think of what to do with his family when he finished, but he couldn't think of anything and quickly took another sip of water. He sighed as he couldn't get the images of his daughter crying in her Mom's arms, as well as his friend Dusty being knocked out by the giant known as Big Show. He had trouble recalling most of the superstars names since he retired, especially the new ones, but that didn't seem to bother him.

He felt angry as he saw the image of Big Show crying as the older man slipped into his arms, but more so when he recalled a woman standing in the corner of the ring, smiling as if she was pleased with what she saw. Shawn recalled the way she looked, with her brown hair, sinister smile, and curvy body. The woman was Stephanie McMahon.

"Shawn."

Shawn snapped out of his thoughts and looked over to see his wife with a tray of food in her hands.

"Hey, honey," Shawn said, his voice low. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I thought you'd might be hungry after working so hard all day."

Shawn smiled, bringing the water bottle to his lips. "All day?"

"Yeah," Rebecca smiled lightly, balancing the tray in her hands. "It's so hot out here. Why don't you come inside?"

Shawn shook his head and grabbed a piece of bread from the tray, walking over to a nearby bench, which stayed outside the barn, and sat down. Rebecca followed her husband and sat down beside him, grabbing some bread herself before saying, "I think we should talk."

Shawn looked up at his wife, confused. "About what?"

"Shawn, Cheyenne doesn't understand a lot about the real world at her age. She's only nine, and seeing her get upset over what happened to Dusty makes me feel horrible."

"I feel the same way." Shawn said, frowning. "I just wish I would've done things differently."

"Like what?"

"Maybe if I was down there watching with you and the kids instead of sitting in my office-"

"Shawn, you have nothing to be ashamed of," Rebecca looked at her husband's troubled eyes. "You're a great father and you will always be the best husband to me. Even if you work all the time around here, I still love you."

Shawn sighed and looked at the house, catching a glimpse of Cheyenne and Cameron playing on the front porch. Cheyenne was laughing as her brother tried to chase her around with his Undertaker actions figures.

Shawn smiled seeing his children play with each other. Rebecca smiled herself and said, "You just want to protect them. I do, too, honey."

"Protecting them is what I've always wanted to do. When Cameron was born, I made sure he never climbed on counters or got burned on the stove. I watched him all the time. Then Cheyenne was born and I worried every night because I wasn't there with you."

"And you did a good job," Rebecca smiled. "I'm proud of you."

Shawn limply smiled. "Am I too soft?"

"What are you talking about?"

Shawn sighed and looked around the ranch. He shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just...worried."

"I've been thinking about this all morning," Rebecca paused, looking at her husband. "I think you should call Hunter and ask him if Dusty's okay. I mean, did you see the way Dusty fell into that man's arms? Someone must have wanted him hurt. Maybe...even dead."

"I doubt anyone could put their hands on Dusty and get away with it."

Rebecca smiled, but when she saw the look in Shawn's eyes, she tightened the grip on his hand and tried to get him to look at her. Shawn looked at the ground as his eyes swelled with tears. Rebecca looked at her husband, confused, but sighed and began to understand her husband's actions.

Rebecca looked at her husband, confused. Just then, Shawn's cell phone rang and Shawn got up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Shawn."

"Hey, Hunter. I'm glad you called because I wanted to ask you-"

"I'm sorry I didn't get to talk much last night, but you should know I have a lot of business deals going on right now."

"That's great, Hunt, but I..." Shawn looked over at Rebecca, who nodded her head. They both had the same idea. "I wanted to ask you something."

There was a slight pause before Hunter answered, "Okay. What is it?"

Shawn gulped and said, "I think I should...well...my daughter got upset last night and she and her brother were watching Raw and..."

"Oh, that," Hunter chuckled. "That was just business, Shawn. Dusty's a tough man and I'm sure he'll get through this just like his son's can get through the unemployment line right now."

"What happened to his sons?"

Shawn looked over at Rebecca, her eyes misting with tears. She was about to speak, but Shawn put up his hand to signal her.

"Oh, they broke a few rules and we had to let them go. But I will write them a letter of recommendation to any company willing to pay money to see them perform. It's a shame, too, since Cody's getting married this week."

Shawn's heart pounded in his chest as he tried to take in what Hunter was saying. He felt something hang in the air. That something wasn't right. Something different.

"Anyway, you can't grieve forever, right?"

"I...I guess so." Shawn choked on his words.

"Good. I called you because Vince and Steph has arranged a private meeting between us."

"Us?"

"Yeah, Shawn," Hunter chuckled as a few noises entered the background. Shawn couldn't tell what they were. "I think you should come to our headquarters. It's very important."

Shawn felt a little confused, but a smile quickly crept on his face. "Sure, bud. I'll come down there."

"That's great, man. I guess we'll see you Wednesday. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Shawn took a deep breath and said, "I'm sure."

"Good. See you Wednesday."

"See you, Hunter."

Shawn was about to hang up when he remembered what he wanted to say.

"Oh, Hunter, I-" He began, but the phone line went dead.

Shawn sighed and closed his phone, then looked over at Rebecca.

"What did he say?" Rebecca asked.

"He wants me to come to his office, and that's what I'm gonna do."


Hunter smiled as he looked at his phone, seeing the call from Shawn that ended minutes ago. He placed the phone back in his pocket as the door opened beside him, the sounds of Stephanie's high heels touching the floor.

"How'd it go?" She asked.

"He took it well," Hunter said as he slipped his arms around his wife's waist. He kissed her. "He'll be here soon."

Stephanie smirked and kissed her husband's lips tenderly. "The plan is set."