Chapter XIV: Like in-Law, Like Mother, Like Daughter

"I think I liked it better when they didn't get along," Mike whispered, as he made both his mother and his wife a cup of tea, while watching Jon try and feed Sophie a clover of broccoli, "They're getting along and I'm scared what might happen to me in my sleep. Rayleigh and my mother haven't gotten along since the wedding. It is backhanded compliment right after the other with those two, but this-this is new." Jon snorted, while Sophie turned her again trying to get away from the clover of broccoli that her newest uncle was trying his best to feed her.

"I thought you would have been happy they're getting along, you wouldn't have to choose who's side to take now," Jon commented, as he finally got Sophie to eat the broccoli, though the little girl was eying him similar to the way that her mother eyed her best friend when he had done something she wasn't too happy about.

"I'd be happier if they weren't laughing at my expense," Mike complained, as he steeped his wife's tea, "I swear if I have to listen to another goofy story about my childhood I might scream. Rayleigh already has enough blackmail-forget I said that." Jon waved his hand at the older wrestler.

"Don't worry about it," Jon said, causing Mike to sigh, "I'm sure Beth will tell me later. She is sitting in your bedroom with them after all." Mike groaned.

"Yes, yes, you must be enjoying my torture," Mike said, "Just wait until Sophie gets into a dress up mood, you'll be squeezing into tiny chairs, wearing goofy outfits and drinking invisible tea until you feel like it's second nature." Jon looked at Mike wide eyed before looking at Sophie who was smiling while sucking on a piece of pineapple.

"She wouldn't," Jon said, looking at the blonde toddler out of the corner of his eye.

"If you don't want to face the wrath of her mother and grandmother, you will," Mike said, placing two cups of tea on a tray, along with an ice cold glass of water, "I mean, seriously, it's like I became their own personal slave."

"It's cheap labour," Jon said, as he handed Sophie a slice of banana.

"Cheap labour," Mike answered, as he searched through the pantry for some of the baby cookies that they kept in stock for Sophie and upset stomachs, "I'm not even getting paid."

"You kind of are," Jon answered, looking at the father slyly as Sophie looked between the two men confused. Mike looked towards Jon with one eyebrow raised, before his eyes went wide and he chuckled.

"Yeah, but that doesn't explain why I'm suddenly my mother and your girlfriend's slave," Mike said, turning back to the pantry in search of the cookies.

"Easy, she gave birth to you and raised you," Jon said, lifting the blonde toddler into his arms, "And as for Beth, you can't serve them and not serve her."

"Michael," called his mother, "Michael, where is our tea? You know that Rayleigh can't get up and do things for herself right now." Mike rolled his eyes and mimed at Jon to just shoot him in the head.

"Jonathan," called Laura again, "Beth said that you were going to take Sophia to the park. I've already told Beth, but I want to make sure that you bring sunscreen. My Sophia has very fair skin and we don't want to give the poor dear a sun burn."

"Scratch that," Jon said, "I liked it better when they didn't get along either."

"Now, you understand my pain," Mike said, "Now, I have to go take my masters their tea." Mike crossed his eyes causing his little girl to peel into laughter before turning and making his way up the stairs and towards the master suite.

"You know," Jon said, looking down at the blonde toddler beside him, "One day you are going to have some poor sap wrapped around your finger like your mother does your father."

"Oh really," Beth said, wrapping her arms around Jon's waist as she came up to stand behind him, "Who says that day isn't today? She had you wrapped pretty tightly around her finger when Rayleigh was at the hospital."

"I couldn't stand to see her cry," Jon said, "She looks like a wounded kitten when she's upset."

"She gets that from her mother," Beth said.

"Oh, so she comes by it naturally, good to know," Jon joked, "Reminder to self never get Rayleigh or Mini Rayleigh upset." Beth chuckled and leaned into Jon's chest as Sophie took to mashing the pieces of banana that Jon handed her into her place mat.

"I heard Laura telling you about the sunscreen," Beth said, "Rayleigh told me not to worry about it that much. As long as we apply it before we go to the park we shouldn't have to worry about it much. It'd be different if we were taking her swimming."

"Swimming," Jon asked, raising his eyebrow, "In the middle of November? Wait, they want us to put sunscreen on Sophie and it's the middle of November." Beth shrugged.

"Don't ask," Beth said, "I think Rayleigh just said something to appease Laura. As much as they're getting along now, I don't think it'll last much longer, especially if Laura keeps telling Rayleigh how to raise her children." Jon shivered and pulled Beth closer to him.

"Let's get out of here," he whispered into her ear, "I do not want to be here when that argument starts."

Jon and Beth were pushing Sophie in her stroller through a nearby park a couple hours later. The sun was shining and there were several children playing. It was a normal day, well as normal as a day could get with two well-known wrestlers.

"Whoa cool," yelled one boy as he came running up to the pair, "You're Dean Ambrose. You are so cool." And it was like a domino effect took place, as soon as the yell left the boy's mouth, Jon was mobbed by fans. Beth quickly moved to sit on a bench nearby as little Sophie looked around in confusion. There were many people crowding her new favourite uncle and she didn't understand what was happening.

"Bethy, what happing," Sophie asked, looking at the red head with wide eyes. It was then that Beth realised that this was a new experience for her. After a very scary encounter with a couple of fans when Sophie had been a couple of months old, many fans knew not to approach when Rayleigh and Mike had Sophie in their company. They even tried to stay clear of John, Phil and Randy when they were near as well.

"Bethy, I scared," Sophie said, reaching towards the redhead. Beth looked down at the blonde toddler and could see the tears already forming in the eyes that she inherited from her mother. Beth knew that they couldn't bring Sophie back to her mom and dad looking like she had just had an epic meltdown in the middle of the park. Lifting the toddler into his arms, Beth began trying to get the attention of her boyfriend.

"Jon," Beth called, trying to be heard over the group of fans, "Jon." Jon looked over at Beth and his heart immediately fell into the pit of his stomach. Sophie was burying her head in the crook of Beth's neck and she looked frightened.

"Alright, I have to go," Jon tried, but the fans were begging for more. It was as a fan attempted to approach Beth did they hear a noise that neither she nor Jon ever wanted to hear again. Sophie began screeching at the top of her lungs for her mother.

"Alright," Jon said, finally getting annoyed, "No more autographs. I have things I need to take care of. Dude, I said no more autographs." The fans quickly left. Some of them realising who the toddler with them was, many of them remembering the twitter rant and media storm that had ensued after a fan had tried to grab Sophie right out of Mike's arms. Sophie continued to screech for her mother as Jon took her into his arms and tried to calm her down.

"Shh, Sophie girl, everything is okay," he whispered, gently into her ear, "Nothing's going to happen. I wouldn't let anything happen to you, you're okay." Sophie's cries soon turned into a whimper as Jon rocked her gently in his arms. Beth watched in awe as Jon slowly calmed down the little girl and soon all she did was sniffle.

"Wow," Beth said, "You're good with her."

"Yeah," Jon said, his eyes not leaving Sophie as he continued to rock her back and forth, "My heart dropped when she started screaming. Rayleigh and Mike would have killed me if anything had happened to her. Hasn't she ever had to deal with the fans?"

"Mike and Rayleigh don't get approached anymore when she's with them," Beth explained, "Even John, Phil and Randy Orton discourage fans coming near when she's with them. If that fan hadn't tried to take her from Mike's arms when she was young, this wouldn't have even been a problem. It only takes one fan to ruin it for everyone else."

"A fan tried to do what?"

"When she was a couple months old, a fan approached Mike and Rayleigh while they were out to lunch in Los Angeles," Beth explained, as she rubbed the back of Sophie head, "They didn't think anything of it, they signed the guy's book and then the guy reached for Sophie. Rayleigh and Mike both flipped. TMZ caught it all on video and I'm sure if it was for the fact that Vince, Linda, Stephanie and Paul understood the board would have called for both Mike and Rayleigh to be fired. From that day forward, Rayleigh and Mike discourage the fans from coming near them when Sophie is with them."

"Well, that whole thing back there is going to be traumatic for her," Jon said, as he placed Sophie back in her stroller, "Rayleigh's going to kill me." Beth shook her head.

"She's not going to kill you," Beth said, "She'll be angrier with the fans, you might get the brunt of her frustration, but it's not you she's going to be angry with."

"You think there's going to be any chance of Rayleigh not finding out?"

"Jon," Beth said, a bit of a smile on her face, "Have you met Rayleigh?"

"Rayleigh, calm down," Mike said, "It was bound to happen sooner or later, you can't blame Jon."

"I don't blame him," Rayleigh argued, trying to push herself to her feet, "I just don't like the fact that my little girl was screaming for me…and I was nowhere. I was at home in bed while our friends were looking after our daughter. Our daughter, Mike, our daughter. Oh my god, I'm a bad mother, I knew this was going to happen. I can't even take care of my own flesh and blood…" Rayleigh trailed off as a wave of tears hit her. Jon and Beth watched with wide eyes as Mike tried desperately to calm his wife down and make her insecurities disappear.

"Ray," Mike said, taking his wife's face into his hands, "You are here day in and day out for Sophie. And even though you've been chasing after her for the last four months of this pregnancy, your body just can't take the stress anymore." Rayleigh sobbed again and Mike took a deep breath. He knew getting frustrated with Rayleigh wasn't going to help.

"Ray," Mike started again, "Jon is probably the last person, people would expect to see with a toddler, let alone our daughter."

"Hey," Jon started, but was quickly shushed by both Beth and Laura.

"But, it wasn't just Jon, Mike," Rayleigh argued, "It was Beth too; Beth, someone that they have seen with Sophie many times. They should know better than to approach." Rayleigh started sobbing again.

"The fans can do crazy things," Mike said, sitting down beside his wife, "I'm sure as soon as a video hits the internet they'll all understand that if Sophie is with Jon in public, they won't approach, but Rayleigh, maybe it's time that we-"

"That we what Mike, expose her to the fans," Rayleigh asked, "You want to expose our daughter to the nutcases that try and-"

"Okay," Mike said, cutting his wife off before she could start ranting about the crazy fan in Los Angeles, "When she's older and understands this better, we'll talk about it." Rayleigh looked at her husband skeptically.

"You know as well as I do that is going to be a long time coming," Rayleigh said, "She still doesn't understand why her uncle John and daddy don't like each other on the TV, but can share a beer when they're sitting in the backyard."

"Rayleigh, she's two years old, did you understand the difference between kayfabe and reality when you were two years old," Mike shot back. Jon, Beth and Laura were looking between the married couple like they were watching a tennis match.

"You and I grew up in a different time," Rayleigh argued, "Kayfabe was pretty much reality then, but thanks to the internet, social media and Total Divas that idea is pretty much dead to the world. Yes, she's two years old, but Mike, how long did it take you to understand just the 'do not try this at home messages?"

"I don't know," Mike said, scratching his head.

"It took him two broken arms," Laura butt in, "And even those didn't stop him." Rayleigh looked at her husband with a smirk on her face.

"Okay, okay," Mike said, holding his hands up in the air, "But, Rayleigh, we can't keep sheltering her from this. Sooner or later, probably sooner, she's going to have to get used to you and I being bombarded by fans."

"Why do you think it's going to sooner rather than later?"

Mike looked at his wife with wide eyes. He didn't mean to let that slip. When he had flown to Connecticut with Hunter, his wife's godfather had given him some inside knowledge of the upcoming Hall of Fame class. Beth and Jon both had wide eyes as well.

"Um, well, you see…"

"Mike," Rayleigh said, looking at her husband with a raised eyebrow, "You know stress isn't good for my blood pressure right now, so I'm going to ask you again why you think we're going to have to start exposing our daughter to the fans sooner rather than later."

"Well, you see," Mike started again, "It really isn't my business to tell you."

"Then, whose business is it to tell me, Michael," Rayleigh asked, causing Mike to wince at the use of his full first name. For as long as the two of them, there had only been two situations when Rayleigh used his full first name; when she was giving birth and when she was angry/annoyed with him. Mike scratched the back of his head and looked to Beth for support. Beth shrugged in response.

"Michael," Rayleigh said, a clear hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Well," Mike said again, "When I flew to Connecticut with Hunter a couple of days ago, I was given some privileged information about the Hall of Fame 2015."

"Okay," Rayleigh said, crossing her arms over her chest, "And what does that have to with exposing Sophie to the fans sooner rather than later?" Mike scratched the back of his head again.

"Well, he was talking about who the board was thinking about inducting and at first the board thought it would be a good idea to induct Mickie James," Mike continued, "You know she was the original modern day psychotic diva after all. But, Vince didn't like the thought of inducting her yet since she wasn't loyal to the WWE, so they um, decided on-" It was then that Mike was cut off by Rayleigh's cell phone ringing on the nightstand. Rayleigh looked to her husband before grabbing her cell phone off the nightstand and answering it.

"Hello," Rayleigh answered, "Oh, hi Phil. Yes, I do know that Jon and Beth got mobbed at the Park. We were just discussing it. It's going to be handled Phil, don't worry about it, now tell me about what you found. How much? No, if you're willing to spend that much you might as well get one custom made. Mike and I got our wedding bands custom made, I can give you the number to my jeweller and he'll sit down with you and go over everything you want. It's no problem, really. Okay, Phil. Phil, she won't say no, she loves you. Okay, bye." Rayleigh hung up the phone and placed it back on the nightstand beside her before turning back to look at her husband who was scratching his neck again.

"Continue," she said, causing Mike to pause in his neck scratching.

"Well, you see, the board wants to induct another former Diva into the Hall of Fame this year and Vince wants to induct a Diva that has been loyal to the company and well," Mike paused.

"Well?"

"Well, they've decided that they're going to induct you," Mike said, releasing the breath that he had been unaware that he was holding. Jon, Beth and Laura looked at Rayleigh who's jaw had dropped and was looking at her husband with wide eyes.

"Me?"

"Yes, you," Mike said, "But, when Stephanie calls you have to pretend to be surprised. Hunter made me swear that I wasn't going to tell you."

"I'm going into the hall of fame," Rayleigh repeated, "Oh my god, I'm going to the hall of fame." It was then that the brunette burst into tears.

"I thought you weren't going to tell her," Beth said, as she went sit beside Rayleigh.

"Yeah, well, I had to get her mind off her thinking she was a bad mother," Mike argued, as he sat down beside his wife and held her to his chest.

A/N: Alright, I know, I know, it has taken awhile for me to update, but here it is. Remember to keep voting for who you want to induct Rayleigh into the Hall of Fame.

xo