Okay…please don't get too upset with me :) Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy! Happy Reading!! Please R&R…

Truth Be Told

Chapter 28

On With the Show…

As time tends to do, it passed rather quickly. The millennium came and went, Rachael reading articles here and there, catching one specifically on Scott's remarriage to Dana only to discover they'd divorced again shortly after.

Rachael had talked Jocelyn into investing the bulk of their money; a profitable decision, upon their return to Missouri. There profits skyrocketed and were financially stable enough to never have to work again unless they just wanted to. In the beginning there were numerous phone calls to Jocelyn's parents, but after they refused to return them they died off.

Occasionally also, letters announcing reunions or autograph events were sent to Jocelyn's parents. Jocelyn had started suggesting that they actually go to one.

Rachael vehemently refused to go. She couldn't stop whatever Jocelyn wanted to do, but she couldn't put her self in such a situation with so many people she'd turned her back on.

Scott sat in the staunch, depressing law office, Dana sitting across from him. He knew it had been a mistake to let her talk him into marrying again. Another honeymoon wasn't going to fix the problems they tried to ignore. He felt slightly sick due to the binder he'd been on the night before as well as the rest of the week.

WCW was crumbling and his position with them was also. If Turner went under, he didn't know exactly where he'd go. WWF was an obvious choice. Their success in WCW would almost guarantee them at least a preliminary run. There was still ECW, but Scott would rather do the independent circuit.

"Mr. Jones will see you now." The secretary called from behind the computer she was furiously working at.

Dana and Scott rose, careful to keep their distance as they walked to hallway to the specified office. As much as Dana tried to act upset, Scott felt somewhat relieved that it would all be over soon. Dana had relinquished the split custody battle, agreeing to award him full custody; he wouldn't have to argue with her all the time. He would be free. After signing the papers he didn't wait around to make small talk, he left the building taking a deep breath of fresh air.

"Who needs women?" He said to himself as he climbed into his car. It was slightly ironic that a certain girl from his past crept into his mind. He shook the thought from his head and drove away

A week later, Scott sat, surrounded by a throng of wrestlers. He drank silently, barely talking when the conversation was directed to him. Kevin watched his friend throughout the evening confused. He knew Scott had been almost liberated by the divorce. He'd expected him to be downright jovial this week; instead he had been more introverted and brooding than ever. He'd really dove off the deep end with his drinking. It seemed like he would drink to fall down every night. They'd heard this week that it was indeed only a matter of time for WCW, Vince McMahon was buying out the company and their contract went with the company. A few contracts had been eliminated including Marcus', who by this point was passed out in a booth across from their table. He was somewhat depressed over the news but had received a few lucrative offers from various independent factions.

Kevin knew that things could be worse, they could be without jobs completely, and at least they had a new income. But he was worried about Scott and how much longer he would hold out over the road.

In 2001, things seemed to be changing more towards a normal pace for Rachael and Jocelyn. Jocelyn had started taking college classes and Rachael had been looking into opening a coffee shop or book store.

Rachael dressed as properly as she could stand, black pinstripe pants and a cranberry button front blouse and slightly heeled boots. She had enough money she could afford the store and dress like a hobo, but she was trying to maintain a reputable reputation. She let her dark chocolate curls fall loosely around her, they cascaded almost all the way down her back now. She pinned a few back out of her face and grabbed her keys. She checked her watch as she walked out the door. She had to meet the realtor in 15 minutes. She was 10 minutes out of town and the building wasn't that far in so she should make it just in time.

Rachael pulled her expedition up to the store front. As she exited the SUV, she recognized the realtor, Jake Sullivan.

"Rachael! Nice to see you!" Jake said extending his hand.

"Thanks Jake can't tell you how much I appreciate you showing this to me on such short notice." She said taking his hand.

The store had been neglected for sometime, which is why she bought it at such a steal. She'd decided that the area would benefit from both business so she decided she would combine them having mainly a bookstore with a coffee bar inside.

"You know," Jake said while they signed papers at his office, "I know this isn't real professional or anything, but I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime." Rachael looked up from the papers. She'd never even thought about this man that way. But she had to admit he was very handsome, well built, he was stable, good job…which led to a March wedding the next year. Part of her felt guilty for marrying him out of well sheer boredom, but she figured it was a positive step to having a normal life.

It was only a few months after they married in 2002 that Rachael became pregnant. She was happy for once. The store was thriving; Jakes business was booming, Jocelyn had finished college, with a Bachelor's in Web Development in record time and operated in out of her home which was next to Rachael's.

Rachael had learned to love Jake, although it was not the all encompassing love she'd once shared in the past. She'd learned to accept the fact that she would never had another chance at that love and put all her energy into building the family she had. It was small, Jake was also and only child with both parents gone, but it fit Rachael perfectly. But her new found contentment would not last.

A 7 month pregnant Rachael and Jocelyn were setting up the crib and sorting through various odds and ends for the baby's room.

"I still think you should find out the sex of the baby, that way I know what color to paint his room." Jocelyn said holding up a blue onesie and pink onesie.

"I told you I want it to be a surprise. So few things are able to be a surprise anymore, I'll find out when it spews from my loins." Rachael said, laughing.

"Nice way to put it, where's Jake?" Jocelyn asked folding the baby clothes.

"He just left before you got here to go show that old farmhouse on O highway. I don't see why anyone would want to live out there, that highway is like a deathtrap." Rachael said.

"Well, hopefully this buyer will bite and he won't have to show it anymore." Jocelyn said, opening a bag of baby socks and sticking them in a drawer. The shrill ring of the phone made them both jump; they both had a sudden, awful premonition about this phone call. Rachael rose with difficulty from the floor, picking up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Yes, can I speak to a Rachael Conover-Sullivan?" A lady asked. Rachael could hear a lot of muffled voices in the background.

"This is she," Rachael said, feeling a chill run through her.

"This is Jackson Hospital, we have a patient here by the name of Jake Sullivan, we need you to come to the hospital." The lady said.

"Of course we'll be right there…" Rachael said becoming panicked.

Jocelyn helped her into the car and drove to the hospital, Rachael hurrying as fast as she could with her swollen belly. They ran into the emergency room.

"My name is Rachael Conover Sullivan, I just got a call that my husband is here, can I go see him?" Rachael said in one breath, not giving the receptionist a word in edgewise.

"The doctor would like to speak with you first, just in that third door on the right, down this hallway." The receptionist said.

Rachael and Jocelyn wait in the room, silently waiting. After what seemed like ages, a doctor clad in scrubs entered the room.

"Doctor, how is he?" Rachael asked immediately.

"Ms. Sullivan, he was in a traumatic car crash, he was sent through the windshield. He was hit by another vehicle and a greatly accelerated rate of speed. There was just too much damage. We did all we could, I'm sorry, we just couldn't save him." The doctor said his eyes heavy and sad.

Rachael felt empty. The one person she'd learned to love had been violently yanked from her. She grabbed her stomach as sobs racked her body. Jocelyn sat with her, hugging her tight as the two cried.

The service was small, by this point Rachael felt so void of emotion she could barely stand to get out of bed. After they left the graveyard, Rachael spent the rest of the day in bed. She remained there for the next week. Finally, Jocelyn coaxed her out of bed, to at least go outside. She still felt empty, trying to hang on to the glimmer of happiness left inside her, looking forward to the birth of the baby she carried.

She felt extremely guilty though. Not but a couple of weeks following Jake's death, Rachael began thinking of Scott and if she'd made the wrong decision. She hadn't felt like that about Jake and she knew she never would have.

The baby was born two months later in April. It was a little boy, that weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces. As she held the child for the first time, she felt her heart beat in a way it hadn't in a very long time. She felt a warmth spread over her body as the small, wriggly baby gazed up at her. She felt love return, real love.

Jocelyn spent almost every waking hour in the hospital with Rachael.

"Well, he's two days old now, don't you think it's time to name him?" Jocelyn asked, holding up a baby name book she'd picked out at Rachael's store.

"Yeah, I've got one…"Rachael said, her eyes looking distant.

"What is it?" Jocelyn asked.

"Oliver Hall Conover…" Rachael whispered. She had dropped the Sullivan from her name just a couple weeks prior. She felt there was no use acting like he was still there when he wasn't. Jocelyn knew exactly where the name came from. She smiled.

"It's perfect. I'll call him Ollie…"
"I like that, too…" Rachael said, stroking her son's soft hair. A nurse came in a few minutes later, taking the small baby back to the nursery for his immunizations. Rachael watched as her infant son was rolled away. Jocelyn noticed the odd look on Rachael's face.

"You okay?" Jocelyn asked her, meeting her eyes.

"Is it wrong that the only man I'm thinking about isn't Jake? I know I should be…but I'm not…and I feel like it's totally wrong. "Rachael said, wiping the tears from her eyes before the spilt over her cheeks.

"I wish I knew, but as much as I will regret this later, let me tell you something…you are rarely, rarely wrong…about most anything. So I'd say your most reliable instinct is your gut feeling." Jocelyn said. Rachael thought about her words for a moment, mulling them over in her head.

"You're right…" Rachael began, "you will regret it later because now I'm gonna argue with you even more when I know I'm right…" Rachael said; she smiled at Jocelyn.

Later that year, Rachael received a phone call from an unexpected source.

"Rachael! Telephone!" Jocelyn yelled from inside the house they now shared. Rachael rose from her rocking chair on the porch, cradling her 4 month old son. She handed a sleeping Oliver to Jocelyn who handed her the phone in return.

"Hello?" Rachael said into the receiver.

"Hey there…long time no see…" A familiar Mexican-accented voice said.

"Chavo?" Rachael said, slightly taken aback. Her number was unlisted and nothing she'd ever set up would lead anyone close to this number.

"Yeah, wondered if you'd remember me." Chavo said from the other end of the line, "Hey I just called because I had some bad news…Eddy died yesterday."

Rachael felt sorrow invade her again. She'd felt in before when Owen, Curt, and Rick had passed to name a few. She'd almost gone to the funeral from Curt, but thought she would just create more of a scene than need be. But Eddy, he'd always been so good to her. He was one of those people you really could actually count on to be there for you, no matter what.

"Oh Chavo…I'm so sorry…"Rachael said, feeling an ache rise in her throat, "What happened?"

"He was in his hotel room, O.D.'d…" Chavo said, she could hear him fighting back tears, too.

"God Chavo…I'm sorry…he was such a genuine kinda guy…" Rachael started.

"He would have wanted you to come here, he would have wanted that…" Chavo said, interrupting her.

"Chavo…I can't, I can't face all those people…" Rachael said, turning away from watching Jocelyn feeding Oliver.

"Rachael…you've got to get past this…you meant a lot to my uncle…it would mean a lot to his family if you'd come…"

"Please, Chavo…don't tell anyone, but I just had a baby a few months ago…I can't just up and leave him…" Rachael said, tears rolling down her face.

"You had a baby? That's great…well does that mean you're marr…"Chavo began.

"I was…he passed about 6 months ago…"Rachael said. She was met by a long silence. She knew that most of the guys would be hurt at how much she had excluded them from her life. For a time they had been like family and she had pushed them as far away as she could manage.

"I'm sorry to hear that…"Chavo said finally, "Please come…"

Rachael closed her eyes, then opened them looking at Jocelyn.

"I can come for a day, maybe two, but that's all I can manage right now…"Rachael said, "I'll leave tonight…I want to be gone before too many people show up…"

"That'll be just fine…I'll pick you up, call me when you get your tickets. I'll see you this evening." Chavo said.

"Yeah, Chavo, see you tonight." Rachael said hanging up the phone.

"Who was it?" Jocelyn asked immediately.

"Chavo…Eddy died yesterday…he wants me to come down there…pay respects." Rachael said.

"You go…I can handle him for a couple days…he's really no trouble. It's be good for you to see everyone again." Jocelyn said, burping Oliver.

"I'm not going to see everyone, I'm leaving tonight, I'll either be back tomorrow or early the next day. I just can't do it…this is the best I can give them right now.

"What if Scott's there?" Jocelyn said as Rachael began to walk away. Rachael stopped, swallowing hard.

"Then I'll leave even sooner…"Rachael said, continuing out of the kitchen, a number of tears streaming from her eyes.

Rachael packed her bags, and booked a flight online. She phoned Chavo back giving him the flight info. Jocelyn drove her the 2 hours to the Kansas City Airport, Oliver sleeping most of the ride.

The flight to Houston was hardly packed. Only about 20 people sat in the terminal waiting for the plane. Jocelyn sat with Rachael, who held Oliver, now regretting that she would be leaving him behind. The desk clerk called her section to begin boarding. She kissed the baby's head, strapping him back into his stroller. Jocelyn noticed her reluctance and hugged her tightly.

"Everything's gonna be fine, we'll be right here when you get back." Jocelyn whispered.

Rachael kept her eyes on them until the hallway curved and she could no longer see them. She gripped her carry-on bag in her lap as she got seated. She couldn't believe she was actually going through with this. She prayed that she would miss anyone else coming through to pay their respects.