Daughter of the Deadman III
Chapter 10: A Few More Developments
One week later, things were going pretty well. Angel was doing a lot better. She had even managed to take a few tentative steps in the last couple of days, although she needed help from her father to do it. She was learning braille quickly as well and it was a concept that fascinated Lea and Wyatt to no end. Dean and Liam had brought Angel a special board that, Angel was delighted to hear, would help her be able to draw again. The board was smooth in the middle and had rough edges. The paper used to draw was clipped to so that the edges of the paper lined up with the rough edges of the board so that Angel could tell where the edges of the paper were by using her sense of touch. So far, she had only managed to draw a few scribbles on a piece of paper because holding a pencil was difficult for her.
Kane had also brought the fact that the WWE Universe didn't know what had happened to Angel to his brother's attention. After a lot of talk, Kristy called Sarah Orton, Randy's daughter and their good friend, and asked if she would let the fans know. Sarah agreed even though she was living in a proverbial hell at the moment. The Authority had been making her life a living hell because she refused to join them. It didn't help that Randy was taken out for turning on them and therefore wasn't there to help her out at all. As a matter of fact, he was down in Houston. He had heard what had happened to Angel and made the trip from St. Louis when he was feeling better.
Sara sighed as her Dad's music played over the loud speakers. She walked out to the ring, much to the surprise of the SmackDown crowd. She had had very few matches lately and hadn't been seen much thanks to the Authority. They wondered what it was she wanted. They got their answer as she stepped into the ring and asked for a microphone. She knew that she was probably going to get booed to death for giving this news to them.
"I know that you've all noticed an absence for the last six months. The Dead Girl left six months ago. Originally, it was to unwind and relax at home for a bit because she was stressed out. Then...five months ago, she was in a car accident. She, her baby sister, and her father were on their way home from a family outing when a drunk driver ran a red light and hit them head on. Now, before you all worry and wonder, Undertaker is just fine and so is Baby Lea. Unfortunately for the Dead Girl, she was severely injured and is now rendered blind. She is recovering well, but we don't know when she'll be back in the WWE." Sara said.
As she had guessed, the fans were not pleased at all with the news that the Dead Girl was injured. They were booing like crazy. Sara sighed. She had to admit that being booed was no fun even though it wasn't her she was booing, it was what she was telling them.
"I can promise you that Angel...or the Dead Girl will be back in the WWE. It's all a matter of when." Sara said, her voice cracking a bit.
She couldn't say any more after that. She just dropped the microphone and got ready to leave the ring. She thought about Angel. Angel was one of the few people that Sara had befriended in the WWE. She could talk to Angel about anything and Angel would listen and give her advice if needed. Not to mention the fact that her personality is so infectious. Everyone around her is affected in a good way, even if they only meet her for a few minutes. Sara thought.
Then she thought about when Kane had completely turned his back on Angel and her father to join up with the Authority. Angel had stood up to him and not even blinked an eye. Some people would have called that stupidity, but not Sara. As far as she was concerned, Angel had been courageous, standing up to Kane like that. She also knew that Kane, Undertaker, and Angel herself were all sure fire Hall of Famers.
Sara was snapped out of her thoughts when Alicia Fox blindsided her. She had been about to leave the ring when Alicia hit her from behind. Sara knew exactly why this was happening. She had been doing her best to make the Authority's lives hard ever since they had taken out her father. She had even refused to join them. As far as she was concerned, she wanted to make her way in WWE without joining the dictators that she knew the Authority were. She was determined to do things the right way and not have things handed to her. It didn't take long for Sara to get the upper hand over Alicia. Sara put her down with an RKO.
Back at the hospital, Angel was grinning from ear to ear. She hadn't seen a thing, but she had heard every word of what Sara had said and had a general idea of what had happened from the voices of the commentators. Wyatt noticed Angel's smile and looked at her curiously.
"Aunt Angel, you're smiling! But...you didn't see anything that happened just now." he said.
"No...didn't see...but ears work just fine." Angel said.
"Oh...so...you could tell what was happening just by listening even though you couldn't see it?" Wyatt asked.
"Yes." Angel answered.
"How come?" Wyatt asked, looking confused.
"Well, Little Man, when someone loses one of their five senses, the remaining ones get better to make up for it." Taker said.
"Oh..." Wyatt said.
Just then, the phone in the room rang. Taker jumped. It wasn't very often that someone called into Angel's room. Taker reached over and picked it up. It was Davey, who was at home with David in Calgary resting after a lengthy stint in Japan.
"Davey? Is everything alright? You sound panicked." Taker said.
"Diana and David just got into a huge fight. Diana told David that he had to find himself a new girlfriend because Angel was no good to him now. David said no and that he wouldn't leave Angel for anything and that he'd already messed up once with her because he let Diana come in between them and there was no way in hell that he was going to let that happen again." Davey explained.
"And?" Taker said.
"Diana stormed out of the house saying that she'd take care of it herself. I don't know what she's going to do, but she may be headed your way. Keep Angel as close to you as you can as much as you can." Davey said.
"Right. Thanks for the heads up." Taker said.
He hung up the phone and turned to the others. They all looked worried about what Taker had said. They weren't sure what exactly was going on. They knew it couldn't be a good thing given that Taker looked very concerned. He hesitated before speaking.
"That was Davey. David and Diana got into a huge fight about David being with Angel. Diana said that David shouldn't be with her now because she was no good to him. David said that he had already messed up once by letting Diana come between him and Angel and he wasn't going to let it happen again. Diana stormed from the house, saying she'd take care of it herself." Taker said.
"Oh, my god." Randy said.
"I don't want to take any chances on this. Kristy, go to the nurse's station for me would you? Can you give them a description of your mother and tell the nurse that if she comes in and asks for Angel to call security?" Taker said.
"Sure." Kristy said, leaving the room.
"Little Brother, Randy. Can I ask you two to stay outside the door in case she does manage to get past the nurse's station?" Taker said.
"Can do." Randy said.
"No problem, Big Brother." Kane said.
"Bret, can you go and find the security office?" Taker said.
"What do I say?" Bret said.
"Tell that if the nurse calls them because Diana shows up, they are to immediately call the cops. No questions." Taker said.
"Done." Bret said, leaving the room.
"Papa Taker...I'm scared...I don't want Diana to hurt Angel. I know she will if she can." Wyatt said, looking at Angel worriedly.
"Don't worry, Bubby. We're all going to do what we can to make sure Diana doesn't get to her." Adam said.
"Daddy won't let anything else happen to Angel, Wyatt. Don't worry." Lea said.
"Diana won't get into this room, Wyatt. Your Mother and everyone else won't let her touch this door." Adam said.
"Do you really think Diana will come all the way to Houston?" Randy asked.
"I wouldn't put it past her." Taker and Owen said at the same time.
Just then, Kristy came back. At about the same time, Bret reappeared too. Neither one looked very happy as they looked at Angel. She looked worried and scared. It seemed as though she had understood what it was that was going on. Everyone was thankful that her understanding was still intact even if other things weren't exactly all there.
"Why are you looking at Angel like you're mad at her? She didn't do anything!" Lea said.
"We aren't mad at her, LeLe." Kristy said.
"It's Diana we're mad at." Bret said.
"Because she wants to hurt Angel?" Lea asked.
"And she wants to hurt David too. And if she can hurt both at once, then she will." Bret said.
"But...I thought Moms were supposed to love and care about their children. I mean, Mommy loves me. And when I was at school it seemed like all the Moms loved their children too. I don't understand..." Wyatt said.
"Diana's not a Mom, baby. She never has been. Not to me, not to anyone. She's a horrible person who only thinks about herself and no one else." Kristy said.
"She wasn't always that way. It started when your Mom was born..." Bret said softly.
"How come?" Wyatt asked.
"Diana didn't want your Mom." Taker said, anger creeping slowly into his voice.
"What? Why not?" Wyatt asked.
"Because she was happy with your Uncle David and Aunt Georgia. She didn't think that she and Grandpa Davey needed any more children." Bret explained.
"OK, but why did she have Mommy?" Wyatt asked.
"Because Grandpa Davey wanted another baby. One that would be just like him. She's more like me then him, but don't tell him that." Owen said.
"So...Diana used to care about people and...she had Mommy to try and make Grandpa Davey happy. But...she wasn't happy." Wyatt said.
"Well, for the first month, she did great. She took care of your Mommy and attended to her every need. Then one night while she was giving your Mommy a bath, the phone rang. Diana decided that talking on the phone was more important than looking after your Mommy. She left her in the bath alone. She was there for almost an hour before Grandpa Davey found her. Luckily, he got her to the hospital just in time...but your Mommy was really sick..." Taker said.
"Is that why Mom is deaf?" Wyatt asked.
"We're not a hundred percent sure, Little Guy, but we think so. They didn't figure out that your Mommy was deaf until she was about a year old. Diana and Grandpa Davey took her to a specialist to find out what they could do for your Mommy. Diana wanted tests done to find out what had happened, but Grandpa Davey wouldn't allow it. He figured that your Mommy was going through enough without being pinched, prodded and poked by strangers. Diana also wanted your Mommy to have surgery to fix it and Grandpa Davey said absolutely not." Bret said.
"Because he didn't want Mom to be hurt any more then she already was." Wyatt said.
"Right. But from the moment they brought her home from the specialist, Diana's done her best to make your Mom's life hard. And the fact that your Uncle David is supporting your Mommy makes her angry." Nattie said.
"And she doesn't like Aunt Angel either? How come?" Wyatt asked.
"We don't know why, Little Man." Bret said.
"All we know is that for whatever reason, Diana thinks Aunt Angel isn't worthy of being with your Uncle David." Owen said.
"And now that she's different like Mom is, she would think that Angel is...even more not worthy?" Wyatt asked.
"That would be it." Bret said.
"But...why does it even matter? Mom and Aunt Angel are both great people! It doesn't matter if they're a bit...broken on the inside!" Wyatt said.
"She thinks everyone should be like her. Perfect." Taker said.
"She's mean! She's not perfect at all. I don't even like calling her Grandma when I'm around her, but she makes me." Wyatt said.
"She does?" Taker asked.
"She makes me call her Grandma Diana. And she gets mad if I don't. It's why she hurt me that one time when we were visiting. I called her Diana instead of Grandma Diana and she got all angry..." Wyatt said, looking very upset.
"She is never going to touch you again." Kristy said.
"Daddy...I...really scared..." Angel said quietly.
"It'll be alright, baby girl. She won't get in here." Taker said.
"I don't think it's that, Taker. I think she's worried that if Diana does get past all of us by some miracle, Angel won't be able to do anything. She can't see anything coming and her powers are dormant at the moment." Owen said.
"Owen right." Angel answered, tears starting to roll down her face.
"Oh, Angel. It's alright." Kristy said.
"Why does Diana have to come along and wreck things? We don't need this at the moment." Kane said.
"Do you honestly think my Mom gives a damn about everything that's happened or what condition Angel is in?" Kristy asked.
"That's obviously a no, Little Kristy. All she cares about is that her son is with someone who—in her eyes at least—isn't worthy of him." Kane said.
"You should have heard her when Angel was in her coma." Bret said.
"You actually told her?!" Kristy asked.
"Not on purpose. She overheard me telling Mom and Dad. They asked how Angel was doing. They always do. So I told them." Bret said.
"What did she say?" Kane asked.
"I probably shouldn't. Kristy looks like she wants to punch me." Bret said.
"I don't want to punch you. I want to punch my mother as hard as I can as many times as I can." Kristy said.
"I don't know if I should add to it." Bret said.
"Bret, what did she say?" Taker asked.
"She said that it was good and that she should be in a coma." Bret said.
"WHAT?!" Lea and Wyatt yelled.
"And she told David that once Angel died, he could find a better girlfriend." Bret said.
Angel burst into tears at this statement. Taker reached out and hugged her. She buried her head in his chest and just cried. Kristy didn't say anything. She just walked out of the room without a word. After a few minutes, she came back. She had cut up knuckles and was holding her right hand in her left.
"Kristy, what did you do?" Bret asked.
"I walked outside...and I punched the wall." Kristy said, sounding surprisingly calm.
"Krissy, honey, honestly you shouldn't do stuff like that." Owen said.
"I know. But I didn't want to start yelling and scare Angel even more. She's afraid enough right now." Kristy said.
"Well, that's a good thing." Taker said.
"I wish Aunt Angel was at home! She'd be safer there!" Wyatt said.
"Not necessarily, Little Man." Owen said.
"That woman would still try to get her, Little Man. Even if she was at home." Kristy said.
Taker sighed as he continued to hug Angel. Nothing he said or did would calm her down. He wasn't sure what he should do or why exactly she was crying. He knew that she was scared of Diana coming to get her, but he wondered if something else was going on. He decided to just deal with one thing at a time. Everyone just looked at him. They all felt worried.
"Baby girl, it's OK. Everything is going to be OK. No one is going to hurt you." Taker said.
"We won't let her hurt you Angel. No way, no how! I won't let her. Diana will be lucky if Randy and Kane don't kill her." Kristy said.
"And the only way she'll even get that far is if she manages to get past the nurses...and security. Which is doubtful. Diana's not exactly smart." Owen said.
"Says the man who almost flunked history." Kristy said, giggling.
"Kristy..." Owen said.
"Anyway, Aunt Angel. It'll be OK. She won't get in here. Don't be scared." Wyatt said.
"Want home." Angel whispered.
"Ang..." Kristy said.
"We can't go home yet, baby girl." Taker said.
"Before you go home, you've got to spend a bit of time in a rehabilitation hospital. Hopefully, you'll be getting to go there soon." Bret said.
"No! Want home!" Angel said again.
"I know, Angel. I know you want to go home, but we have to make you better first. And this hospital can only do so much for you." Taker said.
"Wait...are you putting my sister in one of those places that her first doctor said she should go in?" Lea asked, panicking.
"No, LeLe. The place that Angel is going to helps to make people who have been hurt like she has better. She'll get to come home when they think she's ready." Kristy said.
"But she is ready!" Lea said.
"LeLe, listen to me. Remember the story that I told you about my Dad and the special place where angels helped him to learn to walk after he got hurt?" Kristy asked.
"Yeah. You said that he had hurt his back, but he went to a special place where angels helped him walk again." Lea remembered.
"Well, that's the same place that Angel is going. Where angels can help her. Good angels, not bad ones." Kristy said.
"Not go place! Go home!" Angel said, looking at the spot where Kristy's voice had come from.
"Well, at least we know one thing that hasn't changed through all this. She's still as stubborn as ever and it's going to take a lot to convince her that this is for her own good." Owen said.
"Angel come on. It won't be that bad. Uncle Taker and all of us will be there with you." Kristy said.
"We can stay with her? All the time?" Lea and Wyatt asked in stereo.
"Well, through the day. We'd have to go home at night." Adam said.
"No! Not going! Not be by self!" Angel said.
"Daddy, you're a dummy!" Wyatt said.
"Wyatt, don't call your father a dummy. Angel, don't worry. One of us will be with you at all times. You won't be alone." Taker said.
"Sorry, Daddy. Sorry, Mommy. It's just...I think Aunt Angel is scared we're going to drop her off at this place and just leave..." Wyatt said.
"Oh, Angel. That's not going to happen. We're not just going to leave you there. Someone will be with you all the time. We'll all be with you during the day and one of us will be there at night. Don't worry." Bret said.
"It will probably be Mommy or Papa Taker." Wyatt said.
"Or Kane, Bret or I." Owen said.
"Not leave?" Angel asked.
"No way. We're not leaving you now." Bret said.
"You don't leave someone when they really need you, Angel. You taught me that." Lea said.
"OK." Angel said with a nod.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Taker looked up and was shocked to see Chad there. He was the police officer who was investigating Lexie's case. He was also the Uncle of Angel and Kristy's childhood friend Alex. He had been working night and day to work out the evidence and present the case to the District Attorney so it could go to trial.
"Hey, Uncle Chad. What's up?" Kristy asked.
"We've got a bit of a problem. We...sort of need Angel to make a statement about that night." Chad said.
"She can't do that! She doesn't even remember it! Was Lea's statement not enough?" Taker snapped.
"Taker relax. We just need her to tell us what she can remember, if anything. If she can't, Kristy can do it and I'll just tell them that Angel wasn't well enough and Kristy—who has a bit of knowledge of what happened—spoke on her behalf." Chad said.
"Alright, fine. You can take her statement, but I don't think you're going to get much." Taker said.
Chad nodded. He walked over to Angel and knelt down. He touched Angel's shoulder and said hello to her. She jumped and looked around, staring at the spot where Chad's voice had come from. She started shaking and hugged Taker even tighter.
"It's alright, baby girl. I know you might not remember, but Chad was your friend back when you were younger." Taker said.
"Alex..." Angel whispered.
"That's right, Angel. Alex was my nephew sweetheart. I'm a police officer and I need your help if you can OK?" Chad said.
"Remember...Alex gone. Bad man hurt me and hurt him too. Take him away." Angel said.
"I know, Angel. You're right. But right now, I need you concentrate as hard as you can. OK?" Chad said.
"I...try." Angel said.
"OK. Do you know what happened to get you here?" Chad asked.
"Bad accident." Angel said.
"Right. Now, I need you to concentrate really hard and tell me anything at all that you can remember from that accident. Even if it's just a small thing." Chad said.
"Um...there...car...bright light...Daddy scream...music...Kristy's favourite song..." Angel said.
"Is that all?" Chad asked.
"I...see lady...the light make it so I see her. Then...on ground..hear her leave. Try...to get to Daddy...Lea too...but..not make it." Angel said.
"Angel? Are you telling me you managed to crawl back toward the car?" Taker asked.
"I...not make it. Not sure how..." Angel whispered.
"So where you ended up wasn't where you started from?" Kristy asked, surprised.
"Not sure how..." Angel whispered, tears rolling down her face again.
"It's alright, Angel. Can you think of anything else? Do you remember what the lady that you saw looked like?" Chad said.
"She short like Kristy...have sunshine hair." Angel said.
"Anything else, Angel?" Chad said.
"I...not sure..." Angel said, looking upset.
"Angel, anything else will help." Chad said.
"Not...sure..." Angel said again, looking even more agitated and upset.
"Stop! She's getting upset! Leave her alone!" Lea snapped at him.
"Here, Chad. This should help." Kristy said.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She went into her photos and showed Chad two photos. One was of Lexie herself on the night of the accident and the other was a picture of Lexie's banged up car, which was still parked outside the hospital.
"I snapped the one when she was in here. Then I snapped a picture of her car a little while ago. It's still sitting out there. No one really wants to touch it in case they compromise something." Kristy said.
"Kristy, that's great. I'll need copies of both of these pictures, so I'll need to take your phone for a day or two. Is that alright?" Chad asked.
"Take it. It's fine." Kristy said, handing the phone over.
Chad got up and said goodbye to them all. Then he left the room. Lea glared at his back as he went. Everyone was startled by how angry the little girl looked. They hadn't seen her like that before.
"Lea?" Taker asked.
"I know he's trying to help, but I don't like him!" Lea answered.
"LeLe, Uncle Chad didn't mean to hurt Angel. He's a good man. He saved both Mommy and Aunt Angel." Wyatt said.
"He did not!" Lea said.
"Yes, LeLe. He did. A long time ago. He did." Wyatt asked.
"How?" Lea said, looking at Kristy skeptically.
"When Angel and I were in Junior high. Not long after Alex died." Kristy said.
"What did he do?" Lea asked, curious now.
"Kristy fight with bad man because me. Bad man hurt Kristy. Uncle Chad come." Angel said.
"I remember that day. I know what she's talking about." Owen said.
"Aunt Angel, do you remember what happened?" Wyatt asked.
"No. Just remember that bad man hurt me. Kristy fight with him. Uncle Chad show up..." Angel said.
"What is she talking about?" Lea asked.
"Jason hurt Kristy one afternoon. She went to check on Angel and you because Angel hadn't shown up for school that day. Chad was sitting outside the house watching because Kristy had called him and asked him to come over in case she needed him because I wasn't home and Bret was at Hart House. Jason used a belt on Kristy and knocked her out with a bat. Chad heard you screaming at the top of your lungs and ran inside. He found both Kristy and Angel knocked out on the floor and you were in your crib screaming." Owen said.
"If it wasn't for Chad, Angel and I wouldn't be here. And I don't think you would either. Chad told me that when he went up to your room, he found you screaming in your crib and Jason standing over you, bat at the ready. He took Jason into custody, but they had to let him go because Ang refused to talk about what happened. That's how scared she was of him." Kristy said.
"So he really did save you and Angel, huh, Kristy?" Lea said.
"And you too, Lea." Wyatt said.
"And me too, I guess. OK. OK. But he still made Angel all upset." Lea said.
"He was just trying to do his job, Lea. I don't think he meant to make Angel upset." Bret said.
"That doesn't mean I like him. Even if he did save Angel and Kristy and me." Lea said.
Everyone laughed at that. Taker stared down at Angel. She was still wide awake, but she wasn't saying a lot. From the look on her face, Taker could see that she was thinking about something. She had relaxed a lot, that was for sure.
"Daddy..." Angel said.
"What is it, baby girl?" Taker asked.
"When go special place? I want angels help me better." Angel said.
"That's up to Doctor Kellon, sweetheart. I hope it will be soon though." Taker said.
"He should let us know in a few days." Adam said.
Angel nodded. Just then, the phone rang again. It was Davey again. This time, he was calling to say that Diana was indeed in Houston and she was headed for the hospital. Taker reassured him that they were ready for her and that she wouldn't get too far once she got there. He hung up the phone and turned to everyone.
"Kane, Randy, get outside the door and close it behind you. She's in Houston and she's on route now. Davey just got a call from her. She was calling from the airport." Taker said.
"Daddy..." Angel whispered, starting to shake again.
"It's OK, baby girl. I've got you and with any luck, she won't make it in here." Taker said.
"I've never seen Aunt Angel this scared before. And I've never seen her hug Papa Taker this long." Wyatt said.
"Diana is like a banshee, Wyatt, remember that." Adam said.
"OK." Wyatt said.
Everyone waited to see what would happen. After about twenty minutes, Kane and Randy came back in. Apparently, the head of security had come to the door to tell Randy and Kane that Diana hadn't even made it past the front desk because a security guard was sitting in the security office and saw Diana walk in on the security camera. He had radioed a fellow security guard who had stopped Diana from coming upstairs and had called the police. Everyone sighed in relief. Taker quickly phoned Davey back and thanked him for giving them some warning.
After he hung up the phone, he looked down at Angel. She was sound asleep and smiling. Taker smiled and leaned her back into the pillows. A few hours after that, everyone left and this time, Bret stayed with Angel so that Taker could go home, spend time with Lea and get some proper rest. It had been a long night for everyone.