I thought we might as well start the new week with a new chapter, what do you think? ;-)

Enjoy & review :)

Chapter 6: Life-changing events

It was about three months later that things between Dean and Shannon were finally perfectly fine again. It had been a long and rocky road but Dean had tried his best to convince her that she was the only one for him. She was definitely the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, together with their son Dylan, who meant the world to him. He loved them both more than his own life.

Not only had he told her every single day that she was THE one for him, no, he had let his actions speak. Taking her to the movies, inviting her to dinner, even cooking for her and doing everyday stuff she normally did like doing laundry or cleaning the house. And last but not least: the passionate lovemaking sessions that lasted for endless hours. For some people this might be the normal life of a couple, but for Dean and Shannon this was something special. As funny as it might sound.

Dean watched his girlfriend suspiciously when she re-entered the bedroom after having gone to the bathroom, both of them just having woken up a few minutes ago. Thankfully Dylan was still asleep so that they could spend a little more alone-time with each other without being disturbed.

"What's up, sweet cheeks?" he asked while running a hand through his messy hair, the scared expression on her face not going unnoticed by him.

"I wish I knew," she mumbled, sitting down next to him on the bed, watching him as he moved up so that his back was now resting against the headboard. "I'm bleeding."

"Thank God we had sex yesterday," Dean said with a chuckle, but the smile on his face immediately vanished when she didn't join his laughter like she normally would.

"It's not the time of the month, Dean," she said with a sigh, holding her stomach as once again cramps were making her cringe. "Something doesn't feel right. Not at all."

"What do you mean something doesn't feel right? Are you in pain? Is everything ok?" he asked nervously, moving so quickly that in one fell swoop he was sitting right next to her. "Should I bring you to a doctor?"

A quiet knock on their door interrupted their conversation, the little brown-haired boy opening the bedroom door slowly and peeking his head inside. "Good morning mommy, good morning daddy."

"Hey partner...come in," Dean said with a weak smile, trying to act as if nothing had happened although deep down he was really concerned about Shannon's health.

Dylan skipped into the room, hopping onto the bed to sit in between his parents, his Dean Ambrose action figure squeezed under his tiny arm tightly, a huge smile on his face.

"I had a dream, it been great," the almost 3-year old said, looking back and forth between his mom and dad, hoping that one of them would ask him what he had been dreaming about.

"It was great," Shannon corrected him before running her hand through his short hair, smiling. "What was the dream about, boo?"

Dylan sighed heavily, preparing himself theatrically as if he had to give a presentation before starting to tell them.

"So, mommy had big belly and then I had little brother, he was soooo cute," he announced proudly, clapping his hands excitedly when he thought about being a big brother.

"It was a boy, not a girl?" Shannon asked curiously, knowing that Dean wasn't able to react just yet, the news about his son's dream probably shocking him.

"No, a boy. He looked like me," he replied, finally having stopped talking about himself in third person as he had always done before. He was one step ahead of Leni already. "I wanna be big brother."

Shannon and Dean looked at each other desperately, not sure what to tell their son as they haven't really talked about this subject at all. As much as Dean loved their child, he definitely didn't want another one. He was surprised the first time he had been told he would be a dad, he was sure he wouldn't be able to handle it once again.

"Well, who knows what happens, little man. Until then, you have Leni...you can be her big brother. How does that sound?" Dean asked a little uncomfortably, ruffling his son's hair lovingly.

"Leni is mean," Dylan mumbled, crossing his arms in front of his chest, pouting slightly. "She always hits me."

"Well, then you have to hit her back," Dean replied, yelping when his girlfriend swatted his arm. "Ouch, what was that for?"

"He shouldn't hit her back. That's not the right thing to do and you know that," Shannon scolded, rolling her eyes when Dean looked at her innocently. He was so immature sometimes.

"But if she h..." he started but was immediately cut off mid-sentence by his better half.

"No buts," she insisted sternly, turning her attention back to her son, making him look at her by lifting his chin with her index finger. "Next time Leni hits you when we're not around, you tell Uncle Roman or Auntie Karolina, ok? Don't hurt her. We don't hit or kick others, do you understand me?"

She smiled when Dylan nodded his head in understanding but once again cringed when she had cramps in her lower abdomen.

"How about you go and brush your teeth? Mommy needs to talk to daddy for a minute, ok?" she asked, kissing his forehead softly before he hopped off of the bed, quickly leaving the bedroom with his action figure in his hand, never letting go of it.

"You're in pain, Shannon. Let me bring you to a doctor. I don't want you to suffer when I leave for work again in two days," Dean rambled, taking one of her hands into his, squeezing lightly while softly brushing a strand of hair out of her face with his free hand.

"I'm afraid. What if...what if something's wrong with me?" she asked no one in particular, trying her hardest to suppress the tears that were forming in her eyes. She really didn't want to cry. "I mean...I've had some kind of stomach ache for a couple of days now without worrying about it too much, but this right now...it's almost unbearable."

She normally was a strong and fearless person but whenever something like that happened, she was scared to death. It wasn't normal for her to just bleed like that, not to that extent at least.

"We don't worry about that just yet, you hear me? I'll drop Dylan off at Roman's and then we go from there," he insisted, kissing her temple softly before getting up. "Go and get ready while I take care of Dylan."

Shannon just nodded her head silently, her heart pounding fast in her chest in fear. She didn't have a good feeling about this, not at all. Her body didn't feel right, this wasn't normal. And as much as she didn't want to know the truth, she knew that she needed to see a doctor. There was no turning back now.

...

"Hey guys, what's up?" Roman said after opening the front door, surprised to see Dean with Dylan on his arm in front of him without having been called before. Normally they announced whenever they came over.

"Hey man. I've gotta ask you for a favour. Could you watch Dylan for an hour or two?" Dean asked, letting his son back down on his feet as he was starting to become fussy.

"Sure...of course. Everything alright, bro?" the Samoan asked after stepping inside, letting Dean enter the house since Dylan had already run in, probably searching for Leni so that they could play.

"Not so sure yet. I need to bring Shannon to go see a doc. She's in pain and...well...she's bleeding," he said, a little uncomfortable talking about something so intimate although he normally had a big mouth.

"Oh, that doesn't sound like the time of the month then?" his friend more stated than asked, sighing when Dean shook his head negatively. "Look, it's gonna be okay. Maybe it's nothing too serious. I guess women sometimes have some kind of bleeding because of stress or some shit like that."

"Talk is cheap, big man. She's in a lot of pain. And she's scared. And that scares the shit outta me," he confessed truthfully, running a hand over his scruffy stubble. Whenever he was home he went without shaving for several days and it actually looked quite good on him.

"You need any help? Do you want Karo to go with you?" he asked, noticing that his wife was now approaching them in the hallway as the kids apparently started playing with their toys in the living room.

"Go where?" she asked curiously, hugging Dean and kissing his cheek like she normally did whenever they met up.

"Apparently Shannon is bleeding and in a lot of pain. Dean asked us to watch Dylan while he's taking her to a doctor," Roman explained, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders.

"Damn...how come? Where is she now? Can we do anything? Do you need help?" Karo fired questions at their common best friend, a frown on her face. Due to her pregnancy, which had been confirmed by Dr Matthews several weeks ago, she was even more emotional than she normally was.

"Relax, princess. It's okay. I've got this. She's back home. I think I'll bring her directly to the hospital rather than to her GP," he stated, letting out a deep breath while running a shaky hand through his hair. "I'll come back as soon as we're done. Thanks for watching Dylan."

"No need to thank us. He's as much our son as he's yours," Roman said honestly, making Dean smile.

Never in his life would he have thought that one day he would have such amazing friends. Not only were they friends, no, he considered them family. Seth and Roman were the brothers he'd never had whereas Karo and Maxine were like sisters to him. Although he really didn't like calling them that when he once again complimented their looks, especially Karo's boobs. He just couldn't help it, that would never change.

"Alright. I see you later, guys," Dean replied, quickly turning around and leaving the house before Dylan could make a scene, as he always wanted to go wherever his daddy went. He was such a daddy's boy.

Karo turned to look at her husband, worry and fear reflecting in her eyes when she thought of her best friend who seemingly was in a lot of pain.

"I really hope she's okay," she mumbled, wrapping her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat which always calmed her down.

"I'm sure she is. We're probably overreacting. Don't worry too much, babygirl," he tried to comfort her, kissing her forehead softly before gently letting go of her. "So, what are we gonna do with the kids now? Any ideas?"

Karo didn't even have a chance to reply as all of a sudden Leni and Dylan came running into the hallway, both of them jumping at Roman who was able to catch his daughter just in time while Dylan wrapped his arms around one of his legs.

"Daddy, let's wrassle," little Leni said, trying to put her father into a sleeperhold which obviously wasn't possible as her arms were way too short, but Roman played along anyways.

"Yeah, Uncle Ro, let's wrassle," Dylan yelled, holding onto Roman's leg for dear life as the big Samoan started walking into the living room.

"Mommy is referee," the girl shouted excitedly, waving at her mother to let her know she should follow them, giggling into her father's ear, making his heart melt.

"Can't mommy be my tag team partner?" Roman asked, chuckling when Leni once again tried wrapping her arms around his neck tightly.

"NO," Leni yelled loudly, making grunting noises as she tried to wrestle with her father. "When mommy and daddy wrassle, always they play kissy faces. Ugh."

"Ewww," Dylan added quickly, making funny faces when he thought about his uncle and aunt kissing as he would never ever kiss a girl, or so he said.

"Okay okay, mommy is the ref then," Roman gave in defeated, holding his breath when Dylan accidentally hit his crotch, trying not to let show that he was in slight pain.

He got down on his knees, thankful that Dylan let go of him, only to try to clothesline him, at the same time hitting Leni in the process who immediately started crying.

"You my partner, you no hit Leni," the little girl sniffled, rubbing the back of her head where his arm had connected.

She now wrapped her arms around her daddy's neck again, this time softly as she wanted him to comfort her.

"Shh, don't cry, munchkin. Dylan didn't mean to hurt you. It was an accident. Things like that happen," he whispered into her ear, kissing her chubby cheek lovingly, yelping when she suddenly climbed onto his back, very awkwardly, holding onto his neck tightly from behind. That cheeky little thing had tricked him.

"Do Daniel kick, do Daniel kick," she screamed at Dylan, wanting him to do the kicks Daniel Bryan always did when his opponents were on their knees.

When he started kicking Roman's stomach, Leni started the 'YES' chants, cheering for Dylan and encouraging him to keep going, making Karolina laugh heartily.

"Hey ref...don't laugh. You'd better help me, missy. They need to be disqualified," Roman said in a raspy voice as his daughter was still holding him in place.

"It's a handicap match, Mr Superman Punch. There's only so much I can do," she said teasingly, winking at him when he growled at her, kneeling down behind Dylan as she knew the kids would pin her husband soon.

"Let go now, Leni," Dylan shouted, with one last kick wanting Roman to tumble, which he did of course, knowing what was to come.

After that one final kick, Dylan moved out of the way, so that little Leni could finally do her finishing move.

"Uhaaaaa," she roared with her arms wide open, just like her daddy always did on TV, taking a running start and spearing Roman, as much as she could with her tiny shoulders.

Not wanting to disappoint the kids, he fell backwards while groaning, landing on his back so that both kids could jump on him, pinning him for the three count.

"1...2...3...ding ding ding...your winners and new world champions, Dylan Ambrose and Leni Reigns," Karo announced with a firm and loud voice, high fiving the children who jumped up and down excitedly, even hugging each other over their huge win.

"Help...I need a doctor...please...uh..." Roman coughed, playfully holding his ribs as if he was in pain. "Isn't there a nurse around?"

Karolina knowingly crawled over to him, pushing up his shirt slightly to 'examine' him, not realizing that Dylan and Leni started whispering to each other while watching the adults with disgusted expressions on their faces.

"Told you they play kissy faces," Leni mumbled quietly, covering her eyes with her tiny hands.

"Ewww," Dylan once again said, also covering his eyes, not wanting this to be stuck in his head.

"Stoooop," Leni exclaimed when she opened her eyes again, seeing that her parents were indeed kissing now, something she clearly didn't like.

Karo and Roman immediately stopped, both of them bursting out laughing when they turned their attention to the kids who were looking at them annoyed and with raised eyebrows.

"I just wanted to show daddy how much I love him, munchkin," Karo said with a chuckle, already having explained to Leni that people kissed when they liked each other very much. And maybe that was the reason why the little girl constantly wanted to kiss and cuddle, especially with her daddy, Uncle Seth and Uncle Dean. She loved these men unconditionally, for whatever reason.

Without thinking, Leni turned around, grabbing Dylan's face with both of her hands before quickly placing a sloppy kiss onto his lips.

When she stepped back again, both kids looked at each other in silence before all of a sudden wiping their mouths with the back of their hands and yelling 'YUCK' in unison, making Karo and Roman laugh even harder. These kids would be the death of them one day.

...

Dean and Shannon had been in the hospital for over an hour now and it seemed to take longer and longer. The doctor had already run several tests, wanting to see the results of her blood and urine tests before doing an ultrasonic examination which would probably also help in finding out what was bothering her.

"All this waiting is driving me insane...fucking hell," Dean scoffed clearly annoyed, holding his girlfriend's hand tightly, not leaving her side for a second.

"No shit. I'm just glad they gave me some pain killers. These cramps were killing me," she replied in agreement, taking a deep breath while she was staring at the ceiling. She was exhausted and tired, not wanting to stay there for another minute but she knew she had to endure this a little longer so that they could help her feel better again.

The doctor hadn't even told them about his suspicions regarding her condition, making Dean so incredibly mad that deep down he wanted to punch him in the face but he knew that he had to remain calm for Shannon or else she would freak out. Something he clearly didn't need at the moment in the state she was in.

"Miss O'Brien, Mr Ambrose, I have finally received the first results of your tests," Dr Hanson said after entering the examination room again, startling them both as they were deeply lost in thought. "Unfortunately the inflammation value of your blood test is dangerously high."

"What does that mean, doc? Is she sick? What can we do?" Dean quickly asked, swallowing hard when he felt how his girlfriend was squeezing his hand tightly, something that showed him that she was extremely scared.

"I'm not sure yet, to be honest. I would like to do an ultrasound to make sure where exactly the bleeding is coming from," he said with an encouraging smile on his face before getting up from his chair and preparing the ultrasonic device which he wheeled next to the examination table Shannon was lying on.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room while Dr Hanson made all the preparations necessary, squeezing some gel onto her stomach before finally - after what felt like an eternity - moving the device over her belly, staring at the display intently with a frown on his face. Something that made Dean feel very uneasy.

The doctor pushed a few buttons now and then, printing out pictures, pushing into her skin once in a while to get a better view while remaining silent all the time which was killing the couple. They were clearly at the end of their rope, not sure what to expect from all of this. There was so much tension in the room that it was almost tangible.

"Yes...just as I suspected..." the doctor mumbled quietly, almost inaudibly, taking the sonagram pictures and handing them to Shannon and Dean, both of them unsure what all of this had to mean. There wasn't really anything they could recognize on the black and white picture which confused them, making them even more nervous.

"Miss O'Brien, you have several so-called myomas in your cervix. These are swellings that seemingly become increasingly bigger with time. According to your medical records, I was able to see that you've had difficulties with your uterus in the past which could explain all of this. I would like to talk this through with a colleague of mine to make sure that this is the right decision, but I'm afraid we urgently need to have surgery to remove your cervix to stop the bleeding and avoid the possibility of these swellings to turn into a tumour."

While Shannon gasped in shock, covering her mouth with her free hand so that she wouldn't scream out loud, Dean only stared at the doctor emotionless, not being able to process what they had just been told. Was he dreaming? Was he imagining things? Myoma? Tumour? Surgery? The words kept echoing through his head over and over again. He couldn't really fathom it. This couldn't be true.

"I'll give you a few minutes to yourselves while I go and talk to Dr Tenner," the doctor said quietly, not sure if they were even listening to him anymore as they were staring into space, which was only understandable after what he had just informed them about.

They didn't even realize that Dr Hanson had left the room, both of them still in shock about the news that they had just received. This was like a nightmare coming true. Now that they finally had found peace with each other again, something like that had to happen. It was as if they weren't allowed to be happy once and for all. Why? Why Shannon? Why them?

"They're going to remove my cervix," Shannon whispered, breaking the silence after several minutes, endless tears streaming down her face, her body shaking uncontrollably with sobs. "I'm not going to be a real woman anymore."

That sentence snapped Dean out of his trance, the look on his face reflecting anger and annoyance. "What the fuck are you even talking about? Do you think I care if you have a fucking uterus or not? Dammit Shannon, don't you get that this is some serious shit right here? You could have a freaking tumour, for fuck's sake. And all you keep thinking about is that you won't be a real woman anymore? Seriously? Is that all you care about right now?"

Shannon looked at Dean shocked when he started screaming at her. She was expecting him to comfort her, take her into his arms and tell her that everything would be okay. But she was dead wrong about that. Dean had once again lost his temper, completely freaking out, and that made her feel even worse now.

It now occurred to them that they had never really talked about having another baby again. It seemed as if that was something that Shannon desperately wanted whereas Dean didn't. Having her cervix removed meant more to her than just that. Something he apparently couldn't understand as a man.

Dean sighed when she started crying even harder, knowing that all of this was his fault and that made him feel like a real piece of shit. He wished that for once he could control himself without freaking out and losing his mind. He needed to be there for her now when she needed him the most. He was such a jerk sometimes.

"I'm sorry, sweet cheeks. I didn't mean to yell at you. It...it just freaks me out that this is happening, you know? I don't want you to be sick. I need you...I can't lose you over this," he said, almost stuttering but in a calm tone now, trying to make her see this from his point of view.

They already had a beautiful baby boy. A child she thought she could never have after all she had been through in the past. Dylan was a real blessing, a miracle even. It wasn't her place to decide if she wanted to keep her uterus or not. This obviously was an emergency now and if they kept waiting for too long, it could have an ugly ending. Something both of them didn't even want to think about.

They were interrupted by both Dr Hanson and Dr Tenner re-entering the examination room, the frowns on their faces giving away that something was sincerely wrong.

"Emergency operation, right now..." was all Dr Tenner said, confirming their biggest fears.

Life was about to change now...that was for sure.