The next day, Alex found herself getting awoken by the sun shining through her bedroom window and knocking on her bedroom door. Burying her head back into her pillow, Alex yelled "It's eight o'clock on a Monday morning! You're supposed to let people sleep in on Mondays!"
The door to Alex's room then swung open as her sister Skylar came into Alex's room. Like Alex, Skylar was adopted by Matt and Jeff's dad when she was younger. The funny thing is that Alex and Skylar were adopted at the same time from the same orphanage; when the two girls were younger, they were practically inseparable, which made adoptions for the girls hard. One day, when Matt and Jeff had visited, they met the girls and, after seeing how close they were, decided to introduce their dad to the two. Once their dad, Gilbert Hardy, met the two girls, he adopted them. Ever since, Alex and Skylar have been proud members of the Hardy family. Taking a seat on the edge of Alex's bed, Skylar said "Come on, Alex, wake up. Remember? You told me to wake you up early today so that you could be ready for when your boss lady calls you."
Sitting up in bed as she tried to smooth down her bedhead, Alex said "Damn. You're right."
"What's the deal, sis?" Skylar asked as she watched Alex grab and put on her glasses. "You're never this crabby in the morning."
Finally managing to pry herself out of bed, Alex said "I'm nervous about bringing Eva and JoJo here. What if they don't like staying here?"
"Alex. Sis, calm down," Skylar said, watching as Alex had a nervous look on her face. Seeing that Alex had slightly calmed down, Skylar said "Look. You weren't this nervous about AJ and Kaitlyn staying here. Why so nervous about your new mentorees coming here?"
"I think it's just because they're still pretty new to the WWE, and, after only really working with them for a solid week, I'm bringing them to a big house that's in the middle of the woods that is owned and lived in by crazy people," Alex said. "Do you not know how many people would think that's a scenario from a horror movie?"
"Hmm. No horror movies happening here. Not unless you count Matt and the guys making their own Friday the 13th spoof," Skylar said, as she and Alex laughed at the memory of one of Matt and Jeff's older episodes of their web show. Once she and Alex stopped laughing, Skylar said "Alex. Believe me when I say this. Your mentorees will like staying here just fine. Besides, we're going to be giving the best in southern hospitality. How could they possibly not want to be here with all that?"
Laughing at Skylar, Alex said "I guess you're right, sis. Hey, do you think you could do me a favor?"
"Sure, Alex. What is it?" Skylar asked.
"Would you maybe come to the airport with me when I have to pick up Eva and JoJo?" Alex asked. "I figure if I have to make a mass introduction, I'd rather start small and then work my way to a larger crowd with Matt and the others later."
"Of course, Alex," Skylar said, smiling. "That's what big sisters do for their younger siblings."
"You are only older than me by a few months," Alex said, sticking her tongue out at Skylar.
"Like your buddy Dolph says, whatevs," Skylar said, mirroring Alex, causing the girls to start laughing again. Ending her laugh, Skylar said "We really are a pair of fools, aren't we?"
Throwing an arm around Skylar's shoulders as the two left her room and headed downstairs, Alex said "Yes we are, sis. Yes we are."
...
At around 12 o'clock that Monday, Eva and JoJo's flight arrived at the airport in Raleigh with Eva, JoJo, Stephanie, and the other Divas from Total Divas on board. Leaving the plane after grabbing their bags from the overhead rack, the eight women made their way into the airport and to the baggage claim to get the rest of their luggage.
"I still can't get over being on a private jet," JoJo gushed. "You fly like that all the time, Mrs. Levesque?"
"Yes, I do, JoJo," Stephanie said, smiling at JoJo's excitement. "And I thought I've told you to call me Stephanie."
"I know, I know," JoJo said, a pinkish blush crawling over her cheeks. "I just feel like I need to call you Mrs. Levesque out of respect for you."
Hearing JoJo's explanation, Stephanie said "By all means, feel free to call me whichever name you're the most comfortable with."
"OK," JoJo said, nodding her head.
"Well, it looks like this is where we split off," Natalya Neidhart said, grabbing the last of her bags.
"Do you guys really have to leave so soon, Ms. Nattie?" JoJo asked.
Laughing a little at JoJo's question, Natalya said "Yeah, JoJo. Me and the other girls have to go check into our hotel. See you both later tonight and have fun staying with Alex. I've heard it's quite an adventure" as she left the airport with her fellow Total Divas Divas, leaving JoJo, Eva, and Stephanie in the airport terminal.
Twisting a strand of red hair around her finger, Eva asked "So, when's Alex supposed to be meeting us here?"
"She should be here soon," Stephanie said. "Alex texted me and told me that she was getting one of her sisters to bring her here after they got their niece from their older brother."
"She has a niece?" Eva asked, genuinely surprised to hear this.
"Yes. A three-year-old niece at that," Stephanie said.
"Oh," Eva said while she thought 'That poor kid. She probably doesn't even realize that her aunt's a psycho.'
"Aww! That's so cute that Alex has a niece!" JoJo said. "I can't wait to meet Alex's sister and their niece now."
Smiling at JoJo's enthusiasm, Stephanie almost opened her mouth to tell JoJo to be patient when she heard her phone ringing in her purse. Taking her phone out of her purse, Stephanie saw that she had just gotten a text from Alex saying that she was in the airport's waiting area. Closing the text, Stephanie said "Girls, that was Alex. She's here now, waiting for us. Let's go. Best not to keep her waiting."
"OK," JoJo said, grabbing her bags with Eva doing the same. While JoJo decided to talk more with Stephanie as they made their way to where Alex was, Eva was off in her own world.
'I can't believe this. Leaving the comfort of Divas that aren't crazy only to go back to Alex. Some way to start a Monday," Eva thought. Just as she, JoJo, and Stephanie rounded a corner, Eva saw that they were coming up on the airport's waiting area. Seeing Alex sitting in one of the chairs, Eva noticed that Alex was talking to a light-skinned girl with short, light brown hair who was holding a blonde haired toddler that was playing with what looked like a stuffed winged blue horse.
"There they are," Stephanie said, snapping Eva out of her thoughts. "Ready for some more mentoring, girls?"
"Sure!" JoJo chirped while Eva said "Yeah, sure, why not?"
Making their way through the crowds of people, Stephanie, Eva, and JoJo came to a stop in front of Alex and the other two girls.
Looking up from where she was sitting, Alex said "Stephanie, Eva, JoJo. Welcome to North Carolina!"
"Thanks for the warm welcome," Stephanie said, laughing slightly. Looking down to the girl that was holding the toddler, Stephanie said "Afternoon, Skylar."
"Good afternoon, Stephanie," the brunette, Skylar, said. Rubbing the toddler's back, Skylar said "Say hi to Stephanie, Ruby."
Looking up from her toy, the toddler, Ruby chirped "Hi, boss lady!"
Laughing at the toddler, Stephanie said "Well, hi to you too, Ruby." Turning back to Alex, Stephanie said "I'm going to head on to the arena where we're going to be taping RAW tonight. I'll see you, AJ, Kaitlyn, and the others later tonight."
"All righty then. Later, Steph," Alex said as the older brunette left. Standing from her seat with Skylar following suit, Alex said "OK. I believe some introductions are in order. Eva, JoJo, this is one of my sisters, Skylar, and the cutie she's holding is our niece Ruby. Skylar, Ruby, this is Eva Marie and JoJo, my two new mentorees."
"Nice to meet you both. Alex has told us a lot about you two," Skylar said, shaking Eva and JoJo's hands while keeping her hold on Ruby. "Ruby, say hi to Miss Eva and Miss JoJo."
Looking up from the rainbow hair of her doll, Ruby waved and said "Hi! You hair look really red, Miss Eva."
Blushing at what Ruby said, Eva turned her head while JoJo and Skylar were still shaking hands.
Finishing their handshake, JoJo said "Your hand's really cold, Skylar. Seems pretty weird for a summer day."
"Yeah, leukemia'll do that to you," Skylar said, rather nonchalantly as JoJo's jaw dropped and Eva snapped to stare at the younger brunette.
"I-I'm so sorry to hear that," JoJo immediately said.
Waving off JoJo's concern, Skylar said "Oh, it's nothing to worry about. When you've been dealing with it for as long as I have, you tend to not really notice it."
"How long have you had leukemia?" JoJo asked, wanting to know more.
"Um, going on twelve years now. I'm one of those few where I'm on an endless seesaw of relapse and remission," Skylar said. "But, I'll be damned if I let it beat me."
Hearing Skylar talking about her leukemia made something well up in Eva; the reason for this being that her dad had to deal with his own fight with cancer. Eva had been in her own world when Alex calling her got her attention. "Huh? You say something, Alex?" Eva asked.
"Just seeing if you were alright," Alex said. "Thought we lost you there for a minute."
"Sorry. I was just thinking about some stuff," Eva said.
"Oh. OK," Alex said. Clapping her hands together, Alex said "Well, now. Let's get going. We've got seven hours to get in some training and chill before RAW tonight."
"OK," JoJo said as she and Eva grabbed their bags. "So, where are we going?"
"You two, my dear JoJo, get the fun of bunking at my house for the two days you guys are going to be with me," Alex said, smiling.
"Seriously?!" JoJo asked, which Alex responded to with a nod. "Awesome!"
"Awesome's one word, JoJo," Alex said laughing as the group of five left the airport. "Just wait."
...
"I still can't believe Alex left you in charge of watching Ruby while she's out having a training session with Eva and JoJo," Mary said, as she and Marcus walked into Alex's house at around 2 o'clock that afternoon.
"And you find this so hard to believe why, Mare?" Cody asked.
"Because you're still a baby yourself," Mary said jokingly as Marcus walked over to where Ruby was coloring in one of her coloring books.
Rolling his eyes, Cody said "Oh, ha ha ha. Very funny, Maryanne."
"Oh hush, Codes. You know I only kid with you," Mary said, watching as her son took a seat beside Ruby and the two began coloring on a new page in Ruby's coloring book.
"I know. After all, it does is make you another big sister that I never really asked for but got somehow," Cody said, smirking over at the older brunette.
"Whatever, Codes. You know you love me," Mary said, sticking her tongue out at Cody. Putting her joking aside, Mary asked "Hey, Codes. Can you do me a favor?"
"Depends on what that favor is," Cody said. "What is it?"
"Kaitlyn texted me and said that Alex wanted me to come and help with her training session. Would it be fine if I let Marcus stay in here with you?" Mary asked.
"Of course, Mare. You didn't have to ask me that," Cody said. "Besides, I'm sure Ruby will be happy to have a playmate."
"OK. Take good care of my son," Mary said. Turning to look at Marcus, Mary said "Marcus, mommy's going out to train with Auntie Alex, Auntie AJ, and Auntie Kaitlyn. I'll be back in a little while."
"OK, mama," Marcus said, looking up from the picture he was coloring.
Taking one last look at Marcus and Ruby coloring, Mary smiled and turned on her heel to head out to where Alex and the others were, leaving Cody inside with two toddlers.
Heading back into the living room, Cody took a seat on the floor near where the toddlers were coloring in their pictures. "So, what are you two coloring?" Cody asked, looking down at the pictures in the coloring book.
"I think this is one of Ruby's Pony coloring books," Marcus said, using a purple crayon to color in a dragon on one of the pages.
"I like Ponies," Ruby said, using a pink crayon to color in one of the ponies on the other page.
"So your Aunt Alex tells me," Cody said, smiling down at the blonde toddler.
A few more mintues passed filled with the giggling of the toddlers while they colored and the three talking when Ruby laid down her orange crayon and said "I tired of coloring."
"OK. What do you want to do now?" Cody asked.
"Can we go outside, Unca Cody?" Ruby asked, walking over to Cody.
"Sure, hon. Let's get your sandals on," Cody said, helping Ruby put her sandals on as Marcus got up and walked over to where Cody was. Once he saw that the two toddlers were ready, Cody grabbed his phone and a spare house key Alex gave him and said "OK, now. Let's go."
"Yay!" Ruby said as Cody opened the door and she ran outside with Marcus right behind her. Taking hold of Marcus's hand, Ruby said "Come on, Marcus! Let's go play!"
"OK!" Marcus said, just as eagerly as he ran around after Ruby.
"Don't be so rough now, you two," Cody called after the toddlers as he watched them play a game of tag. Watching as the two toddlers ran around, Cody thought 'I wonder how the girls' training session is going. They're missing out on something really adorable.'
...
"All right, JoJo. Run into the ropes like I showed you and hit AJ with a clothesline," Alex said, standing on the apron of the practice ring. On the Hardy property, Jeff had built a building that doubled as an art studio and also a makeshift gym. At the moment, Alex and the girls were using the gym part of Jeff's building.
Doing as Alex told her, JoJo ran into the ropes and managed to hit AJ with a clothesline that knocked the older brunette down. Stopping to catch her breath as she helped AJ up, JoJo asked "How was that?"
"Getting better, JoJo," Alex said, giving the younger brunette a thumbs-up. "OK, uh, Eva. You want to come practice?"
"Huh? Oh sure," Eva said. Climbing off of the bench on one side of the ring, Eva got into the ring as AJ and JoJo got out and took seats on that bench with Mary and Kaitlyn joining Eva in the ring. Once she was standing across from her training partner, Eva asked "So what am I practicing now?"
"I was thinking it'd be good if you could get some practice with DDTs," Alex said. "Your DDT in your match against Rosa didn't look all that good, so I thought it'd be good if you got practice with that."
"OK," Eva said. Watching as Alex turned the lesson over to Mary and Kaitlyn who talked her through the steps of how to properly perform a DDT, Eva felt comfortable enough to try one herself. Telling the two women in the ring with her that she was ready, Eva watched as Kaitlyn stepped forward.
As the two women locked up, Alex made sure to throw in advice for Eva as far as where she should be grabbing Kaitlyn and how to bring her down went. After watching Eva do three DDTs with the third being her best one, Alex said "OK, that's good for now, Eva. Why don't you take a break for a few?"
Laying down in the ring, Eva said "Sure" as she tried to catch her breath.
From her seat on the bench where she was still trying to catch her breath, JoJo asked "So, how are we doing, Alex?"
"I think you two are doing just fine, JoJo," Alex said, sitting down on the ring apron. "As long as you two keep practicing and pull your moves just right, you two will make fine Divas."
"And it'll all be thanks to you being such a good mentor," JoJo said.
Blushing at JoJo's comment, Alex said "I wouldn't say all that, JoJo. I'm not all that good."
"Didn't we say that this space wasn't the place for negativity?" came a voice from the doorway that got the attention of all six Divas in and near the ring.
Still laying down, Eva asked "Why does it sound like there's a guy in here?"
"Because, Eva, we just got joined by some company," Alex said, a grin working its way across her face.
I really feel weird for introducing Skylar back into another one of my Alex fics...the thing is (like I explained up in the chapter) she and Alex were adopted together when they were younger due to the fact that they didn't want to leave each other. I have a future fic planned that'll help better explain that particular part of Alex's history, so keep on the lookout for that. ...I wasn't lying up in the chapter about Matt and Jeff Hardy making a spoof of Friday the 13th...they did it for their webshow and it's pretty good. *coughs* Anyways, looks like Eva and JoJo's meeting with Skylar and Ruby went well (I think both girls were more floored than anything by the fact that Skylar has leukemia). Kiddie playdate! It was adorable and who better to look after the kids than Cody (I swear, my Ruby muse and my Marcus muse act a lot like Carl and Sophia from the TWD comics-verse (speaking of TWD, sooo can't wait for Sunday))? One training session later and it would now appear that Alex and the girls have guests. Stay tuned to find out just who's joining the girls. Until then, don't forget to R&R please. =)