The Cena home was filled with John's relatives. His brothers Dan and Matt, along with his good friend, Rob McIntyre had joined John and Ava along with Fabo and his wife. For once the group was celebrating a happy occasion. Ava had recently returned from a doctor's visit and the baby had been given a clean bill of health. It was healthy and strong, developing at a proper rate. Best of all, they had the four D ultrasound pics to prove it. Everyone stood around as the proud parents to be passed around the images of their unborn child.
"Look at that nose," Fabo proudly proclaimed. "That's definitely a Cena nose. God bless that kid."
"So what are you having?" Dan asked. "Boy or girl? Come on, it's only fair. Grandma Catherine is dying to know. She's knit so many damned yellow blankets that the kid is gonna come out having a headache."
"Relax man," John grinned.
"I just want to know if I'm having a little niece or nephew. Spill. Pink or blue?"
John and Ava exchanged glances.
"We can't answer that…"
"Aaaawww…" came a collective response.
"…Because we don't know ourselves," she finished.
"Are you joking?" Rob asked.
John shook his head.
"Ava and I talked about it and after everything we've been through with this pregnancy, we're just blessed and happy to be having a healthy baby. We don't want to get caught up in what sex it will be. It doesn't matter. So in the delivery room, it will be a big surprise."
He looked down at his wife's burgeoning middle and instantly his heart swelled with pride. His son or daughter was in there and he couldn't wait to meet him or her. Moments like that, the happy, normal moments were what made his life complete. They were the welcome distraction away from the reality of the mess his life had become. But as soon as he enjoyed those moments, he was quickly transported back to what was instead of what could be. It was quite possible that he would miss the birth of his first child, and even seeing that child grow like that literally shattered his whole world and the loud ring of the land line, brought them all back to their uncertain present.
"Hello?" Ava answered.
After a few seconds she hung up, an uneasy look on her pretty face.
"What's wrong, babe?" John asked.
"That was Christina. She's coming through the gate right now."
John's stepmother sighed.
"Can't we just have one nice day as a family? John, please. Send that woman away. Tell her we'll deal with whatever it is concerning the case tomorrow."
"I wish I could," John took a deep breath. "Whatever it is, I have to know what's going on."
A hushed silence fell upon everyone as a minute or two later, the bell rang. Matt answered it and ushered the young attorney inside.
"Good afternoon, everyone. I apologize for interrupting but I have something very important to discuss. John, can I see you alone in the study, please?"
John looked around at a room of people who loved and supported him and who were walking that scary, lonely road right with him.
"It's okay, Christina. Anything you have to say to me, you can say it in front of them."
"Very well," Christina began. "I have come to discover the most compelling, if you will, piece of evidence the prosecution has so far."
"What is it?"
Christina handed her client a DVD and everybody followed him into the den where he popped it in. It was clearly the hotel surveillance footage showing John taking a drunken Jacey to his room that night. John swallowed hard looking at the recording as it brought back many painful memories. Everyone else visibly stiffened as well and the very image made Ava cringe.
"As you can see, John, you have your arm around this much smaller individual who appears to be intoxicated. You're guiding her,you take her to the room, show her in first, take one last look in the hallway presumably to see if you're being watched, then the door shuts. Your story is that this woman is drunk. You feel bad for her but you're genuinely annoyed by the situation and are uneasy about helping her. She can barely stand up which is why you have to help her and it wouldn't look good for anyone to see her going into your room in that position."
"That's exactly how it went down," John nodded.
"Okay. Let me tell you how the prosecution is going to paint this picture. You're taking advantage, being forceful, and looking around to make sure you don't get caught with your hand in the proverbial cookie jar."
"That's bullshit," John rolled his eyes.
"I agree but at least we know what we're working with. We just have to convince the judge to see this through our eyes, how it really happened."
Another uneasy silence swept across the room. Good news seemed to always be overshadowed by some awful breaking new development.
"It's gonna be okay, son," Fabo patted John's shoulder just as Matt's cell phone rang.
The younger Cena took the call which lasted less than a minute but upon hanging up, he was visibly shaken.
"Everything alrigt, bro?" Dan looked on in concern.
"No," Matt shook his head. "That was a buddy of mine. He says some crazy shit just went down and we need to get online."
John motioned towards the CPU that could be adjusted to use the 50 inch flat screen TV as a monitor. Matt clicked away at the keys on the keyboard and after accessing the Internet came to one of the more popular web sites known as wrestling dirt sheets.
"What is it?" Ava asked curiously. "What's going on?"
Matt read for a few minutes before hanging his head and cursing out loud.
"Holy shit…it's true. I can't believe it."
Everyone's eyes became glued to the wide screen reading words that shocked them all…
…
In breaking news, released directly from WWE Superstar Randy Orton's official website and transcripted from an interview conducted earlier today, Orton released the following statement, "Due to the impending criminal investigation of John Cena, the past month or so I have done my best to keep quiet and let the courts handle the case but after giving it a lot of thought, I feel like now I have no choice but to speak. Cena and I have known each other for many years and he is someone I once considered to be one of my best friends. We spent a lot of time together and I know this guy in a way a lot of people don't. There are things I don't want to get into now for obvious reasons but a lot of you have asked my opinion about the guilt or innocence of John Cena. Here is what I have to say. Sometimes the way people appear in public is not an accurate reflection of how they are in private. Let's just say John and I had conversations during the time all this was going on with the woman that was victimized. I know for a fact he was not forthcoming with me about some stuff which leads me to think he might be lying about other things. Only he and the woman in question know what really happened that night. There are two sides to every story and then the truth. I think John needs to be man enough to face his mistakes and accept the consequences. I am a husband and a father and it sickens me to think about any woman being violated like that." So there you have it, folks…a cryptic but angry message from the Viper with accusatory undertones aimed at a man who was once his best friend. Orton certainly has an inside into the case and of course Cena's head. We'll have to stay tuned for more comments to see how this bizarre story continues to unfold.
The house was so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop.
"Oh my God," Fabo's wife grabbed onto his arm for support.
The older man gave a sad sigh and just shook his head.
"I can't believe this," he said in a voice barely above a whisper. "What is Randy thinking?"
"This is bullshit, complete bullshit," Rob reiterated. "Some fucking friend."
Ava turned to Christina.
"What do we do now? This, this is bad. I don't know what the hell is going on with Randy but he basically just sold his best friend up the river. How could he do this to us?"
John rubbed at his neck, in seeming disbelief.
"This is a nightmare…and it continues to be a nightmare. I have no idea what Randy is talking about and why he would do this to me."
Christina tried to maintain her composure.
"This is not good," she began slowly. "It only adds fuel to the already blazing very public fire."
"The public will think what they want," Dan spoke up. "That's hearsay, Randy's word against John's. It's not like it would mean anything in court."
"Hearsay is admissible in a preliminary hearing," Christina explained. "Depending on what Orton has to say, the prosecution could call him as a witness if they feel the information he has to give is damning enough."
Murmurs of shock, anger and disappointment echoed around the room.
"John, are you okay?" Ava asked.
He looked like he had just seen a ghost.
"I need some air," he said simply before disappearing off to the area by the private outdoor pool.
"This is so bad," Ava wrapped her arms around herself. "I mean, who do we trust? Every time we turn around, this just gets worse and worse."
"We will figure it out," Christina tried to remain optimistic. "You should go check on him."
Ava nodded and walked out to where her husband was. When they were alone and out of earshot of everyone, she leaned her head into his rock hard chest.
"Dear God…" she muttered.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, it's just that…wow, that was crazy."
"I know, babe."
"I'm scared, John. Maybe we shouldn't…"
"It'll be okay. Besides, the ball is already rolling. It's too late to back out now."
"Do you think anyone knew?"
He shook his head.
"They bought it."
"I feel bad. It's like we're lying, especially to Christina."
"It's the only way, Ava. We can't tell a soul."
"I know. Poor Randy. I just hope he knows what he is getting himself into."
John took a deep breath as he pulled his wife in closer, placing a reassuring kiss atop her head. He hoped Randy understood what they were getting into as now that their plan was in motion, John himself was unsure. A bomb had just dropped, atomic in proportion. It's results would either be catastrophic or triumphant. And there was no middle ground in between.