Chapter 8

"DiBiase! You're late!"

I heard once we entered the arena. I looked up to see Stephanie McMahon-Levesque and her husband Paul standing there. The old adage went when Steph was there alone, you were fine. When Paul and Steph were there, you were super fucked. Cheryl gripped my hand tightly, and I knew I'd be fine.

"Yes, Paul. I know I am. And I'm sorry."

"You're never late, DiBiase. Do you have an explanation as to why you are?"

And just as Stephanie asked me that question. She squealed. I take it that she had just noticed that Cheryl had appeared in the building. But she'd been standing next to me for the last two minutes. She stepped forward and pulled Cheryl into a hug and grinned at me.

"Teddy, how do you know Cheryl Canton?"

"Cheryl and I go way back. I met her at a show in Baltimore a year ago."

I watched Cheryl hug Stephanie and she smiled. I could tell that she'd missed being where she was. She missed knowing that she had some kind of a family on the road. It was written all over her face.

"I'm sorry, Steph. I kept him out later. We had decided to have our first date. We went bungee jumping, and we lost track of time."

And just those comments right there, made Stephanie smile. I'd never seen Stephanie soften, and neither did Paul. He looked back at me and I shrugged. He patted me on the shoulder and I watched the exchange between Cheryl and Stephanie.

"You and I have so much to catch up on. I am going to make you a job offer, Cheryl and I won't take no for an answer."

Cheryl nodded and Stephanie let us through. Cheryl looked super happy, and she squealed as we rounded the corner. I couldn't believe this. All of this good stuff was happening to her. And I was just happy for her. I couldn't believe it. We walked away from Stephanie and Paul and made our way towards the locker room areas. Cheryl waved at all the divas that had remained her friend, and then went into the locker room with me.

"This is so weird for me, Ted."

"I bet. How are you holding up?"

"Ironically, I'm doing fine. So far, until I see Adam."

I watched as she shuddered at the possibility of meeting Adam again. I knew this was a huge effort for her, to be back in the environment she was in. I took her hand and smiled at her.

"Adam will not come near you, I promise."

"Thanks Ted."

She said to me, smiling. I was watching her fluttering around the locker room, trying to find something to keep her entertained while we had these long periods of sitting around and waiting. It made me want her to be happy. I looked at her and laughed.

"Hey, Canton. Why don't you go visit with Stephanie? I saw the look on her face when she saw you for the first time in three years. You'll probably get an offer out of it, and it might be easier for you to trick Lila."

"You're totally right, Teddy. I think I might do that."

She said, kissing me softly and walking out of the locker room. I was left alone with my thoughts now. I couldn't believe that this angel had walked into my life. And I knew that she was suddenly becoming the most important thing in my world, and I don't know how I could handle that. It was only supposed to be for me to get Bailey back. To prove to Lila I was a good father. And now it seemed I was falling for Cheryl. I felt like I wanted to protect her from all the bad shit that Adam was throwing at her. I saw how she was with Mariah and Sunny, I saw what an amazing mom she was. I saw her struggle everyday with the names Adam called her. I didn't want to turn into that unsung hero for her, but I didn't want to into him either. We were supposed to be getting something out of this for each other. It seemed like I was getting the companionship I had been lacking since my divorce from Kristin was final, and she got the motivation to do something better with her life. I saw the change in her. It was evident in the way she looked at me when she picked me up at the airport, up until now. I was giving her something to live for. But why did I hate that so much? I didn't hate it inasmuch as I was afraid of it. And I knew at that point, I had to either put up or shut up. So, I stopped getting ready for my match tonight against Randy and left the locker room. I knocked on John Hennigan's door and waited while he opened it. Whether or not he sucked at scoring women, he was my best friend. He appeared at the door seconds later and smiled at me. He could tell something was off about me, so he ushered me inside.

"You look like something hit you, are you okay?"

"I think I'm falling for her, but I can't be sure."

"No shit, come on in buddy, we'll talk about it."

He said to me, as I walked in and he shut the door behind me. I sat down on the bench and watched as he sat down next to me. I sighed and put my head in my hands. I looked at him while he patiently waited for me to begin.

"When Cheryl and I met a year ago, she was drunk and looking for a good time. We had sex and then I spent the night with her. She gave me her number and we talked from time to time. She's an amazing spirit, and I'd come to realize that what Adam had said about her was not true at all. So, when this whole thing with Lila and Brett came up, she was the one person I knew I could call to take care of this for me. Then we started living as boyfriend and girlfriend…John, it's getting way to serious for me, and I don't know if I can handle it."

John patted me on the back. He knew what it was like to love someone so much that you couldn't have them. His ex-girlfriend Isabella was pregnant with someone else's baby, and that broke his heart. He turned to look at me, and that's when I knew what he was going to say to me.

"Okay, so you need a cooling off period. But you're way too much of a coward to say it. So, instead of spending all of this time with Cheryl like you're doing, you focus all of your energies towards Bailey. You wanted to prove to them that she was your main priority, didn't you? Well, do that. Make her your priority. Sure, help Cheryl out with proving to Adam she isn't the nut job he makes her out to be. Making sure that your kids are safe, that's important."

And I swear to god, I could see John's enlightenment. He was right. I was getting sidetracked with wanting to be happy in my life with not taking Brett's threat of taking over the parental rights of Bailey seriously. I smiled at him, and patted him on the back, thanking him for his advice and walked out. I was behind in my match prep, so I walked back into the locker room and looked around. Cheryl hadn't come back from visiting Stephanie, so I took advantage of that. I got into the shower and thought about what I'd say to her. I stepped out of the shower and smiled as I knew I was still alone. I slid into my trunks easily and then the t-shirt they'd just manufactured for me. I heard the door open and close and I poked my head out and saw Cheryl standing there. I walked out and looked at her. She looked happy. Happier than she had in a long time.

"What's got you so happy?"

"Stephanie offered me a position. Head of WWE Creative, full benefits. And choice of shows to work on. Travel schedule two days a week. Monday and Tuesday, based out of Connecticut. I'm gonna have an office."

I couldn't do it. I couldn't squish her fantasy like that. She was finally landing on her feet, and to pull the rug out from under her like that is just cruel. I smiled and pulled her into a hug, grinning. This was something she'd wanted, and he wasn't going to stand in the way of that.

"I am so proud of you, honey. Do you need to get refamiliarized with the product?"

"No, believe it or not, I kept up with the product while I was gone. I'm familiar with everything. So, I am going to get in the shower and find the nearest monitor. Good luck out there, DiBiase…"

She said. She knew something was up. She knew that I was pulling away from her. Cheryl was so instinctive it wasn't funny. I sighed and walked out of the locker room, knowing that things were changing for her, for the positive. And I wanted to be a part of that, but I wasn't sure how I wanted it. Friends, lovers, or nothing?