chapter 3
... ... ...
January 7th, 2005. Vancouver BC
When they arrived at the apartment, Ann asked Randy to wait outside. He nodded and she unlocked the door, her mind so far away that she left her keys in the door. Randy watched her close the door and noticed the keys, pulling them out of the keyhole and putting them in his pocket to give back to her later.
Ann looked at Cam and Ashley as they stood up, quieting them before they could say anything.
"This is going to sound bad but I really need you both to leave for a while."
"Why?" Ashley asked.
Ann sighed. "Keith and Alexa's father is outside. He doesn't know about them yet but it's a long and complicated story that I'll explain later."
Ashley and Cam stared at her in disbelief. Ashley finally pushed past her to the door and threw it open, staring outside in shock.
"Holy Shit, you're Randy Orton."
Randy looked up and gave her a big smile. "Hi, you must be Ashley."
Cam moved to the door, his jaw dropping.
Ashley turned to her cousin. "You know Randy Orton and you didn't tell me? God, no wonder you drool whenever he comes on TV. Wait a sec, Randy Orton is the fa-"
She was stopped from saying more by Cam who slapped a hand over her mouth.
"Cam?" Ann asked, pleadingly.
"On it." He replied, pulling Ashley out, his hand still slapped over her mouth. "We'll be at my place if you need me. Nice meeting you." He said with a nod to Randy.
"What was that about?" Randy asked as he watched them walk away.
"Nothing." Ann replied, pulling him inside.
"So you drool over me, huh?" He asked with a cocky grin.
She glared at him. "Keep dreaming, my cousin's on crack."
"So what did her boyfriend stop her from saying?"
"My god you ask a lot of questions."
She motioned for him to follow her down the hall, stopping in front of a closed door.
"I'm giving you one last chance to walk away and forget about all this." She said her expression completely serious.
"You're so mysterious, what could be so bad?"
"For me? Nothing. For you? Well that's something you should ask yourself."
Slowly she opened the door. Randy didn't know what to expect but when she opened the door and his eyes came to rest on a crib, well that was something he wasn't expecting.
"You have a kid?" He asked loudly. He couldn't believe it. "I just saw you a year ago, you weren't pregnant."
She quieted him with a look. "It only takes nine months to have a baby."
"Well where's the dad? Don't tell me he just left you to take care of it by yourself."
Ann rolled her eyes as she motioned him closer to the crib. Both were awake and she reached down to pick up Alexa first.
"The father doesn't know." She softly replied. She went to hand Alexa to Randy who just stared at her.
"Put your arms like this." She coached. "Make sure you support her head and bottom."
Randy moved his hands into the appropriate position and Ann gently placed Alexa in them.
"She's beautiful." Randy softly said, staring down at the baby in his arms.
"That's Alexa Ann." Ann said.
"She has beautiful eyes."
"They're her father's." Ann watched him closely, wondering if he would clue in at all.
"Why were you afraid to show me this?" Randy asked.
She shrugged, unsure of how to tell him.
"How old is she?"
Ann turned away and instead of answering, reached into the crib to pick up Keith.
"And this is her older brother, by 12 minutes, Keith."
Randy's eyes popped out. "You have twins?"
"No, this one's on loan from the library." She replied with sarcasm.
"How did this happen? When?"
"Gee Randy, didn't your parents teach you anything?"
"Aren't you the cranky one? No wonder, I can't imagine having a kid."
'How bout two?' She thought. Out loud she sighed and led him into the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, I'm just a little on edge."
She began heating the bottles and handed one to him, instructing him on how to feed.
"Just make sure you pay attention to her every once in a while. She's an attention hound and gets cranky if no one is looking at her."
"What about him?"
"Keith is a very quiet baby, very serious. They're total opposites."
"How come you haven't given me his middle name?"
She gave a faint smile. "I didn't know if you were ready to hear it yet."
"Why?"
"I bet Keith's gonna ask a lot of questions. He'll be very curious, like you"
"You're changing the subject." Randy whispered, staring down at Alexa, who was looking up at him with familiar blue eyes.
"I know." Ann replied, watching him. She saw the change in his demeanor and knew, without a doubt that he was somewhat aware now.
"Keith's middle name is Randall. I named him after his father."
Randy's head shot up. "They're- these are- I'm their-no, it's not possible. We've only been together once."
"One time is all it takes."
"What about that Jesse guy, couldn't they be his?"
"You saw Jesse. They look nothing like him. They look like you. Besides I hadn't been with Jesse for a while when we got together. You were it."
Randy shook his head. "No. It's impossible, I'm only 24." He stood and handed Alexa to her.
"And I'm only 21." She replied. Her eyes filled with tears, her bottom lip trembling. "I was only 20 when I found out."
"How come I didn't find out until now?"
"How was I supposed to get a hold of you? How was I to know you'd believe me and not mistake me for some wrestling groupie? Especially when I was watching you on TV, acting like a big ass-jerk. I mean jerk."
"I thought I explained to you last year. I act the way I do to get where I can. I'm not always like that."
"Oh, I remember you saying that and somehow, I didn't see the word baby fitting into that whole equation."
"So you planned to never tell me?"
"I thought I would never see you again, but no, I wasn't planning to tell you tonight. Look at you, you're one of the top Superstars in the WWE. You're the youngest ever World Heavyweight Champion. You hold the record for holding the IC belt the longest. You're at the top right now, what right do I have to come along and ruin all that."
"Every right." Randy yelled. "I have twins. I helped create two human beings, so I'm thinking I had a right to know."
"And now you know, so where does that leave you now? You said only a few minutes ago that you can't imagine having kids."
"I can't, I'm too young, I'm not ready."
"Wow." Ann laughed hollowly. "That's exactly what I said. I gave you the chance to go back, to turn away."
"That was before I ever knew what you were talking about."
"Now you know and it's only fair I give you that chance again. Randy," Ann said in a low voice. "You know about Keith and Alexa. You know they're yours but I'm giving you the chance now to walk away and forget that I told you about it."
Randy stared with shock, not quite believing that he was given a way out of all this.
"I'm too young." He murmured. He looked apologetically at Ann, trying not to look at the babies, his babies, their babies, that she held in her arms.
"I'm sorry." He whispered before bolting for the door.
Ann closed her eyes, jumping when the door slammed shut.
"Well kids, that was your father."
The twins, not liking the agitation their mother was going through or the sound of the door slamming shut, began to cry.
"It's okay guys, we'll be just fine."
But even as she tried to comfort them, tears started falling from her eyes.
Jan. 8, 2005, Vancouver BC
Upon waking, Ann found herself curled up in the exact same position she had fallen asleep in. Beside her, both Keith and Alexa slept peacefully. All three had cried for what seemed like hours and Ann wanted to keep the twins near her, so she had put them on the bed until all three had cried themselves out. She didn't know why it bothered her so much. She hadn't even planned on telling him. Actually, she hadn't even planned on seeing him, and maybe this was why she didn't want to say anything. As long as she had come to her own assumptions it was fine, but now that he knew and had rejected them, well it hurt. Now when they were older, she couldn't tell them that she had only met their father once. No, now she would have to say he knew and had turned away. Perhaps she could use that time to find a nice way to break it to them, or not say it at all. But they deserved to know the whole truth, she owed her children that.
"I think you owe me that too."
Ann turned over, groaning as her sore muscles protested.
"How long have you been staring at me for?"
"Too long. Cam said I wasn't allowed to wake you."
"Was I speaking out loud?"
"Yup. Now spill."
Sitting up, she stretched, letting out a big yawn.
"I'd rather not." She replied, gently picking up Keith, then Alexa and putting them in their crib. They didn't wake up once and Ann figured they were beyond exhausted.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Ashley demanded to know as soon as they left the bedroom.
Ann raised an eyebrow. "And you would've believed me?"
"Well, no, but you still should've told me."
"I met Randy the night Jesse and I broke up. Two weeks before I called you."
"Where the hell were you?"
"Randy's hotel room."
"You were in his- wow."
"Alone." Ann finished. "He found me, brought me back to his hotel room where we had a great night. He was gone the next morning but left a note."
Ann handed her the crumpled note, which was still in her pants that she had fallen asleep in.
It took only a moment to read it and when she was done, she looked at Ann in amazement.
"Only one night? Wow, he must really like you."
Ann laughed bitterly. "Me? Maybe. The children, not so much."
"What happened?" Her cousin softly asked.
"He-he ran." Ann managed to choke out. "I told him and he bolted for the door. He says he's too young."
"You're three years younger than him."
"I know but he rejected them, Ash. He rejected his own children."
And just when she thought she had no more tears, she broke down again,
Ashley could only watch helplessly.
January 9th, 2005
Vancouver BC.
Against her better judgment, Ann went ahead and watched New Year's Revolution. The matches before the main event, she found boring. Both Eugene and Lita hurt their knees in back to back matches and Ann had a bad feeling as Randy's match drew closer. Sure he had rejected them but she didn't want him hurt.
The wrestler's for the elimination chamber entered and he was the third one to come out. It was with great relief that she watched him get locked into one of the chambers. She was glad he wasn't starting out first.
Ann had never seen an elimination chamber. She didn't used to watch all the Pay-per-views until Randy, so she had missed the only other two matches of that kind. But it didn't look so bad when Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit started out but then Triple H entered and that's when all the blood started flowing.
Edge came out next and Ann sighed with relief. She already knew Batista would enter last so Randy would enter fifth. Everyone was bleeding now and Ann watched the seconds tick down, barely able to breathe as she sat on the ground, clutching the twins to her.
Ashley and Cam, seeing her distress and understanding it, took Keith and Alexa from her as Randy's cage was unlocked. But because he was fresh, he was able to dominate and his target was Triple H.
"Yes." She screeched, jumping up. "Kick his ass. Kick his-"
She was interrupted by Ashley clearing her throat. Ann looked to see Ashley shaking her head and pointing to Alexa in her lap. Ann rolled her eyes. She was trying to stop swearing in front of the twins. She didn't want one of their first words to be shit or fuck like her brothers had been.
"Fine, kick his butt." Ann said, turning back to the TV. She saw that someone had got a lucky shot or more on Randy and he was now down.
"Get up." She screeched but the camera moved from him to a confrontation between Edge and Shawn Michaels, leading to Edge getting eliminated.
Ann watched in horror as the match progressed. Soon, Batista was out and Benoit was eliminated. Then Randy's head was cut open by the chain wall and she gasped in horror, slapping her hands over eyes.
"I can't watch." She moaned. She didn't look up until she heard the bell ring.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Jericho's eliminated." Cam replied.
Ann's eyes shot to the TV. "It's two on one, they're gonna kill him."
"Unless Batista listens to Randy, turns on Triple H so he can get the belt." Ashley said.
"That's what everyone think will happen." Ann explained. "You gotta surgically remove Batista's lips from Triple H's butt first."
"But the surgery's already started." Ashley pointed out.
"But it's not done." Countered Ann.
"You guys are weird." Cam said, shaking his head. "Ann, why are these two always so quiet during wrestling."
Ann shrugged, turning back to the TV. "I dunno, they've always been like that. Perhaps they'll become wrestlers like their dad." She faltered on the last word but didn't acknowledge it or say anything more.
In the elimination chamber Randy was fighting back now, alternating punches between Triple H and Batista. He finally got Triple H knocked down in a corner but when he turned, Batista knocked him down and went to set him up for a Batista bomb. Instead, Randy dropped to his knees, delivering a low blow then an RKO, pinning Batista and getting him eliminated.
"Yes." Ann yelled in triumph.
Randy turned to Triple H and was making quick work of him.
Then it showed Shawn Michaels, physically restraining Batista as Randy pinned Triple H.
"Come on." Ann yelled at the TV. "He's pinning him god dammit."
But now HBK was beating on Ric Flair, who was trying to enter the chamber. Randy stood up, only to meet a clothesline from Batista. Triple H slowly got to his feet and pedigreed Randy, pinning him for the win.
"No." Ann cried. "that's such bullsh- crap. That's such crap." She took one of the baby toys and threw it at the TV.
"Did you see that? Ashley asked Cam, pointing to the TV. On it they were showing Randy, who looked to be in a lot of pain. "He just said Keith's name."
Ann turned to her cousin and picked up Alexa. "Keith is Randy's middle name. I'm gonna get Lexa ready for bed."
She walked away and Ashley looked back at Cam.
"Keith is his middle name? That would make sense. Keith Randall, Randy Keith. But I doubt he was saying his middle name, he just mouthed Alexa and Ann."
"for real?" Cam asked.
Ashley nodded, standing and picking up Keith. "May be Randy won't be an idiot after all."
