**THANK YOU for your reviews! I really appreciate the feedback and your opinions on how the story is coming together. THANK YOU! Please continue to read and review. As Good ol' J.R. says, "Business is about to pick up!" ***

John sat down in his seat and closed his eyes. All he could think about was what a great time he had with Melody all weekend.

There was just something about her that captivated him. He couldn't figure out what or why, but he felt drawn to her…like he was meant to be with her. Why had it taken him so long to find her?

But then there was that one little thing that worried him…Melody was deaf. Yes she could pretend to be hearing and act as if she was, but she wasn't. And he watched how hard she worked at trying to be involved and trying to be hearing and that just wasn't fair. Why should she have to do all of the work and sacrificing? That's why he was bound and determined to learn ASL. He would never truly know her and really communicate with her until he got some sign language under his belt.

Because of her deafness, he was worried about how his friends and family would react. He didn't want to call it her disability because the woman had definitely not let it slow her down…but what exactly was it? Would his friends and family accept her? Or would they reject her?

He also wondered what life would be like further down the road. What would married life be like? What about raising kids? He realized he had a lot to research.

John knew what he needed to do…he needed to talk to his best friend Randy. Randy was also in the wrestling business, so it was nice to see his perspective as a newlywed, and a new dad who was on the road a lot. He should be able to count on Randy's advice, right? Well…maybe. Randy did have a tendency to be a very opinionated individual…think Stifler from American Pie. That was Randy almost to a T…but he had gotten better since marrying and settling down.

Melody was parked in a lawn chair in her backyard relaxing. She wasn't sure where this trial relationship was going to go…but she wanted it to work. She loved how she was able to open up and be honest with John and he didn't' turn around and lash out at her dad even though he probably wanted to. She loved the feeling she would get when he was around her. The fluttery, tingly, happy-dancing feeling always put a smile on her face.

But there were a few snags she was worried about…He mainly lived in Florida…not California. He could hear, but she was deaf. Talking and hearing were two totally different things, and because she could talk so well it was easy to forget that she couldn't hear. Was it fair to him for them to be together? She was used to her world of mainly silence…would he ever be? The fact that he was willing to learn sign language, and not just a few things, but he wanted to be able to hold conversations with her in sign meant a lot to her. He seemed to really like her and wanted to be with her, but did he truly understand just how different life would be?

The feeling of her phone vibrating scared her. She grabbed her phone and looked at it.

"Just wanted to let you know that I landed safely and I miss you already." John had text.

Melody smiled, her heart was melting. It was hard to keep up a wall when he was so sweet. She text him back, "I'm glad you had a safe flight. I miss you too. I'm lying out in the backyard."

John read the text and smiled. He wished he was with her., "I'll find out my schedule tomorrow and the first night I'm back, we'll kick back with a few beers and watch the stars together. Whatcha thinking about?"

Melody laughed, and tried to figure out how to word it. Finally she began to type, "I'm thinking about how I want to decorate the place. I think I'll spend some time planting flowers and maybe a veggie garden. I'm thinking about us a bit too."

John smiled and replied, "Very nice, maybe a white picket fence too? And what about us?"

"Not telling, and no fence. I'm only renting, I don't want to do anything too permanent."

John text her back, "Alright honey, I'm at the hotel now and I'm going to bed, I have to be to Vince's office by 8 a.m. Goodnight and sweet dreams."

Melody read his text and got an idea. She took a picture of herself lying on the lawn chair and made a kissy-face. She sent it to him with the caption, "Sweet dreams to you too. Xoxo"

John smiled as he looked at the picture. He was falling for this girl. Falling harder than he had in a long time. He saved the picture to his phone and got undressed. Then he climbed into bed with thoughts of Melody dancing in his head.

Monday was starting off to be crazy for Melody. She wound up dozing off in the backyard and awaking to the alarm on her watch vibrating. She felt like crap and was horribly stiff. She took a long, hot shower to try and get the kinks out of her neck and her back. By the time she got out of the shower and looked at the clock she only had fifteen minutes till she had to leave. She quickly ran around and found a sundress to throw on with some sandals. She quickly threw some mousse in her hair so her curls wouldn't frizz out and threw on a little light make-up.

She ran down the stairs and grabbed her purse. Then ran back upstairs for her phone charger and ran back downstairs to the kitchen. She looked in the fridge and frowned, she should have gone grocery shopping last night instead of being a bum. She groaned and closed the fridge door. She quickly scribbled a note for her dad letting him know she was at work and would text him later.

Melody locked the door and ran out to the garage. She jumped in her Mustang and glanced at the clock, amazingly enough, she was leaving right on time. If luck would have it there would be a coffee cart near the studios. She rummaged through her purse looking for her iPod but couldn't find it. Then she realized she had left it in John's car. Meaning she wouldn't see it for awhile. Grumbling she threw in a cd and cranked it up. She was bound and determined to not be late on her first day.

At lunchtime she sat with everyone to eat. She tried to follow their conversations, but there was just no way of keeping up and catching the side comments at the same time. After finishing her sandwich she excused herself and walked outside. She took out her phone and smiled when she saw that John had text her.

"Good morning beautiful. I hope you have a great first day at work. Just got done w/Vince. I'll be working on a new movie in California next week, so I am working the next 6 days. Then I'll be in Cali for 2 weeks straight. Are you going to watch Raw tonight? Maybe Skype after Raw?"

Then she saw another text from John: "Heading to Raw now. Text me when you get home from work if you wanna Skype. I'm about to board the flight and I'm going to be studying the whole flight. Can't wait to show you what I've learned. TTYL"

She thought for a minute and then text, "Wow, 2 weeks straight in Cali for a movie? NICE! I promise, I'll watch Raw for you tonight. Did you know that there are a few movies about you? One is called "My Life" and one is called "Word Life." I wanted to check with you about them. Should I watch them? I get off work around 5pm and then dad and I are having one last dinner before he flies home, so Skype after Raw would be better. I'm excited to see how you do with your signing. I can help you too next week. TTYL"

Melody skimmed through a text from her dad and a text from Meat and a couple texts from one of her best friends Malika. She text her dad back that she would be done around 5pm and they could figure out dinner from there. She text Meat back and let him know that the show she was supposed to do at the Deaf club had been cancelled from the email she had gotten that morning.

Then she text Malika back. Malika's texts had been wondering what California was like and if she had met any super hot deaf guys. "Well…California is ok. And the super hot hearing guy that I live across the street from that I've been hanging out with sure does make it better. "

Malika text back, "OMG hearing guy? Is he hanging out with you for the right reasons or are you looking for a Cali friend with benefits?"

Melody shook her head, "No, he seems pretty genuine. He's even met Dad and Meat. We're trying out a trial relationship right now. He's even studying ASL so he can talk to me either way." Malika was deaf also, but she had never been able to hear.

"Good luck. I hope all goes well, and I want details!" Malika responded.

Melody checked her watch and headed back inside.

John arrived at the arena and tracked down Randy right away. "Dude, wanna hit the gym? I have to tell you about my weekend."

Randy looked up at him, "Only if you hold on a minute. I have to show you something." Randy got up and walked over to his bag. Then he pulled out an envelope and handed it to John.

John opened it and there was a family picture inside. Randy and his wife Sophie and their kids Hunter and Ellie were sitting on the porch swing. "Aww…great pic man."

"Thanks dude. Let's go."

They got into Randy's rental SUV. Randy looked at John, "Alright dude, what's up?"

"Well, I met this incredible woman this weekend. She moved into the vacant house across from me out in Cali." John began.

"Dude, don't date the neighbors….it's just not wise. If there's a bad break-up, your house gets fucked up and no one knows how it happened." Randy said with a laugh.

"Yeah, ok…anyways. She's incredible. We have a ton of things in common, she's a brunette who likes to work out. She loves music and working on cars and watching sports and she's just perfect." John said with a smile on his face.

"Wow, smiley, looks likes she's got you whipped already. What's her name and how is she in the sack?" Randy replied.

"Her name is Melody, and I don't know, we haven't done that yet. We spent a ton of time just hanging out and getting to know each other better. I met her dad and a family friend and we had a few meals together and a couple drives."

"Boring. C'mon John. You've gotta get in there and give her a test drive." Randy said giving him a shove.

"No dude, you don't understand, from the moment I met her, I knew there was something different about her. I really like her and I don't want to mess it up. So we're in a trial relationship." John started to explain but Randy interrupted him.

"What the fuck? A trial relationship? You shouldn't have to try and convince her to date you. If she wants to then she wants to and if she doesn't then she doesn't and you move the hell on. You're John fuckin' Cena…you could date anyone you want…"

As Randy parked, John took a deep breath, "Well, we're in a trial relationship because there are a few things that take getting used to and learning how to become accustomed to."

They got out of the vehicle and Randy looked at him with a cock-eyed look, "Become accustomed to? What the hell are you talking about? Is she a different race? Different religion?"

"No, she's white, and yeah she has kind of a mixed bag of religion, but that's not it. There's just one little thing."

Randy rolled his eyes, "Is she deformed? A hermaphrodite? Seriously dude, just spit it out."

"She's deaf." John said confidently.

Randy burst into hysterical laughter…almost to the point of tears. That just infuriated John, he grumbled something and walked into the gym.

Randy walked in a second later trying to calm himself down. "Dude, I'm sorry, but you have GOT to warn me before you tell me something like that."

John just shook his head and ignored him. After they got checked in they went to the locker room.

Randy grabbed his arm, and in his best stereo-typical impression he pretended to talk as deaf people commonly spoke and pretended to sign, "Do you mean deaf like this?"

John sent him an evil glance, "She doesn't talk like that, and yes kind of. But forget it, I'm not talking to you about it."

Randy slugged him in the arm, "Shut up. Seriously, why would you want to go there? You are not deaf. How can you even consider this a possibility?"

"If Sophie got sick, and lost her 95% of her hearing, would you leave her?" John asked him seriously.

"No, but that's different. She's my wife. You're just pretending to be in a relationship with this girl. I mean, talk about serious baggage. Have you called that friend of Andrea's yet? I saw a picture of her, she's hot."

"No I haven't called her yet. And, it's not different. She had meningitis when she was young and has progressively lost her hearing as she's gotten older. She talks clear, she sings, she dances, she does everything anyone else does except for she can't hear. I know it would be an adjustment, and it would take some work, but I wanted your serious opinion on this."

Randy looked at him suspiciously. "Did you just say she sings? What's worse than a tone deaf person singing? A completely deaf person singing. John, you're crazy. My serious opinion, without meeting her and seeing the two of you together, I'd have to say that you're in over your head. How do you vent? How do you communicate?"

John sat down on the bench, "She can read lips. And if there's no background noise and I talk loud enough, or close enough to her ear then she can hear me a little bit. But I'm learning sign language."

Randy slammed his locker shut and they walked out to the gym. He turned and looked at John, "Honestly, I think you're fuckin' mental and that you're grasping for straws here. BUT, with that being said, only you will know if it's right. Figure out your little trial relationship, and I'll have the two of you out to our house in Minnesota. I want to see the two of you together before I can judge you. And I know Sophie would love to have the company."

John smiled, "Thanks Randy. I'll keep you posted."

And the two got into their workout routines. But the conversation really got John thinking even more. Was Randy's closed-minded response how everyone would react? What about his family?

John hammered through his workout. He took out his frustrations on the weights, and he felt it too. Randy could see that John was pretty pissed.

When they got done and were heading back to the arena Randy slugged John in the arm, "Hey, lighten up. You know I'm an asshole and you're going to get an asshole opinion from me. Get her out to our place, we'll put her to the test."

John nodded, "Yeah, I know. I just wonder if you're reaction is going to be everyone else's."

"Honestly, yeah probably. But, then it's up to you to lay their shit straight, or are you just going to blow it off? Are you willing to stand up for her? For your relationship?"

"Hell yeah I am. This isn't just some whatever, I really feel something with Melody." John replied sternly.

"Then stand up for it. Look at what Sophie went through with me. I was out getting stoned and running around on her, but she knew that she loved me. She took a lot of shit. But now we're good as gold. You'll get there if you want to get there…it's the adventure to getting there that is rocky."

John looked over at him with a smile, "Aww…that's the married side of Randal speaking."

"Shut up."

John smiled. Randy had made a very good point.

Melody got done and headed home. Overall it had been a pretty good first day. Of course it was a learning curve to teach everyone a few basic signs but then things began to ebb and flow. She was battling a bit of a headache.

She pulled into the driveway and found her dad sitting at the kitchen table. "Hi Dad."

"Hey kiddo. How was work?"

"Exhausting. Good, but exhausting. It's always a challenge the first few days, then it'll be better."

Jim nodded, "I was thinking we have a typical NYC dinner tonight."

Melody thought for a minute, then smiled, "Sushi, Chinese food and beer?"

"You've got it."

Melody smiled and nodded, "Sounds good. But we have to get it and bring it back here because I have to watch Monday Night Raw tonight."

Jim looked confused and then nodded, "That's right…Mr Man is a wrestler isn't he?"

Melody nodded, "Yup. And I ordered a few movies of his from Amazon so I can watch them. He said they'll give me a grasp on his career."

"I have to admit, I didn't think he's stick around. And I'm still a grumpy, skeptical bastard, but I'm wishing you the best. He's really making an effort."

Melody smiled and hugged him, "Thanks Dad. That means a lot."

"Let's go get food and beer. I'm starving."

They went out and got into Melody's car. Jimmy drove to the place that Meat had recommended.

Melody looked over at her dad, "Well, my cover act was cancelled. The deaf club changed their mind."

"I'm sorry." Jimmy signed.

"It's ok. I am kind of bummed because I was looking forward to some musical release. But Meat said I could sing at their rehearsals." Melody replied. "Patti will be back tomorrow and Pearl is officially on maternity leave."

"Is Patti going to come over and visit you?" Jimmy asked by signing again. It was easier when he was driving to have Melody watch him sign then to turn his attention away from the road so she could see his lips.

"Yeah, we're going to have dinner together Thursday night. I'm hoping my movies arrive by then. I paid for the expedited shipping so I'm keeping my fingers crossed." She replied.

They picked up dinner and hit the liquor store. Then they headed back to Melody's house.

The two sat on the couch and ate their dinner and knocked back a few beers. Finally Raw came on. Melody watched intently, she had never watched wrestling before. She grinned and sent John a text, "Ok, I have Raw on."

He text back, "That's great, I'll be in the ring in a few minutes."

Sure enough, soon John Cena appeared. As he entered the ring and began to trash talk another wrestler. Melody watched intrigued. She followed the closed captioning on the tv. John's comments made her laugh.

She watched him wrestle his match. A little while after his match had been over, her phone vibrated. She glanced at it, and it was text from him.

"Hey, what did ya think?"

Melody smiled and responded, "You make me laugh. But your match looked painful. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, that was nothing. Wait till you watch some of the matches on the dvd's your ordered. Wanna Skype?"

"Sure, let me grab my laptop." Melody text back. She looked back at her dad, "I'm going to Skype with John, go ahead and watch what you want."

Soon Melody was in her room with Skype pulled up. There was John smiling at her. "Hi beautiful." He signed to her.

Melody smiled and laughed. "Hi handsome." She replied verbally and in sign. "Congrats on your learning!"

"Thanks babe. I'm sorry to hear about your cover act." He said sweetly.

Melody frowned and shook her head, "The lag is too slow, so I can't read your lips. You'll have to type to me, but I'll be able to speak my responses."

"If you're not singing, are you free this weekend?" John typed.

"As far as I know I am. I just have to be back for work on Monday morning. Why?"

"Would you like to come to a couple house shows of mine? You could meet some of my friends and we could hang out. You could see what it's like on my side." John responded. "They're on the East coast, if you'd like you could even meet some of my family."

"I don't know if your signing would be up to par for that, but if you think you could be patient enough with me, then I'd love to. It means a lot to me that you want me to meet your family. Would you feel better if I had an interpreter with me?" Melody asked nervously. "I just worry I won't be able to keep up."

"That's up to you. It wouldn't bother me. You and I wouldn't need the interpreter, right?"

Melody shook her head no, "No, when it's just the two of us then I'm fine. When there's a lot of people it just makes it hard for me to follow a conversation and if someone doesn't speak clearly or slow enough or if they have a thick accent then I need the interpreter or once your signing gets to be fluent enough I won't need one."

John smiled, "I like that idea. My signing will be enough for you one day."

Melody giggled.

"SO, can I book you a flight for Friday night?"

Melody bit her bottom lip and nodded with a grin, "Yeah go ahead. But I'll admit, I'm a little nervous to meet your friends and family."

"First off, that look is sexy as hell. Secondly, don't be. It'll be fun."

Melody looked at the camera with a concerned look on her face, "Just do me a favor. Don't feed me to the wolves."

"Don't you worry, everything will be just fine. I've gotta run. Sweet dreams and I'll text you tomorrow. Tell your dad to have a safe flight for me. Talk to ya later hon."

"Good night, talk to you tomorrow." And she signed off. She was really nervous though…was it such a good idea to meet his friends and family this early? Did he truly understand how tough and uncomfortable this would be for all parties involved at first? "Talk about make it or break it." She mumbled to herself as she went back downstairs to spend a little more time with her dad before he left.

**What do you think? Is John jumping the gun? Is his idea of leaping in head first going to help or hinder the situation? Should Melody have stuck up for herself a bit more, or should she just suck it up and give it her all? Please read and review!**