"That wasn't so bad now, was it?" asked Stephanie as she rocked a sleeping Aurora in her arms.
"Apart from Mom breaking down over her gift, everything was fine," answered Paul. It was his mother's birthday and they had surprised her by flying up to New Hampshire and hand delivering her gift. They were back on the road again and just decided to fly out to RAW from there anyway.
"She's really out of it, huh?" he asked, leaning over to get a closer look at his daughter who was tightly bundled up in her mother's arms. He lifted his hand and with his finger, gently stroked her soft cheek before kissing her head. He turned his attention back to Stephanie who was smiling at him. He smiled back and moved his face closer to hers, giving her a lingering kiss before he stood.
"You want a coffee or something? I'm going to get a drink."
"No babe, it's too late for coffee. Just get me some water instead. Thanks." She watched him walk away with a tired smile on her face. Suddenly, she got the feeling that someone was watching her. Turning to her left, she saw an older woman of around fifty years old, smiling down at Aurora. Stephanie smiled at her when she looked up.
"She's just adorable. Absolutely adorable! I'm Jane by the way," said the woman, extending her hand.
"Stephanie. And this sleeping little girl is Aurora Rose," Stephanie said as she shifted in her seat so that she could face the woman, trying not to wake her daughter in the process and reached over to take her offered hand.
"Aurora Rose. That's a name you don't hear every day."
"Sleeping Beauty was my favourite Disney fairytale." Stephanie's cheeks flushed slightly at her embarrassment.
"Oh honey, don't you worry. I wanted to call my son Jefferson, after Thomas Jefferson. I'm a big history nut you see. But my husband said absolutely not so I had to settle for Jeff."
Stephanie chuckled at the story. She guessed Jane was from Texas or somewhere in the South due to her feminine Southern drawl and friendly nature. That's Southern Hospitality for you! "So are you heading back home or..." she trailed off as Jane answered her back.
"Yes. We were visiting my in-laws and now we're heading back home. The "we" being my husband and kids but I don't know where they're at right now. What about yourself?"
"I was visiting my in-laws too actually. It was my mother-in-law's birthday and we decided to surprise her by flying up. We live in Connecticut so it's not that far."
"And now you're off to Texas! You have this little one well travelled and she doesn't even know it."
"Well both our jobs require..." Stephanie started to say but was cut off by the reappearance of her husband.
"Hey. I got your water," Paul said as he glanced curiously at the woman seated next to his wife.
"Thanks babe. Paul, this is Jane. Jane, this is my husband..."
"TRIPLE H!" Interrupted Jane suddenly. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry! I can't believe I just did that. It's just that my husband and both my sons are big fans. You're my youngest's favourite wrestler. He has your posters all over his walls and when I saw you there I just kinda' realised who you are. Sorry." She looked amazed as she took him in. It wasn't unusual for him. He was 6'4 and 255lbs after all.
Paul just laughed at her little outburst. He got that sometimes but usually from fans, not their mothers! He extended his hand to her as he sat down. "Nice to meet you Jane. And it's Paul. I don't usually go by Triple H when I'm off the clock!" he joked.
"My boys won't believe I'm actually talking to you. Especially Jeff. You're his absolute favourite. I just wish they would hurry back. They went to get burgers only ten minutes ago." Jane glanced around the waiting area that they were currently sitting in, trying to find her family.
Paul thought for a moment before he answered. "Tell you what. When they come back, I'll sign some autographs if you want?"
"That would be just wonderful! Oh thank you Triple H! They're going to be so surprised. I can't wait." She replied excitedly.
Stephanie and Paul looked at each other and chuckled at Jane's excitement. The WWE was all about their fans after all and as long as Aurora didn't wake up, they'd be free until it came time to board the plane.
Paul stood outside the office door, nervously wringing his hands and shuffling his feet. Today was the day. Now was the time. He lifted his hand and wrapped the door. He heard the muffled "Come in," from inside and placed his hand on the door knob. No turning back now. Taking a deep breath he opened the door and entered the room.
"Paul, what can I do for you?" asked Vince McMahon. He was seated behind his desk, shirt sleeves rolled up and glasses resting on the end of his nose as he looked up from the papers he held in his hand. All in all, he looked quite busy but happy for the distraction.
"Well I was wondering if I could...ahhh...talk to you...about...something," Paul managed to stutter out. Great start Paul, he probably thinks you're high on something right now.
"What's on your mind?" Noticing how unsure of himself Paul looked right now, Vince had a suspicion that something was up, he just didn't know what. He motioned for Paul to sit on one of the expensive, leather executive chairs in front of the desk.
"No I'm fine. I think I'd prefer to stand for this."
"For what? Paul is everything OK. You're not looking too good right now?" Vince stood also and walked around the desk so that the two men were facing one another.
Do it now. Don't chicken out. Don't chicken out!!
"I have something to ask you but before I do it I need to tell you a few things." The words stumbled out of his mouth and he wondered whether he was actually making any sense.
Vince had never seen Paul act this weird and unsure before. Something definitely must be bothering him.He was normally so calm and easy going. Nothing seemed to freak him out and right now he looked scared out of his wits. He fought the urge to laugh as he thought about it. Here was a guy, 6'4 and 260 pounds standing before him and he looked absolutely terrified. "What do you need to ask me then, Paul? You know I'm here to help in any way that I can."
Paul felt the walls of the office closing in on him. He had to do it now or he would probably die from nerves. This is it. Just say what you had prepared and everything should be fine! With this in mind, he stood straighter and looked Vince in the eye. However, when he opened his mouth to speak, nothing came out. Shit, Shit, Shit! I can't remember what to say!He searched his mind for the words but nothing came. Noticing the worried look on Vince's face and realising that he was starting to sweat, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind but the last thing he wanted to say at that time,
"I want to marry Stephanie!"
Idiot! Stupid, stupid idiot! Of all the things to blurt out and I had to say that. Good going Paul!
Vince looked at the man before him. Paul was an absolute ball of nerves. His forehead was sweating, hands wringing and feet shuffling. He now realised why. He wanted to marry his baby girl. He decided to take advantage of Paul's current state and have some fun. He looked at him sternly, not saying a word. He saw the look of sheer horror on his face and again forced himself not to laugh.
Oh shit! He's going to say no!
Realising that he may just have screwed up his chances of marriage with Stephanie, he decided to go all out and hope for the best. "Look Vince, I had a speech and everything prepared before I came in here with all the reasons why you should let me marry Stephanie but I...ahhh...I lost my nerve," he let out a nervous chuckle before continuing. "Believe me, that is not the way I had planned to ask you that. What I meant to say was that I love your daughter with everything I have and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I also wanted you to know that I realise that there will be tough times ahead and that because of the delicate situation we are in, that a lot of people won't like it. But I know that we will make it because I love her too much to let her go." He paused for a breath before continuing, "I'm asking for your permission, and hopefully your blessing, to marry your daughter."
Vince looked at him and couldn't help but feel touched. He already knew that Stephanie and Paul were in love and after listening to Paul's words, his thoughts on the matter only strengthened. He'd tried to keep them apart once and it didn't work. They were obviously in too deep and if he was honest with himself, he should have been expecting this. Marriage was the next logical step after all. Although saddened by the fact that he would have to give his daughter away, he felt assured by the fact that he would be giving her to Paul. He motioned for Paul to sit on the leather couch and this time, he obliged. Vince sat beside him and prepared his words before he spoke, "Paul, I just want you to know that I couldn't have hand picked a better man for Stephanie myself. I know that you love her and that you make her happy and that's all that I ask, that you always love her and always make her happy. I'm also very touched that you came here and asked my permission first. It tells me that you care about Stephanie enough to put yourself through this and I can tell that it wasn't easy for you." He let out a chuckle and looked at Paul who was looking straight back at him, a goofy grin plastered on his face.
Vince stood and Paul followed. He placed his hands on the younger mans shoulders before speaking again, "You have my permission and my blessing. Welcome to the family...son." With these words, Vince pulled him into a tight hug and patted his back before releasing him.
"Thank you Vince. You've just made me the happiest guy in the world right now. All I gotta' do is figure out how to pop the question," he let out a nervous chuckle and looked at Vince. The older man smiled warmly and told him not to disappoint. He then moved back around his desk and lifted the phone.
"I'm going to call Linda and tell her the good news. You can go and get ready for the show. Just because you're gonna' be marrying my daughter doesn't mean you can turn into a slacker!"
Paul smiled and turned and left the room. He couldn't believe it. After all the crap that he'd had to deal with, first with the problems about getting involved in the first place followed by getting broken
up by Vince himself, he was finally going to marry Stephanie. They were going to me man and wife! He walked down the corridor and to his locker room with a smile on his face. Once inside, he sat on the couch and started to plan how to propose. He wanted it to be perfect. Nothing short of perfection was good enough for Stephanie. Maybe over dinner? Gotta have lots of roses too. It's gotta be romantic. Maybe Stephs' favourite hotel...
Stephanie sighed as she opened her weary eyes. The plane cabin was dark and rather cold and she pulled the airline issued blanket back up around her. Lifting her head from her husband's shoulder, she noticed that Aurora was still sleeping on his lap, her little head slumped over on his forearm which was resting against the panelled cabin wall. Pauls head had slumped over too now that she had moved hers from underneath it and she gently pushed it over to lean against the window. He grunted softly before cuddling Aurora closer to his body and sleeping on. Satisfied that her family was safe and sleeping soundly, she pressed the call button and waited. After a few seconds, a very young looking stewardess approached.
"May I help you Mam?" the young blonde asked, glancing at Paul and Aurora and smiling.
"Yes, could I get a glass of water please? Thank you." Stephanie watched the young woman walk up the aisle and into the area which stored all the provisions for the passengers. She called to a young male stewardess nearby and they both started giggling over something, their heads close together as if it were a secret. They both came down the aisle towards her seat, the female stewardess with her water in hand. Stephanie watched them as they got closer to her, immediately sensing that the male of the two was either extremely feminine or gay just by his overall manner. She saw that both their eyes were concentrated not on her, but rather, on the sleeping form of her husband. The male stewardess's eyes went wide when he saw Paul and she heard the female whisper "I told you so," just before she handed the glass to Stephanie.
"Can we get you anything else Mam?" asked the male in a rather high pitched voice and Stephanie had to keep from chuckling out loud. Oh Yeah, this guy is most definitely gay! His eyes were still glued to Paul as he spoke to her and Stephanie got the sneaking suspicion that his pal had called him down to get a look. He looked a little bit star struck and she decided to have a little fun with the two of them.
"No thanks, this is great. But...I couldn't help but notice that you were staring at my husband. See anything you like?" This time she couldn't contain her laughter as the young man's eyes almost popped out of his head and his face turned a deep shade of red.
"No Mam, I wasn't...I...I..." he stuttered.
"Relax. Relax. I'm only messing with you. Really its ok, Todd," she told him, reading his name off the nameplate attached to his waistcoat. He still looked quite shaken until he realised that the female stewardess was in a fit of laughter. He began to pout as he thumped her arm and told her to "Shut up." Stephanie looked at her nameplate which read "Jennifer" and couldn't help but join in. She obviously found it rather funny that her friend was absolutely mortified.
"I'm really sorry..." he began again but was cut off.
"Don't be. I'm used to this kind of thing. No harm in enjoying the scenery right? Just don't tell him when he wakes up. The man's head is already big enough as it is!"
"You're really ok with it?"
"Of course I am. You didn't even do anything anyway. You just looked at him. Although next time you're checking somebody out, you might want to be a little more subtle." Stephanie joked and was relieved to see a smile come across his face.
"Well can you blame me? Your husband is hot!"
"Todd!" scolded his companion, "I can't believe you just said that!"
"Hey, it's alright Jenn. She already knows I was checking him out. She's cool with it. Right?" he looked at Stephanie.
"Right," she said as she nodded her head, "I'm cool with it." She laughed as she thought of the silliness of the whole situation. Paul would definitely be lapping this all up if he were awake right now, although the fact that this was a guy checking him out might throw him a little. Now she wished he was awake so that she could see his reaction. She toyed with the idea of waking him but decided against it. He needed his rest for the show. Suddenly, the pilot's voice was heard over the speakers, telling the cabin crew to prepare the plane for landing. She told the two young stewardess's to hurry on so as not to get them into trouble and leaned her head back on the chair. She would give it ten minutes before she'd have to wake Paul so he could be ready for when they landed. She looked over at him and immediately saw what had captivated her two young friends. The cabin was dark with just the little overhead light shining down on his face. The shadow made his trimmed beard look a little darker than it was and a stray piece of hair fell over his eye. He looked beautiful and her breath caught. Every now and then she would look at him and fall in love all over again. He really was everything she could ever have dreamed of. Shuffling closer and laying her head back on his shoulder, she took his hand and intertwined their fingers. She absentmindedly began to run one finger over his wedding band as she sat there and enjoyed being close to him. Other women, and men for that matter, could look all they wanted but she knew in her heart that he belonged to her, just as she belonged to him.
