CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

DANNY

After the amazing pay-per-view, everyone had gone out and celebrated. It was nice to have the entire stable back together, and the remaining Anti-Legacies had come, too. James, Kevin, Jonah, and Ken would all still be around, but it was Georgie, Peter, Roger, and Jake's last night on the roster, and they'd wanted to send them off in style.

The night had been perfect. Somehow, they'd all gotten up early the next day to drive three hours to Florida for RAW. It was strange to think he and Trixie would be sleeping in their house instead of the hotel, but it was also kind of nice.

They arrived at the arena with Nicky, Lucas, and Jordan, who Trixie had insisted should ride with them. Molly, Keith, Gabe, and Ginny were right behind them. "I'll go get our rental," Nicky offered to Lucas.

"I'll give you a lift," Danny offered. "We're here pretty early." He kissed Trixie before as Nicky did the same to Lucas, then they headed to the rental place.

"Mom's coming tonight," Nicky told him. "Aunt Saraya, too."

"That's cool," Danny replied. "I'm sure Trix will be happy to see them."

They made pleasant small talk until they got to the rental place. There, Nicky picked up the car he'd reserved. It was his usual choice, a four-door sedan, this one specifically a Ford in red. "Nice color," Danny commented.

Nicky looked embarrassed. "It's too much, right? But it was the only sedan they had available." Nicky usually drove black or blue cars.

"I like it," Danny said. He had a thing for red cars that was the result of his mother refusing to drive anything else.

"Thanks," Nicky said with a slight smile. "I kind of do, too."

He let Nicky take the lead and followed behind him, mildly amused by how fast Nicky always drove. Lucas would have a panic attack if he saw the speeds Nicky reached when he wasn't around. Lucas drove more like his father, gripping the steering wheel for dear life at all times. Molly had taught the Orton boys to drive, and she believed speed limits were a challenge she had to overcome. He'd once heard her tell a sign, "Fifty miles per hour? Ha! I can do at least seventy-five over here! Take your limitations and shove them!"

He made it back to the arena. They were nearly set up for the show already. He spotted Corri and Saraya with some of the others and was about to greet them when his phone rang. Seeing the Caller ID, Danny knew something was wrong. He took a deep breath and answered it. "Hi, Cayla," he forced himself to say.

"Danny..." Cayla began. He could hear her hesitation. "Sweetheart, something's happened."

"What's wrong?" He asked, dreading the answer.

"It's your mom, honey... I had to bring her to the hospital about an hour ago..."

"How bad is she?"

"Danny..." She sighed. "You should come."

"I... Okay. I'm supposed to work tonight, but-"

"You should come now, Danny. As quickly as possible."

He struggled to remain outwardly calm as his world began crashing down around him. "How long?" He asked.

"They're not sure... It... It could be any time now." She paused. "I'm so sorry, Danny."

"I'm on my way." He hung up, not able to think of anything else to say.

Trixie saw his face and hurried over to him. "What's wrong?" She asked.

He was trembling. "Mom's back in the hospital," he said, not even fully registering his own words. "This is it."

Trixie looked horrified. "Oh, God... Danny... We should go."

"No... You stay. One of us needs to work. We just got back."

"They'll understand. This is an emergency."

"Trix... I need to do this alone. Just for a little while. You can come by after the show, okay?" He looked at her, his eyes pleading for her to somehow understand.

She nodded. "Call me if you change your mind."

"Wait... How will you get out of here? We only have one rental."

"Don't worry about that," Saraya said. "Nicky's giving you a lift after the show, right Corri? I'm sure he can drive us, too."

"Of course he can," Corri said.

"I know I'm obligated to be here, but..." Danny sighed. Part of him hoped they'd tell him he couldn't leave. He wasn't ready to face this.

"Don't be ridiculous. Shane and Molly can rework the show around you. They'll understand."

"Are you sure?"

"Go be with your mum, Luv," Saraya said gently. "Trust me, every second you have with her is precious. Don't waste anymore time." He knew she'd have given anything for a few seconds more with her own mother. He couldn't argue.

"Okay." He hugged Corri and Saraya before kissing Trixie. "I love you. I'll see you later."

"I love you, too," Trixie said before he turned and left to make the most difficult drive of his life.

MOLLY

She'd almost been annoyed when Trixie told her Danny was flaking on another show, but then Trixie had told her the reason. Now, Molly's heart broke for Danny. She knew what it was like to only have one parent you could rely on, and she knew how terrifying it was to realize you might lose them. Her Sire had been lucky, but it looked like this was the end of the line for Danielle.

It was fairly easy to rebalance the show. Danny had been scheduled to wrestle Devon in a hardcore match, so she'd replaced him with Marco, who hadn't been scheduled for a match that night. After such a great pay-per-view, she'd wanted a strong RAW. As it turned out, Marco and Devon worked very well together. Nera and Maxel successfully defended their tag titles against the Usos, something Gabe couldn't stop laughing about. Dillon and Alice had a tag match against Colby and Joe which ended when Alice powerbombed Joe into oblivion, shocking the fans. The girl was a lot stronger than she looked. Colby displayed an appropriate amount of fear before the Sire ran out and helped him carry Joe to the back as Dillon and Alice stared them down. That had been a great moment. Everything went smoothly and Molly was feeling pretty confident by the time the main event began. It was Keith versus Nicky for the title, a familiar rivalry for the fans that assured them the Anti-Legacy storyline was officially done.

Molly stood in gorilla, waiting for her cue. When Nicky hit a Red Arrow that made Neville look like an amateur, Molly stared in an impressed state of shock for a moment before she remembered she was supposed to go out there. Nicky had done the move before. He'd learned it from Neville himself and had spent the last several years perfecting it, but she'd never seen him pull it off so smoothly or get so much height on it before.

The fans were still chanting both "holy shit" and "that was awesome" when Nicky pinned Keith. Molly ran out and grabbed him by the leg, pulling him off of Keith and tossing him out of the ring. She hated to ruin the moment after witnessing that move, but Nicky had made it clear he wasn't ready to handle having the title again, and she'd never risk his mental health for a storyline. She climbed up on the ropes and did a splash onto him before throwing him back in the ring and draping Keith over him for the win. Lucas was out there trying to tell the referee she had cheated for Keith, but the referee was too busy yelling at him to get out of his way to realize what was happening. When he turned, he saw Keith pinning Nicky and counted it, declaring Keith the winner.

Molly helped Keith backstage. When they were hidden from the fans, she kissed him. "Nice match," she said. "I love watching you two wrestle."

"Well, he's my original tag partner, so we have it down to a science," Keith said with a laugh.

"That was great, guys," Corri said as she joined them.

"Great? You were robbed, Nicky!" Saraya declared as he came backstage. "That red arrow was brilliant!"

Nicky grinned shyly, looking about ten years old. It made Molly smile. He was still so adorable sometimes. "Thanks," he said. "I can't believe how much height I got!"

"I'm proud of you, Baby," Corri said, hugging him.

Lucas ran over to them and pulled him into his arms. "That was amazing, Nicky!" He said.

"I knew you could nail it!" Trixie added as she joined them, too.

Nicky was blushing now. Molly knew he hated when everyone fussed over him. She decided to change the subject. "Do you guys want to get something to eat?" She asked.

"I need to get to the hospital," Trixie said, suddenly somber.

"Rain check," Nicky said to Molly, hugging her.

"You bet," Molly replied. "Trix, tell Danny I'm thinking of him, and I'm here if he needs me."

"Same here," Keith added.

"I will," Trixie promised.

"Come by my house for breakfast tomorrow," Saraya said. "Cayla's cooking." She hugged Molly, then hugged Keith. "See you later, Luvs."

"Bye, guys," Keith said, hugging his mother and Trixie as well. He paused at Nicky. "It really was a great match, Nick," he added as he hugged his brother, too.

Nicky smiled. He turned toward Lucas. "Are you coming?" He asked.

"I have to work out some details with Creative," Lucas replied.

"Yep, I'm kidnapping him," Molly teased. "Keith and I can give him a lift afterward."

"Okay. I'll see you later. I love you," Nicky said, kissing Lucas goodbye.

"I love you, too, Nicky," Lucas replied sweetly.

"You know, normally I mock the mushy people, but you two are just so freaking adorable…" Molly teased them.

Nicky blushed. Lucas laughed. Molly watched as Nicky, Corri, Saraya, and Trixie left, then turned toward Lucas and said, "Come on. We've got work to do."

DANNY

There were so many machines and tubes hooked up to his mother, he could barely spot her in the middle of it all. She was too thin and frail, and looked so much sicker than she had just a couple of weeks before. Her skin was too pale. Her hair was limp and unkempt, something she never allowed to happen.

She was barely able to keep her eyes open when she woke up and saw him. "Danny…" She managed to say. Her voice was trembling. She was terrified and she couldn't hide it anymore.

"I'm here, Mom," he said.

"Baby… I'm sorry."

"Stop. You don't have anything to apologize for."

"I love you, honey… I love you so much…"

"I know, Mom. I love you, too."

She managed a slight nod before she blacked out again. Cayla stood in the doorway. "I thought you might need a break," she said.

"She was up… For a minute," Danny told her.

"I know. I've got her, Danny. You've been sitting here for hours. Go take a little walk. Get some coffee. She'll probably be out for a while. I'll call you if anything happens."

He nodded. He needed to get away from his mother desperately. Seeing her like this was too much for him. At the same time, he was terrified to leave her. What if by the time he came back, it was too late? He knew he didn't have much time left. She might last through the night, but he doubted she'd make it much longer. The doctors weren't optimistic. They could keep her comfortable, but without a new heart, she was going to die. There was nothing more they could do.

He could feel tears threatening to form in his eyes and he refused to cry in front of her, even if she was unconscious. Danny stood and said, "Thanks, Cayla. I won't be gone long."

She put a comforting hand on his shoulder for a moment as he walked out the door. He raced down the hallway, suddenly desperate to be anywhere else.

TRIXIE

She was a nervous wreck. She hadn't heard from Danny at all, and her mom hadn't called or texted either. That most likely meant Danielle was still with them, for now anyway. Still, she knew she would feel a lot better when she was by Danny's side. She knew he needed her, even if he couldn't bring himself to admit it.

"The hospital's not much further," Nicky said, seemingly reading her thoughts.

"I really appreciate the ride, Nicky," Trixie said.

"What else is family for?" He reached one hand into the backseat so he could squeeze her hand supportively, then put it back on the wheel. Nicky might drive really fast when alone, but he was actually doing speed limit with all of them in the car. He never took chances when Trixie was in the car with him.

"So, who wants to sing some bad karaoke while we drive?" Her mum joked. "Lighten the mood a bit?"

"I never turn down karaoke," Corri replied. She started playing with the radio, looking for a better song to sing along to.

Before she could find it, Trixie saw a car ahead that looked like it was a bit too close to them. As they got closer, she realized the other driver was swerving toward their side of the road. "Nicky!" She cried. "Look out!"

Nicky gripped the steering wheel hard and tried to swerve out of the way of the other car, but it still slammed into them hard, sending them toward the side of the highway at too high of a speed. Their car began to flip over and Trixie let out a scream before everything went black.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Never fear, faithful readers. The next chapter is being posted immediately! I just can't leave you guys with a cliffhanger.