Chapter 25

"Isabella?" Shannon approached her almost hesitantly.

"Yeah?" Izzie was sitting cross legged atop a pile of extra ring materials, checking the voicemail on her phone.

"I'm sorry if I made you mad the other night," Shannon apologized.

"Wow, did you figure that out all by yourself?" Izzie leaned back on her hands.

"Jeff told me you seemed pissed," Shannon said. "He said he figured both myself and Matt were in for it."

"Actually, yes. I doubt I'll get another chance at impressing either the general manager or Mr. McMahon now."

Shannon shook his head. "Not quite."

Izzie frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"I actually went to William Regal earlier today. You're going to be in a match next week on Raw."

"Really? With who?"

"Well, um, it's actually a tag team match. Jimmy, you and myself will be taking on Finlay, Hornswoggle and Teddie."

At Izzie's expression, he rushed to explain. "I promise I had nothing to do with it—aside from asking Regal to give you a second chance."

Izzie suddenly broke into a grin. Hopping down from her perch, she threw her arms around Shannon and gave him an excited hug.

"Shannon—you're the best!"

Shannon froze, surprised by her sudden display of affection.

Izzie pulled back. "Loosen up a little," she teased, shoving him playfully. "You feel like Elvis reincarnated!"

"You're going to train me for this right?" Isabella urged. "You know you're my trainer now since Matt up and abandoned all our sessions."

Shannon nodded dumbly.

"And for the record," Izzie said, winking at him. "I forgive you."

Shannon smiled. "I hoped you might."

Teddie stood in front of Finlay, feeling doubt after her confession. Had it been the right thing for her to admit? And yet, after training with him nearly everyday for a fortnight, she had glimpsed a softer side to the tough fighting Irishman. The way he protected Hornswoggle—indeed the way he had attempted to protect her had proven that there was a deeper side to him and that he was capable of loving just as deeply, even when it was hard for him to admit it.

Finlay suddenly reached out to her and pulled her close in a hug. Teddie cringed at first. She remembered being touched in a hurtful way, and it was a memory that did not elude her easily. But Finlay's embrace was gentle and she was surprised to find that she felt protected in his arms. He rested his chin on the top of her head and frowned at Hornswoggle who was peeping around the corner. The little fellow took the hint. Shrugging, he trotted of to find someone else to tease.

Teddie finally pulled away.

"I should go," she said quietly.

"If you want."

Teddie started to leave, but Finlay caught her arm. Turning her towards him, he kissed her again.

"You have a big championship match coming up," Izzie observed. It was nearly midnight and she and Shannon had just finished one of their training sessions in the empty arena after the crowd had cleared out. She took a bite of her apple.

Shannon squinted. "You're not going to spit that at me, are you?"

"No!" Izzie laughed. "I mean, what is the deal with Carlito and Santino anyway?"

Shannon shook his head. "I have no idea."

"Do you think you're ready?"

"For...?"

"Your match next week," Izzie reminded him.

"Oh. I wish we'd had more time to prepare," Shannon admitted. "I mean I know we can beat them, but I'm not sure if we're ready just yet. There's so much that goes into tag teaming...we have to work it just right to beat a team like the Miz and Morrison."

Izzie nodded.

"What about you?" Shannon ventured. "Are you nervous since I told you about your match on Raw?"

"Our match," Izzie corrected. She continued, "To be honest, I don't think it's really fair. I mean, Hornswoggle's such a little guy and Teddie has no idea what she's doing. It'll be Finlay taking most of the heat out there, but I guess that's something I haven't really thought much about. If it happens, it happens. If I have to beat Teddie's ass to teach her a thing or two, well I don't really have a problem with that either. I'm not going to unnecessarily beat her up. And Teddie's smart. She knows when to surrender."

"Have you worked with her before then?"

"Yeah, I trained with her a couple times...before Finlay showed up and sort of took over," Izzie admitted.

"What is going on with them?" Shannon asked curiously.

"I'm not sure really. Up until now I thought that they had a purely professional relationship, though I know Finlay indicated a couple times that he might be interested in her. I think as far as Teddie goes, her problem is that she tends to over think things. She's been burned in a past relationship so what she goes by now is common sense. She's not totally detached from her feelings, but she's going to rely on her brain more than never. She's savvy enough to realize that perhaps CM Punk is not ready to settle down and have a family and I think that may be why she's hanging around Finlay." Izzie shrugged. "My opinion anyway."

"What about you?" Shannon surprised her by asking.

"What about me?"

"Your past. Everyone knows you're John Cena's little sister, but no one can figure out why you're not out here, training with him."

Isabella sighed. "He feels like I'm using him to get to the top or something. I don't know—anyway I'm willing to get my contract the old fashioned honest way, even if it means extra sweat and tears."

"What about your boyfriend? Does he like the fact that you want to be a wrestler?"

"My boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend," Izzie frowned.

Shannon looked confused. "Kelly Kelly told me you had a boyfriend."

Izzie shook her head. "No—no boyfriend. I can't believe she said that."

"Well, I'm glad," Shannon acknowledged, almost shyly.

Izzie smiled. "At least someone is. My mama likes to remind me of that everyday. She wasn't too happy when I dumped my fiancée."

"Wait—you were engaged?"

"In high school," Isabella admitted. "His name was James and he was the teen heartthrob of our school. So when he wanted to go out with me, I was flattered. He was kind of a jerk though—immature and selfish. But I said yes when he proposed to me during our senior year. I guess it was because I liked the attention I got walking around with a big rock on my finger. It made the other girls look at me with respect. I learned the hard way that's not how to get real respect from somebody."

Shannon nodded.

"So anyway, at graduation I dumped him," Izzie said. "I was kind of cruel about the whole thing, but I was sick of his selfishness. Did you know the reason he went out with me was because my sister married the dean of some high ranking University in California? Anyway, he was sucking his way up to him the whole time and sure enough, he got a full football scholarship. I'm sure he's living the dream now...I'm just thankful I'm not living it with him."

Shannon nodded. "I was married," he admitted. "You can love the other person for all you're worth and sometimes it's not enough."

Izzie nodded. "You're right. Sometimes it just isn't worth the pain. But they say when love is right there's nothing like it in the world. So you've always got to keep looking."

Her cell phone was ringing. Teddie groaned and rolled over, making a grab for it on the beside stand.

"Hey girl – what's up?" Ariel's cheery voice sounded wide awake on the other end.

Teddie frowned. "Do you know what time it is?"

"It's...10 in the morning?"

"What?"

"Look outside girlfriend—the sun is shining," Ariel laughed.

"Blast North Carolina," Teddie moaned, seeing the sun peeping around the corners of the heavy curtains. "The sun is always shining here."

"You mean to say Gracia hasn't woken you up yet?"

"She did—at 4 AM. That's why I'm so grouchy now," Teddie admitted.

Ariel chuckled. "Well, I heard about your show in Boone," she began.

"Let me guess, you're coming with Aidan," Teddie frowned.

"No—but I admit I heard about it from him. His girlfriend works over there with us and she was telling some of the girls about how she was going on Saturday."

Teddie paused. "So this girlfriend actually speaks English, does she?"

"Teddie, his girlfriend is Krystal."

"Krystal?" Teddie was shocked. "You're kidding!"

"I wish I was but no such luck..."

"I thought Krystal had more sense than that," Teddie mused, somewhat shocked to hear that Aidan's new girlfriend was her former co-worker.

"So did I, but you have to admit Teddie, Aidan's a charmer when he wants to be and he's not ugly."

"Uh—yes he is," Teddie made a face.

"Well, not physically anyway," Ariel pointed out.

Teddie fell silent.

"Are you alright?" Ariel asked.

Teddie shrugged. "I guess so."

"No—you're not. What's going on?"

"I still feel like I've done something wrong," Teddie admitted. "We promised each other we'd be together forever."

"Well apparently he forgot to tell you about the part where you were going to pay for it," Ariel said sarcastically.

"Anyway," Teddie shook herself. "How's it going with Jake, girl?"

"Um...we broke up."

"What? When!"

"About a week ago," Ariel admitted. "I went over to his house to see his sister and when I was leaving, I saw his truck parked out by the pond."

"Yeah?"

"So I went over to find out what he was doing—since he told me he was going out with his buddies."

"Uh-oh," Teddie said.

"Yeah, anyway—he was out smoking and getting high with the girl next door," Ariel said wryly. "And then he admitted it was something he did frequently, but he swore nothing was up between them."

"Yeah, whatever," Teddie shook her head. "Men."

"You can't live with them and you can't live without them," Ariel sighed.

"I beg to differ. I can live without them. I just need a housekeeper otherwise," Teddie joked.

"Yeah—how's it going with Marcia anyway?" Ariel inquired.

Teddie frowned. "She's nice, but I had to let her go."

"What? Why?"

"I'm not making enough money," Teddie admitted. "No that's an understatement. Ariel—I'm broke. Gracia's going to have to stay with my parents until I get enough money saved up to take care of her again."

"Man girl—that sucks. I'm sorry," Ariel added.

"She's my daughter. I'm supposed to take care of her," Teddie felt tears suddenly prick her eyes. "I'm so messed up—I can't even do that!"

"Where are you now?" Ariel asked.

"At home," Teddie said. "I got in about one in the morning which is why nobody's probably called me yet to photograph their horses."

Ariel chuckled. "You're the photographer everywhere you go aren't you?"

"That's me," Teddie chuckled. "I'm good at it and I love it. I never get tired of it."

"I saw you on TV last night," Ariel said. "I was going to ask you what's up but I figured you've already been asked that a few times."

"Yeah...I'm not sure," Teddie said. "In so many ways it could never work. And then again, I know that it makes the most sense. Ariel, I need a father for Gracia now. I can't protect her all on my own. I can't provide for her all on my own. And..." she lowered her voice. "As much as I don't want her growing up without a father, I don't want her growing up knowing Aidan as that man."

"You're not going to tell her who her real father is?" Ariel asked.

Teddie hesitated. "I've been hurt enough by Aidan," she said. "I don't want my daughter to go through that hurt too. I guess I'll tell her one day when she's mature enough to understand. But I don't want her growing up with the knowledge that her father is no good. I don't want her growing up wondering if maybe I will leave her stepfather and I don't want her to think that men are allowed to treat women the way Aidan treated me."

"She's going to start walking and talking within two years," Ariel pointed out. "That doesn't leave you much time."

"Hey, don't get me wrong. I'm not out actively trying to snag a husband," Teddie said. "But if the right man comes along, I'm not going to have the attitude of 'oh maybe someday'."

"Who is the right man?"

"Someone I can love and respect, who will treat me well and raise Gracia as his own." Teddie said. "Nothing more."

"And Finlay?"

"I could see him doing that."

:) Shannon and Izzie are so sweet together! I love writing them...they are so much more straightforward and honest than Teddie or Finlay. Punk...well poor Punk has kind of been overshadowed here, but he will rise again!

And just so everyone knows – nothing is written in stone yet! There will be plenty of turmoil in upcoming chapters and another OC!

Shout Outs:

Inday: It does seem that way. There's a saying, though, if something sounds too good, it probably is. :) I think it's probably safe to say that this is probably applicable in this case...

XinnLagjin: Hahaha! Couldn't resist! I have the most peculiar way of thinking like that too...and for the record, I would like to attend SCSAU too! ;)

Takersgurl35: Jeff seems to not really have a real attraction thus far. This however, will soon change! I've decided that he will probably only remain Teddie's friend, but I will be introducing another OC in a bit so we'll see where that goes... :)

jada951: Lol...she's trying to crawl and sit up too—and when she can't she gets angry and screams at the top of her lungs! She always pulls the bibs off, so I have to be checking on her every few minutes! Anyway, as far as the story goes, I have basically decided to eliminate Jeff as a love interest for now and keep him just a friend. :) Maybe he will like my other original character I'm planning to introduce...but it's hard to write a storyline with the guy when he's not actually w/WWE! FYI, I think I posted a link to the Finlay article at the bottom of my profile page :)

JCJF.lover: Well, at our University, it's up to the individual teachers... :) My photography class is a 3 hr lab class and the teacher is very lenient. She sits on her laptop in the other room while we develop and print the film. It was amazing because even though I was an hr late, only 2 people were there ...4 others showed up after me!

Sweeney Todds Pirate Lady: Punk, Jeff and Finlay are THE BEST! ...don't care what anyone says! I hope you liked this chapter!

Westfan: Well, in this chapter we are introduced to a bit of Teddie's reasoning. She's being as practical as anything else when it comes to possible relationships...

SBMFanatic: I think Jeff will probably become pretty good friends with Izzie too...if and when he ever returns! This chapter was really fun to write with the Isabella/Shannon interaction. :)

AshMattXoXo: Computer troubles are so frustrating! ...and I can't wait until Jeff returns!

Hatter-Zombie: Well...she's being practical anyway! ;)