(AN: Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, here's another chapter! Yay!)
Chapter Thirty-Six: Survivor Series, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, Oh my!
Punk's POV
"Babe, do you know where my phone is? I thought I left it on the couch downstairs but then I remembered I had to take out Rocky so I thought I forgot it in my sweater pocket, so I came upstairs for it and now I can't find it all" I told my wife, wondering where the hell my cell and brain currently were.
Hannah smiled from her place in bed, nursing Matthew and offering no help at all.
"Well do you? Do you know where it is? I need to find it and then get going so I can make it in time for RAW later" I stated, trying to explain the urgency of the situation.
She nodded at my words, understanding me but still not aiding me in any way. She shifted Matthew to the other side of her chest and beckoned me closer to her. I let out a slight huff but obliged anyway.
"What's in it for me?" she wondered with a playful smile.
I laughed at her tone; she was just messing with me obviously, but I really didn't have time to play along like I wanted to.
"I'll give you whatever you want when you help me, okay? I really need to get it so I can go."
"Fine, one kiss and I'll tell you where it is" she reasoned.
I smiled at her compromise and kissed her sweetly before she pointed to my bedside table.
"It was right over there the whole time, honey. Now get going so you can make it for RAW" she told me with a grin.
I kissed the top of her head and then gave Matthew a quick one as well before I was out the door and on my way to the airport. I made the short two hour flight to Greenville, North Carolina, where the show was scheduled at tonight. The backstage and locker room areas were buzzing as they usually were with excitement, and while I was happy to be opening the show, I lacked the usual anticipation I had. For over the past month or so, I was accompanied by my wife and son on tour and it was one of the best experiences we had ever had—we truly enjoyed traveling with Matthew on tour, and while it was insane at times, being close to him and Hannah made it worthwhile. We were planning on continuing the trend and going on tour as a family this week as well, except it was a hard few days for all of us and we decided it was best for Hannah and Matthew to stay home.
"I don't know what's happening right now. I feel like crap, he feels like crap, you look like crap…" Hannah stated before I cut her off with a raised brow.
"I don't look like crap babe, that's not very nice to say to your baby daddy and husband" I tried to joke, to no avail.
"Ignoring that. What I meant was that everyone in this family is a mess and I don't know how to fix it" she stated, beginning to cry out of frustration.
I instantly pulled her into my arms, wanting to silence her sobs and make her feel better.
"It's okay honey. Everything's fine, okay? We're going to figure it all out and we're all going to be alright. Shh, okay? Please stop crying."
She began to quiet down and I could feel her relax in my embrace. We then made our way to Matthew's nursery where our son was crying his head off. I picked him up gingerly and held him close to my chest, running a hand up and down his back. Immediately I knew something wasn't right.
"Honey, come here and feel him. I think he's a little warm, and he has been fussy all day."
Hannah walked the short distance to us and agreed with me once she felt our son's overly warm back.
"Yeah, I think he might be sick. Aww poor baby."
I nodded and cradled him close, wanting to comfort him in any way.
"I think we should call the doctor and just make sure it isn't anything more serious."
She agreed and after taking Matthew's temperature, we called Dr. Chambers who confirmed that he was having his first cold. She instructed us on how to take care of our son and that greatly relieved both my wife and I. For the next few days we took care of a fussier than normal, shrieking child that did not want to eat at all and that involved three days without sleep for every member of the family. Naturally Hannah and I were walking around like zombies for those few days but when Matthew woke up on Monday morning looking better than he had in days, we both let out sighs of relief. He still wasn't one hundred percent, so we agreed that it wasn't best for him to travel, leaving me to go to RAW alone.
I wasn't all alone tonight though, the guys were keeping me busy before my segment by cracking jokes like they usually did. I continued to hang out with them before it was time for me to open the show. I made my way down the ramp of the stage in my hot pink trunks, intent on dishing out some pain. I had a singles match against the crazy Luke Harper, setting up the feud I was having with his entire insane clan at Survivor Series. I wasn't dominating in the match; it was a match of experience vs. risk and my tenure in the company showed when I was able to gain some momentum and get some good hits in. In the end, I ended up getting the victory by rolling Harper up; I didn't have time to celebrate because Rowan and Harper began attacking me as Bray Wyatt, their leader looked on. Fortunately, Daniel Bryan came to my aid and we cleaned house with the aid of a steel chair. My night wasn't over yet—I had a quick interview where I talked about how I was used to being outnumbered, but never outgunned. And it was clear by Bryan coming out to help me that I wasn't the only that had a problem with the Wyatt Family.
After cleaning myself up, I made my way back to the hotel for the night. I was staying over the night considering I was working Smackdown and I had a taping the following night. I dumped my bag in the corner of the room, and I was on the phone with my wife before I even made it to the bed. I smiled at the sound of her voice, feeling a little less far away from home.
"How's my cuddle buddy?" I wondered, a smile lingering on my tired face.
Hannah let out a soft laugh and I grinned a tiny bit wider.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking."
"I meant the baby. How's Matthew? Is he feeling any better?"
"Yep, he's barely got a fever anymore, and I think being sick tired him out so much. He fell asleep hours ago, and he's sleeping like a baby" she joked.
We chatted for a few more minutes before I was beginning to succumb to my exhaustion. With the promise of calling her back tomorrow, I fell asleep at once.
The next day did not consist of taking out Rocky for a walk, making breakfast or wiping spit up off of Matthew. Nope, this morning involved me taking a shower without being interrupted to help with my son; breakfast all alone and no pitbull licking at my legs, wanting to go out. I made my way to the arena for the day and busied myself with working out for the duration of the morning and afternoon before going over the script for Smackdown. I opened up the show again tonight, trying to cut a promo on the Wyatt family before I was interrupted by Axel. I had a match with Curtis, winning easily. After the show and everyone was changing and getting ready to head out, I was stopped by a few of the guys.
"Hey Punk, do you want to go out with us after the show?" Randy wondered, the rest of the guys nodding beside him.
I shook my head at their offer, I would much rather be heading home than to the pub to watch all of them get wasted.
"I'm good, I have a much better offer at home."
"Your loss—have fun with the diapers and dog!" Edge shouted after me.
I smiled to myself and jumped in my car, headed towards the airport to go home. A flight later, which was unpleasant as usual and I sleepily made my way to the front door of my house. Moments later and I was climbing the stairs to my bedroom. To my surprise, Hannah was up still, sitting in bed with Matthew lying against her thighs.
"Hey Matthew, look who it is. It's Daddy" she said, still cheerful despite the late hour.
I dropped my bag by the door and made my way over to them. Immediately he started screaming and I frowned slightly, gathering him in my forearms.
"I thought he was feeling better?"
Hannah shook her head and let out a yawn.
"He was for a while, until he started to get fussy again. After calling my mom, looking in the baby bible book and checking good ole google, I deduced that he was starting to get his first tooth."
My face instantly broke out into a smile and I blew a raspberry onto the little baby's tummy, which earned me a small laugh from the boy.
"He did all that while I was gone? I've been away two days and he starts growing teeth" I said with a sad huff.
My wife patted my side of the bed and I joined her, making funny faces to entertain the silenced infant.
"Babe, he barely started teething—it only began this morning. I promise you didn't miss much, all you missed was your son crying for hours, me freaking out momentarily and then finding something cold for him to suck on to soothe his gums. I promise it wasn't much."
I nodded and carefully slumped down into the bed, Matthew fast asleep on my chest. I picked up the baby blanket beside me and draped my chest with it, covering my son and I. Hannah yawned once more and moved until she was lying in my side. And with that, we were all passed out.
We woke up and after going through the motions of the morning, we needed to pack for a while. It was the WWE's annual European tour or as we liked to call it 'how many countries can you fit in two weeks'. We would be traveling across the continent for almost two weeks, and as excited as everyone else was, I was slightly freaking out about trekking across the world with my wife and our tiny son. Surprisingly enough, Hannah was totally cool about it—well cool for her.
"Are you sure this is the best idea? It'll just be two weeks and we've been apart longer. I just don't want to bring a sick baby that's teething on multiple hour flights, just so he can watch me fight."
"Babe, it will be fine. I promise it will be great—and plus he's a pro at going on tour now" she said with a smile as she continued to nurse Matthew and pat Rocky on the head.
"You're right, as always. I'm going to finish packing my stuff and then we can check to make sure we have everything for him. Are you packed?"
"Yep, just about. I'll be in the bedroom to help you in a second."
"I can't wait" I told her with a wink and a cheeky grin, to which she simply chuckled in response.
A few hours later and we were getting off our eight hour flight to Ireland. That was certainly an experience I never wanted to relieve ever again. Matthew was fussy the entire time and Hannah and I had to keep getting up to change him, always bumping into someone else or one another. Just when I thought we were both going to pull our hair out, it was announced that we were landing and I sent a silent prayer to the universe in gratitude. Hannah was waiting over by the seating while I got help in gathering all of our bags. Two trips later and we boarded a car, heading towards the hotel. Exhausted and annoyed, we made it there in one piece and proceeded to pass out as a family. I was awoken a few hours later by the ringing of my phone, the crying of my son and the groan let out by my wife.
"Punk, answer that damn phone right now before I throw it out the window!"
I obliged and quickly found out that it was just the guys wanting to know if everything was okay, and it was evident that they were all acclimated to the time change, whereas my family was not. I made plans to meet up with them later and slumped back into bed, pulling Hannah into my side.
Two hours later and we were heading towards the arena for tonight, the crew and wrestlers all buzzing with nerves and excitement. It didn't take us long to find the gang and they were quite happy to see all of us.
"I can't believe you dragged your entire family across the country just so they could watch you fight in nothing but your underwear practically" Edge joked with a smile.
"All kidding aside, I'm happy they're here with me. It beats us both being alone at different ends of the world" Hannah replied, shifting so she was standing with my arm draped across her shoulders.
"At least this time you guys won't have a fight about baby names" Randy pointed out, and as much as I hate to admit it, he was right.
"Very funny Randal, really you should be a freaking comedian or something. There will be no fighting…unless it's done in the middle of the ring" I explained to the group.
"We can arrange for you and Hannah to brawl in one if anything bad happens between you guys. We'll watch the baby if that's what you're worried about" Jeff so kindly offered.
I rolled my eyes at him and took Matthew from where he was in Edge's arms.
"Please, we all know I would kick Punk's ass" my wife claimed, and she was probably right.
Despite the fact that I was the professional wrestler and everything, I knew she would be able to hold her own, and plus she was scrappy as hell and feisty, all in a tiny package.
We continued talking to the guys for a little while more before I excused myself so I could get dressed for the match I had tonight. The next two weeks continued on very similarly, we were all running on negative sleep—thank gosh for caffeine, and proceeded to visit every stop that was planned for the European tour. We traveled to Ireland, Belgium, Scotland, Wales, Germany, England, France, Switzerland and lastly Austria. To say that everyone was exhausted was a vast understatement. Aside from the wrestlers/divas and the crew walking around half-dead from a lack of sleep, my friends and family resembled zombies more than human beings. I was even feeling the strain from all the craziness, and I was the most used to getting no Z's at night. Matthew was doing surprisingly well on tour—he loved hanging out with all of his fun aunts and uncles backstage and loved watching them in the ring even more. It was definitely the right decision to bring him on tour with us; it would have really sucked if I had to leave my son and wife, again.
The two weeks touring all began to blur together after the first few days. We didn't even have any time to sleep off the jet-lag, and the lack of sleep was a constant every day. Hannah and I dragged ourselves out of our bed every morning, did our daily routine with half-lidded eyes and then joined the guys for breakfast. Jeff, Edge, Hannah and Matthew went on short sight-seeing tours daily, considering they were the only ones that weren't currently working. Then they would meet us at the arena for the night and we would all hang out some more there before the matches began. Finally after days of pure insanity and adrenaline, it was time to return home to the states, except we wouldn't be flying home to Chicago or even New York. No, instead, we had to fly right into Tennessee for the next Monday Night Raw. By the time we landed back in the US, loaded up our car from the airport and started the trek to the hotel, two-thirds of my family was fast asleep. I smiled softly at the sight and almost fell asleep myself, before it was announced that we had arrived. Rather than wake my exhausted wife and son, I had one of the hotel lobby employees load all of our bags on a cart and bring them up to our room. I gingerly lifted Matthew's car seat out with one hand and placed a soft kiss on my wife's temple.
"Hmm?" she wondered sleepily.
"Honey, we're here. Just wake up for two minutes and then we can go up to bed, okay?"
She nodded her head and gathered the rest of stuff, joining me in the hotel lobby. We checked in and passed out in bed, within about a five minute span. We woke up to change diapers and feed Matthew, but even he was sleep-deprived and he made it as easy as possible on his parents, fortunately. We slept in the next morning, and damn did that seem like a treat. I put off going to the arena as long as possible. I knew that my segment wasn't in the beginning of the show and I figured a quick workout in the hotel gym would suffice. Instead of being in a smelly locker room with my fellow WWE buddies that were all suffering from sleep deprivation and time zone changes, I was able to spend some time with my son while his mother slept for a bit.
"Matthew, did you have fun going on tour overseas with Daddy and Mommy? I'm sure glad that you and Mommy came with me—I would have missed you guys so much if you didn't come. And plus, I couldn't do this" I told him, covering his cute face in kisses.
"Any kisses left for me, or did Matthew get them all?" Hannah questioned, walking towards me with a smile, awake and looking a lot better.
I smiled and nodded in her direction.
"There might be one or two left for you" I told her before I proved my point.
We spent a little while longer in our hotel room, just hanging out. Even though they came on tour with me, I didn't feel like I spent a ton of time with them. I was always working matches and feuds or working out, while my wife and son got to act like tourists. I'm pretty sure Matthew came home with at least one new outfit from each country and I know for a fact that my wife came home with a million pictures of their adventures.
Tonight my segment was the main event of Monday Night RAW—I was scheduled to participate in twelve man tag team match. It was going to consist of myself, Daniel Bryan, Cody Rhodes, Goldust and the Usos against the team of the Shield and the Wyatt Family. I got the same rush from the crowd that I always got when I walked down the ramp, my music blaring and the excitement coursing through my veins. I was not tagged in for the match, because the Wyatts and Shield were preventing Bryan from making the tag. Bray Wyatt ended up interfering and preventing the pin on Ambrose which naturally lead to chaos and everyone fighting in the ring at once. I was able to hit my signature GTS on Dean and pick up the pin. I cleaned house and managed to pick up the victory for my team. Then, the Real Americans came out to beat on everyone, except they were not anticipating Rey Meysterio coming out to attack them. We flew out the very next night to Georgia; I had a Smackdown appearance, which was the last show before Survivor Series. I helped my tag-team partner Daniel Bryan, who had gotten into trouble with the Wyatts. I paid for my good deed, earning a clothesline for my actions. Even though Bryan was victorious, this begged the question: what was going to happen at Survivor Series?
Hannah's POV
"Punk, can you take Rocky out before we leave? I'm almost done pumping for Matthew's next feeding, and then we should be ready to go. 'Should' being the operative word" I joked to my husband.
He nodded and went to go do what I asked him to, leaving me to finish up before I could retrieve our sleeping baby. It was the weekend of Survivor Series, and after being home for a few days after Smackdown in Georgia, it was time to leave Chicago once more. After Rocky was taken out and waiting in the car for us, I helped Punk down with the last of the bags and our most precious cargo, that thankfully was still asleep. And by help, I meant delegate and smile sweetly at my husband as he did all the heavy lifting.
A short flight later and we were in Boston, Massachusetts for the pay-per-view. I spotted the divas all talking at a table in the canteen, and I ditched my husband and his bags, walking over to them with Matthew.
"Hannah, we're so glad you guys made the trip today. Aww and you brought Matthew too" Maryse said with a grin upon seeing her sleeping nephew.
"Can I hold him? I promise I'll be careful" AJ wondered in her cute little voice.
I nodded happily and momentarily placed the baby carrier on the table. I undid the straps on the car seat and carefully lifted my son out, before placing him in AJ's waiting arms. She broke out in a wide grin and cradled him expertly.
"Damn AJ, have you secretly been holding babies? You're doing awesome" I praised, earning a laugh from the short, dark-haired diva.
"Not from the few times I've held this little one, and it doesn't hurt that I've had more exposure than the guys around kids—not much, but I know more than they all do" she joked.
The other divas and I nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, more than all of them put together times ten. Except for Punk, he's really awesome with him I have to say."
"I'm really awesome with what?" my husband wondering, coming up behind me and giving me a hug considering my arms were free.
"With your son. I was just telling the girls how much of a natural you are."
He laughed and because of our close proximity, I could feel the vibrations of it.
"Yeah I guess so. It doesn't hurt that we have the best kid in the world though."
I was about to agree with him when I saw Randy bringing in Rocky, the guys trailing behind them.
"Babe, you left Rocky with them?" I asked with a chuckle.
He nodded and shrugged his shoulder.
"What was I going to do? That dog loves Randy, it's crazy really. He still hates Edge though, so there's still that."
We all sat down at one of the canteen tables, having some time to kill before the majority of the group had to go and get ready for their matches. The entire group was laughing and cracking jokes as usual, and everything was going well. Stephanie and Triple H made their way over to the table, even joining us for a little bit after holding the small baby. At one point, Rocky was lying on the ground by Punk's feet and Matthew was back in his carrier, so I placed the baby car seat on the ground, the awake infant and pitbull enjoying each other's company.
"Aww look at that, Rocky has his nose in the carrier. That is adorable" Stephanie exclaimed, prompting everyone to see what she was talking about.
Rocky had indeed moved so that his nose and face were in Matthew's baby seat, allowing our baby to play with our furball. It was so darn cute, that I naturally got a video and a dozen pictures of it, prompting my husband to laugh and playfully mock me. Edge asked if he could hold Matthew after Rocky went back to being on guard and no longer was resting in the carrier. Punk nodded in agreement, and the blonde Canadian went to go pick up the baby. Except, the second that Edge went near the car seat, Rocky began to growl at him, barking up a storm. This caused the entire table and Matthew to laugh, and made my husband proud of our watch dog.
"Good boy Rocky, protecting Matthew from crazies" he joked, Edge less than enthused.
Finally the pay-per-view began and it was time for Punk and Bryan to kick some ass. They had a tag team match against the Wyatts, and it was one of the most buzzed about fights on the card for tonight. The match began and the guys were doing well, with Punk hitting his GTS on Harper. The tension increased when Bray—the ominous leader of the Wyatt Family approached the ring. This didn't look like it was going to end well for the Best and the Beard. Bray got up on the apron, staring down my husband and his tag team partner. He hopped off the ring, letting Bryan and Punk celebrate their win. I left Rocky with Jeff backstage momentarily, because I wanted to greet Punk after his match.
Dripping with sweat and breathing heavily with a smile on his face is how I found Punk when he entered the backstage pit surrounding the ramp.
"You guys were fantastic babe, that was an amazing match. And guess who stayed awake the entire time to watch?" I asked, holding up a tiny clue in my arms.
"I'm going to assume that you stay awake during all my matches—except that one time, so let me guess, Matthew?"
"It was one time, and I was pregnant. It doesn't count."
"Sure babe. It's already forgotten. Now what do you want to do now that we survived our first Survivor Series?" he asked me as we walked towards the locker room.
"Well I think after you get cleaned up and changed, we can feed this little guy and get on the road to New York."
He nodded and took a swig of his water before replying.
"Sounds perfect to me, wait in the canteen?"
I agreed and he told me he wasn't going to be long. I made Matthew and myself comfortable at one of the tables, the canteen relatively empty. I was making funny faces at him to keep him entertained when I felt a tap on my shoulder.
I turned around, and thinking it was my husband, responded.
"That was fast babe" I said, before seeing that it was in fact Edge, and surprisingly a small black pitbull was following behind him.
"Gosh, I hope for your sake you don't have to deal with Punk always being quick" Edge quipped before I smacked him on the arm.
"I'm not even going to respond to that one. Are you going to tell me how you got my pitbull to go near you, let alone let you walk him on a leash?"
Edge dead-panned laughed and smirked.
"We found some common ground and he is starting to like me."
"No really, how did you get him to stop hating you?" I wondered with a grin.
He conceded and let out a small huff.
"I gave him a few treats—well more than a few. Definitely enough to make him like me" he replied with a chuckle.
I smiled and shook my head at Edge; Punk announced his presence moments later and said he was ready to head out. We said goodbye to our friends, making a quick round in the backstage area before boarding Punk's bus. He and I got Matthew settled in the crib near our bed and Rocky in the front of the bus before we got under the covers of our bed, neither one of us moving just yet.
"I can't believe how fast he is growing up" Punk commented, causing me to look up at him with a smile.
"I know. He's teething and soon enough he'll be eating solid food, sitting up by himself and even crawling. It feels like just yesterday that I had him."
"Yeah, well I'm beyond happy that I can see him grow up and not leave you guys at home for weeks at a time."
"I'm happy too, babe. It's hard at times, but like everything else, we always get through it."
"I just can't wait to hear him talk, watch him crawl and walk," Punk stated with a smile.
I couldn't help but nod in agreement with him.
"Take him into the ring and let him beat his daddy up," he chuckled.
I laughed and I leaned into him, "Have to wait a couple years for that, I'm afraid. We have a good seventeen years of parenting coming up before that can happen. We're doing great though" I smiled before leaning to kiss Punk on the lips.
"We are," he whispered into my lips.
We fell asleep soon after that and didn't wake up until we were almost in New York. The next RAW was in Long Island, which made me elated because it meant that I was going to be able to see my parents and sister. I had already spoken to them and they knew that we were traveling to my old hometown, and they couldn't wait to see Matthew. Considering Hanukkah and Thanksgiving were only a couple of days away, the plan was to stay in New York for a little while, until we had to travel for the next show. I was excited to say the least to spend some time at my home—well my other home. It would give Punk and me some down time to see my family and enjoy our time with them and Matthew. My parents and sister were coming to watch the show with us, and I knew they were going to have a great time. We had arrived at the arena a few hours ago and quickly got settled in. I was on the phone with my dad trying to coordinate with him on how to get to the arena and everything when I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"Hold on one second Punk. If Matthew's hungry, just rock him for a second and I'll feed him in a second" I said without looking back.
The tapping made an annoying reappearance, and holding my phone to my ear with my shoulder, I turned around and was utterly shocked.
"Veronica? Frank? What are you guys doing here?" I wondered, telling my father to hold for a moment.
The brunette rocker and her equally musically talented husband simply smiled at me before enveloping me in large hugs.
"Did you really think you guys could be back in your old hometown and we wouldn't find out?
"I should have known that you guys would find out. Who told you? Punk or my mom?" I wondered with a laugh.
"Rachel actually, she called to see if we were coming over for Hanukkah/Thanksgiving at your parent's house this year and she mentioned that you guys would be there for a little bit after tonight's show."
"Well she told you right. I'm so glad you guys are here. I need to just finish telling my dad how to get here and then I can take you guys around."
"Please Han, we are pros at backstage areas. We'll go find Punk and your baby and see you in a few" Frank said before grabbing his wife's hand and walking away.
I smiled to myself and relayed to my father that a few more people would be joining us for tonight's show. I finished up my conversation with him and then went in search of my friends and son. It didn't take me long and I heard the ever familiar sound of husband's voice and my friends laughing hysterically.
"I'm so, so, so sorry man. He doesn't do that often I promise" Punk told one of the gang.
I furrowed my brow for a moment and walked closer to the group.
"Who doesn't do what often? What's going on?"
"Matthew kind of threw up all over Jeff" Punk said and I could tell he was trying to stifle a laugh.
The rest of the group was not though, and proceeded to mock the Charismatic Enigma endlessly.
"And you said that you were good with babies. You said that they loved you…and now you're the one covered in spit up. This is just…too funny" Edge sputtered in between laughs.
Jeff gave Edge a death glare and I decided to diffuse the tension.
"Jeff, we're really sorry. It was an accident, we'll get you something vomit free to wear tonight. And Edge, I would shut up before he puts you in a 'Twist of Fate'" I teased Edge, not wanting a brawl to break out.
We continued to all hang out before the show, and my parents and sister finally joined us for the show, all of them decked out in their finest WWE gear. I couldn't help but laugh at how excited they were to come to the show—especially my father, he was the most excited out of everyone. Despite having come to other shows in the past, including Wrestlemania, my father managed to turn into something resembling a teenage girl meeting their celebrity crush. And he kind of was, seeing all of the guys backstage and even hanging out with them, the look of pure joy never left his face once. The show began and we all took our seats backstage, huddled around the TV screen, Matthew in the very middle, on my lap to watch the show and his father. Punk came out during the beginning half of the show, and had an interview with Daniel Bryan before they competed in a three on two handicap match with the Wyatts. The guys were doing well until the match got disqualified, then the Wyatts proceeded to carry Daniel Bryan out of the ring and out of the arena it seemed, leaving my husband writhing in pain in the middle of the ring. To make matters even worse, Punk then got attacked by the Shield, getting a spear. The members of the Shield dragged him into the center of the ring, laying a huge triple powerbomb on him. The collective gasps and cries (from Matthew and my mother) filled the room as the image of Punk hurt left the screen. I wordlessly handed my son to my sister and made my way through the crowd of the backstage area, needing to see if Punk was alright.
I pushed through the throngs of the backstage area, finally finding Punk getting checked out by one of the ringside medics. He saw me and nodded in my direction, so I walked over to him. I silently stood by his side as he got examined and once he was clear and deemed fine, I launched myself into his embrace, relieved he was alright.
"Well maybe I should get beat up a little more often to get a reaction like that" he joked as he placed a sweet kiss on top of my head.
I smacked him on his sweaty tattooed chest, not pleased with his 'humor'. He feigned being hurt, clutching his swatted body.
"Still injured babe."
"You're fine" I retorted with a smile.
"You know I am" he replied with a wink.
"Just get showered, you are all stinky and sticky with sweat."
"Care to join me?" he wondered with a kinked brow, pulling me closer into his very warm body.
"As much as I would love to, I really don't think it would be a good idea considering my parents are here, the other guys in the locker room would not like hearing us have shower sex and I left Rocky with Edge, so rain check."
He let out a laugh and nodded in agreement. We met up after he was clean and dressed, joining our family in the canteen. We all went out to dinner—my family, Frank and Veronica and some of the guys, and it was great as always. The dinner conversations covered a wide variety of topics—from wrestling to babies to music to weddings and the upcoming events we had. The next days were going to be jam-packed—my father's birthday was the next night, then Matthew's first Hanukkah, and finally Thanksgiving at my parents. Punk, Matthew, Rocky and I were going to stay at my parents' home on Long Island, rather than travel there every night for the next three days and my parents were dying to spend more time with their grandson. We finally made it back to my childhood home and after saying our goodnights; we fell into bed, Rocky protecting Matthew's crib on the floor beside us.
"I'm glad that we're back here for a few days. As much as I love living in Chicago and traveling on the road and all, this feels like home too" I told my husband as I curled into his side.
"That's because it is home. It's always going to be home for you. My home is wherever I'm with you and Matthew. Rocky too" he added with a grin.
"Yeah, I feel the same. Gosh my parents are so excited we're here."
"I know, it's sweet that they care so much. And it's also good that we have three crazy few days coming up so they can spend as much time with Matthew and us as possible."
I nodded and my eyelids began to droop from exhaustion.
"Go to bed babe, I'll take the first changing."
I wordlessly leaned up to peck him on the lips before drifting off into a pleasant sleep courtesy of an actual bed and not the back of the tour bus. I woke up to a completely empty room, which was odd as hell. Punk, Matthew and even Rocky were nowhere to be found. I got out of bed, put on my robe and trudged down the stairs to see where my husband and baby were. I was greeted by the sight of my father coming through the front door, Rocky trailing behind him. The black pitbull covered my legs in wet kisses, prompting me to lean down and scratch him behind the ears.
"No ear scratching for me, but a kiss on the cheek will do" my father quipped with a chuckle.
I obliged and gave him a quick hug.
"Happy Birthday Dad. Any word on where Punk and Matthew are?"
"My guess is that they're in the kitchen with your mother. Last time I saw, she was trying to teach the two of them how to bake" he said with a grin.
"That's going to be interesting. I'm going to go check on everyone and see if Mom needs any help."
I walked the short distance to the kitchen and heard the sounds of my husband and son laughing, my mother talking to them about how to make the perfect cake batter.
"So the key to a good cake is to separate the dry and wet ingredients. You want to mix them in separate bowls evenly and then slowly combine them" she instructed, a spatula in hand, still dressed in her pajamas.
Punk was nodding attentively, playing with our son, who was sitting atop the kitchen counter and playing with some plastic cookware.
"When do we get to eat it?" my sister wondered from her seat at the table, nursing a huge cup of coffee.
"After it's done baking and we have breakfast I assume" I said, walking through the kitchen and pouring a cup of tea for myself.
"Well hopefully that's soon—this cake looks delicious and I know that Matthew would just love to have some, wouldn't you buddy?" Punk asked the happy baby in front of him.
"I think he's still a little too young for that. But we can start feeding him solid foods soon, so that's good."
Punk nodded and went back to having our son playfully snack on his hand.
"Seems like he's ready now" he joked with a laugh.
"I still need to pick up a few things for dinner tonight and the next few days. Do you want me to pick up some baby food for you?" my mother asked.
"That would be great, I was thinking cereal, jarred fruit and maybe some baby applesauce. Something that will be easy and hopefully not too messy for his first meal."
"Well if he's anything like his father, it's going to definitely need a big cleanup" Rachel commented, pointing over to where Punk was now half covered in flour, Matthew having gotten into it.
My mother, sister and I immediately started laughing as Punk tried to shake the white substance out of his raven colored hair.
"Hold on, let me get a picture of it first" I said, borrowing my sister's phone to capture the memory.
"Don't make my counter a mess. I just cleaned it" my mother claimed, rushing over to wipe it down again.
"I'll take him, yeah buddy, let's go get dressed for the day while Daddy washes himself off from your cooking, okay?" I asked my son, lifting him out of his father's flour covered embrace.
After lounging around the house for a while, my mother arrived home from the store and considering Matthew was doing his 'I'm hungry' cry, I figured it was as good a time as any to feed him. We bottle fed him a bit first and then decided to venture into solid foods. First came the cereal and after our family collectively held their breaths, waiting for his reaction, he munched on the crunchy food.
"Aww, another milestone out of the way. Babe, get the camera" I told my husband as I looked on with happy tears.
"One step ahead of you" he replied, taking the pictures he knew I wanted.
After the cereal and a bit of fruit, he was done and we couldn't have been prouder.
"That's my good boy, eating solids for the first time. I'm so proud" I said, brushing away a few stray tears.
"Aww Han, don't cry, because it will make me cry" my mother said with a smile.
I nodded and regained my composure.
"Sorry, I seem to do that a lot nowadays."
"That's what happens when you become a parent and your raise a child" my dad said, placing a kiss on my temple as he went to pick up his grandson.
After dinner and a truly beautiful birthday cake for my father, we gave him his presents and he was thrilled by his gifts. We threw in a few gag gifts before unveiling his main present, an entire set of all of his favorite classic horror movies, in a huge box-set loaded with a bunch of cool extras. He was super excited and I saw my husband eyeing his present, he was a big horror movie buff as well.
"Hey Mike, anyway you think we could watch some of these now? Or at least the bonus features?" Punk asked sweetly, genuinely excited.
"Sure, of course we can. Maybe after these four all go to bed" he said with a laugh, pointing at me, my son, my sister and mother.
"I think I'm going to go up to bed now, I have to wake up early to start cooking the meal so…goodnight everyone" my mother said sleepily before leaving.
Rachel left soon after, tired and wanting to call her fiancé before bed. Matthew grew fussy a little while later, so I took him and Rocky upstairs, letting my father bond with my husband a little more. I was in the middle of climbing back into bed when Punk entered our bedroom, trying to be as silent as possible.
"How was the movie marathon?"
"Awesome as hell. Your dad's seen all the classics—and he knows so much about all of it, it's insane really. That box-set was…it was beautiful" he said, lying down beside me.
I chuckled softly and smiled back at him.
"Maybe if you're good, I'll get you one too."
"Oh? Now what would I have to do in order for that to happen?" he asked with a kinked brow, smirking as he pulled me closer into him.
Rather than tell him, I pulled him for a searing kiss, proving my point.
"I can definitely do that" he replied before proving his own point.
The next morning was slightly chaotic, and the kitchen was in complete disarray. My father was banned from the kitchen, Rocky as well, my mother wanting to eliminate extra messes. Punk was instructed to stay with Matthew and my father, which I don't think he had a problem with at all. No, the two men made themselves comfortable in the living room, Rocky on the couch with my father and Matthew fast asleep in the sling attached to Punk as the two horror nerds watched a little more from the box-set.
Rachel and I were the only two allowed within a foot of the kitchen and my mother was delegating out orders for us to follow.
"More like a drill sergeant than a mother" Rach mumbled under her breath, causing me to laugh quietly in her direction.
"What was that?" my mother asked, spinning around to look at us, a long list of tasks to accomplish in her hand.
"Nothing, ma'am. I mean Mom" she replied, catching herself.
My mom quickly narrowed her eyes at her youngest daughter and then continued to rattle off things from the list. It was truly no wonder where I got my obsessive list need and order from.
"So we have to set the table for eleven, get the good plates out—can the guys be trusted around good china? You know what, I'm not going to risk it. I'll just take out the other set. Rachel, James is coming over before dinner, right?"
My sister nodded her head and my mom continued.
"Okay, and Hannah you said that Frank and Veronica were bringing over drinks, ice and any alcohol for tonight and tomorrow, right?"
"Yep they're bringing it over this afternoon. Definitely more than enough."
"Okay, the brisket is in the oven. The latkes are almost done. The salad still needs to be made, and we still have to make the kugels—potato and noodle."
"Rach, make the salad with your sister and I'll finish peeling the potatoes for the latkes."
We went to our respective areas of the kitchen and while my mother was meticulously peeling the vegetables, Rach and I made the salad as we always did when we were kids.
"So Rach, the wedding is getting closer. Are you getting excited?"
She beamed up at me and nodded happily.
"I am, a little nervous of course, but no cold feet at all. I just can't wait to be married to him."
"Aww that's so sweet. You guys are going to have a beautiful wedding and an even better marriage."
"Less talking, more chopping" my mom ordered.
We ignored her and continued making the salad before joining her on finishing up the latkes. Frank and Veronica arrived with drinks and ice as my mother requested, setting them up in the dining room. The guys came over a little after them, toting a million desserts between them.
"Some of these are for tomorrow night as well. None of us are going home for the holiday considering the weather and the crazy airports" Jeff explained, placing the dessert boxes on the counter.
"Well you guys know you're more than welcome to have dinner with us. You guys are family anyway" my mother told the guys with a smile.
With dinner done cooking and the baked desserts cooling by the purchased ones, it was finally time for Hanukkah to begin. My father walked into the dining room, holding Matthew and his new plush dreidel and Hanukkah book. I had insisted that we dress Matthew for the event, so he was outfitted in a pale blue onesie, a menorah on the front.
We all gathered around the menorah on the table, my father about to recite the prayers. He gave everyone in the room that was Jewish a yarmulke and that included a tiny knit one for Matthew. And even though he didn't believe in any religion, Punk was always really good about respecting my family and our culture and traditions. He also agreed that our son could be raised in my faith and that when he was old enough to decide for himself, he could choose to continue it or not.
After the quick back story on the celebration of lights, the candles were lit and dinner was served. Nothing was heard for a bit, except for the clattering of knives and forks on my mother's second best plates, and the occasional exclamation for the food. Once dinner was finished and we all thought we couldn't eat one more bite, dessert was announced and we stuffed ourselves to the brim.
We continued the night with funny stories and our normal ridiculous conversations before everyone succumbed to the rich food-induced exhaustion. Punk had already taken Matthew upstairs a little while ago, while I remained downstairs to chat with our friends that were still awake and help my mother clean up.
"Han, I got it, really. There isn't that much more to do and you look like you're going to fall over. Go up to your husband and baby. We can get the rest tomorrow" my mother told me, gathering up a few more discarded dishes.
I nodded at her words and kissed her goodnight before making quick work of getting upstairs to my room. I gingerly opened the door to my old bedroom, not wanting to wake up the boys, whom I assumed were fast asleep. I was pleasantly surprised to find Punk and Matthew both still awake, my husband rocking slowly in the rocker I used when I was a child. He didn't hear me come in at all; he was more consumed with getting our baby to go to sleep. At first I thought he was reading to our son, he was speaking so quietly—obviously considering he only had an audience of one, and they were almost asleep. I soon realized he was talking to our baby instead.
"Did you enjoy your first Hanukkah? I know your Mommy did. She was so excited to get you all dressed up and take a million pictures. And I know that I tease her for it a lot, but it's really sweet. She just wants to remember ever single moment with you—and I don't blame her. I wouldn't want to miss a second with you."
I didn't move from my place by the door, not wanting to interrupt this father-son moment.
"And I know Grandma and Grandpa really loved having us here for a few days. They love you so much buddy, you're so lucky to have grandparents that really care about you. I'm glad you have at least one set of non-messed up grandparents."
I furrowed my brow for a moment, but continued to remain silent, wondering where Punk was going with this.
"I just wish you could have another set too, you know? I mean Mommy's parents really are the best in the world, but it makes me sad that I can't give you the same. My parents aren't as nice as Mommy's so that's why we don't see them. A good baby like you deserves more though. I'm sorry buddy—I feel like I keep letting you down. You have a father that travels and is on the road more than he's home, only one set of grandparents and you don't deserve that at all. I just wish I could give you more. I really am sorry."
"Stop" I said tearfully, making my way through the darkness over to where they were.
Punk's head tilted upwards until he was looking at me, a sad expression etched into his beautiful features.
"Stop, just stop. Don't you dare continue lessening yourself and making it seem like you're a bad father. If you keeping going I swear to all that is holy I will GTS you myself" I warned.
He gave a dry chuckle in response and positioned Matthew so that he was sleeping even deeper in his chest. Punk continued to rhythmically rock back and forth, silent still.
"Why? It's true—it's all true. He doesn't have me home all the time and when we're together our home is on the back of a tour bus! I mean for Christ's sake, that is no life for a baby. Not our baby—he deserves more and I can't give it to him. He's this perfect little baby and he should have everything, and I can't do that for him. I'm supposed to be the one to give you guys everything—I have to be the provider and I keep coming up short. I've felt like a failure at times in my life, but never more than I do since he's been born. I just want to give him the world, and I can't. So don't tell me that I'm wrong, because I'm not" he spat back, his words laced with sadness rather than angry venom.
"Babe…" I replied, my voice breaking as I walked closer to him.
He shook his head and shut his eyes tightly—he was clearly done. Emotionally and mentally drained. It was obvious that this had been weighing on his mind for some time now.
"I just…I can't. Please just don't say anything else. I don't want to fight with you honey, I'm just mad at myself. It's silly too, because I had such a good day with your family and I was so excited to celebrate with them and be here for a little while to visit. I don't know—I just wish we could do this more."
I nodded my head and went to lift the baby out of my husband's arms. He shook his head at me and continued to rock back and forth, soothing our son in his tattooed forearms.
"I just want to keep holding him. I'm fine babe. Really, I just need to be close to him right now."
My heart continued to break at Punk's words and demeanor. This was not the man I knew—the smart-mouthed, witty as hell, rude guy with the biggest heart out of anyone I had ever known. A man that didn't care about the way others perceived him—he gave no shits. He was fiercely determined and sometimes too smart for his own good, but he was mine and I loved him endlessly for it. No, the man that was sitting before me was a softer, sadder, and more solemn version of my husband. I didn't want to upset him further or press the issue anymore, so I decided to obey his wishes and placed a soft kiss to his temple. He was stiff under my touch and didn't move to deepen the kiss like he normally would. I lifted his chin with my hand for a moment, forcing him to look me in the eye. I saw nothing but bitter sadness—not the usual fire he had. More like a dim glow that looked like it would go out at any moment. I tried to maintain my composure, not wanting to upset him further by crying. I wordlessly kissed him—the kiss almost featherlike because neither one of us was deepening it. A quiet peck, and I squeezed my eyes shut, preventing the tears from falling as I climbed into bed all alone.
The next morning I woke up, half-expecting to find Punk asleep on the rocker, Matthew still in his arms. He wasn't there and I assumed he was already up and ready for the day. I made my way downstairs and was pleasantly surprised to find my husband sitting with my parents at the kitchen table, everyone chatting happily. I walked over to my husband, pecked him on the lips and took Matthew from him.
"So another crazy day today, huh? Thanksgiving—also known as the day in which everyone eats more than humanly possible and then have dessert afterwards" I joked, my parents and husband laughing.
I noticed the absence of most of our group, wondering where they went.
"Where is everybody?" I asked, shifting Matthew so I could feed him his bottle.
"Rach went home for a bit, she and James are coming over right before dinner. Frank, Veronica and the guys are still asleep in the living room. I think they stayed up kind of late last night" my father explained.
I looked over at Punk, raising my eyebrows, and he simply shrugged in response.
"Shall we?" I questioned, getting up from the table to investigate.
With Punk acting as the Watson to my Sherlock, we walked the short distance to the living room and found everyone fast asleep. The living room was in complete disarray—couch cushions, blankets, pillows and bodies strewn everywhere. I have no idea what happened last night, but it looked like they all had a good time. I nudged the nearest person with my foot, and they woke up after turning over a few times.
"Five more minutes Mom, I promise I'll be up soon" the half-awake person said.
Punk unceremoniously ripped the blanket off the body to see that it was Randy, curled up with Matthew's plush dreidel and an empty bottle of wine. Quite a sight really. I looked over at Punk, and his expression mirrored mine—confusion over the humorous situation.
"Guys, wake up!" I called out, not bothering to control my volume.
Immediately the entire group was up, all of them bumping into one another as they tried to tidy up the living room. It was comical as hell and Punk and I couldn't help but laugh at their expressions—it was clear that all of them were a little bit hung over.
"So what'd you guys do last night?" Punk asked innocently.
"Nothing" they all responded at once, trying to straighten then sleep-induced wrinkled clothing.
"Bullshit. You guys got drunk—on Hanukkah of all nights. That's hysterical and unholy. Just get cleaned up and dressed. We all have to help with cooking today, so good luck boys and Veronica. Randy, it's your day to shine" I said with a laugh, patting him on the shoulder as they all filed out of the room.
"Hold on, I think you're forgetting this" my husband called out to the tan guy, throwing the plush toy at him.
"Thanks man, it served as a good pillow last night" he replied with a chuckle before leaving.
"Your friends, babe. Those are your friends" I said as we went back into the kitchen to help my mother.
"They're yours too—we have shared custody over them, remember?"
I laughed and nodded as I placed Matthew in his carrier. I rolled up the sleeves on my pajamas, intent on helping my mother. She had woken up early this morning to get the turkey and huge side dishes started; fortunately, most of the main course was either cooking or in the process of being finished up.
"What do you want us to do Mom?"
"The pies—that would be great. Rach said that she's making the pumpkin ones over at her house and she's going to bring them over later. So get the guys to help you with the apple ones."
I was in the process of assembling all the ingredients when the rest of the gang filed into the room, just about all of them rubbing their eyes and wincing at the bright lights of the kitchen.
"Ugh, it's so damn bright in here. Can't we do this at like nighttime?" Jeff wondered, the rest of the gang agreeing.
"Uh, no. We're making pies for dinner and too bad for all of you that you guys drank yourselves silly. Now, pull up a seat and get ready to peel apples and potatoes until your fingers bleed" I said cheerily, Punk smirking beside me.
The two biggest dishes left to make were the apple pies—my specialty and the copious amounts of mashed potatoes that everyone died for every year. Considering we had more "able" bodies this year, everyone was put to work. Half of our group was on potato patrol while the other was helping me with the pie. I knew that it was only a matter of time before someone accidently cut themselves with the kitchen utensils.
"So Edge, where's Beth this year?" Randy asked the blonde beside him.
Edge looked up from his workspace where he was intently focused on ridding the brown vegetable of its skin.
"Huh? Oh, Beth, right. She went to go be with her family this year. I was going to go with her, but then she decided to leave earlier than she had planned and the weather kind of derailed all of us."
"That sucks, it would have been your first real holiday with her and her family" Jeff said, giving the Canadian a sad smile.
"It's fine, I'll see her family for Christmas. We're going to have a great time here, so I'm not really worried" he replied with a grin.
While the boys chatted about sports and stuff that didn't interest me at all, I struck up a conversation with Veronica.
"So V, what's the plan now that you guys are done with the tour?"
"I think after we get settled back into life at home and all, we'll get bored and need a change of scenery again" she said with a laugh.
"Any plans on…you know…expanding the family a little bit?"
Her eyes went wide in horror and I couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. I momentarily stopped putting together the pie filling, and covered her hand with mine.
"Sorry, should have known. Who knows, maybe you guys will get a pet or something?"
"Yeah maybe, I was planning on bringing it up to Frank and maybe by Christmas, we would have a little furball of our own."
"I was just hoping you would say you guys were working on the baby thing, because then Matthew could have a best friend—like we are."
Veronica shook her head, and smiled softly.
"Nah, that's not what we want. And plus, I'm already Matthew's best friend, aren't I?" she asked the awake baby beside her, shaking his little hand in hers.
"What did I hear about Matthew's best friend? We all know that I am" Frank declared from his end of the table.
"Bullshit. I am his godfather and BFF, so get over it" Jeff bragged to the group with a haughty smile.
"Here we go again" I heard Punk mumble from his spot.
I shot him an apologetic smile and he nodded back at me.
"Really, are you sure? Because I remember that he threw up on you—some best friend you are" Randy quipped.
"He likes me best guys, face it" Edge stated, not even looking up from his position peeling potatoes.
"Guys, are we really doing this—again?" my husband asked, letting out a huff in annoyance.
The entire table nodded their heads. I thought it was comical that they all believed that our son liked them best. Clearly they were delusional, must be from their Hanukkah Hangover.
"I am that baby's best friend, end of discussion. I am his mother, so that makes me better than all of you. Even better than Punk" I told everyone, flashing them all a wide grin.
"Yeah she's got us on that one. Lucky girl" Randy said with a chuckle.
"Luck's for losers Randal" Punk responded with a knowing smile.
"And it clearly didn't help any of you" I chided as I finished up with my pie.
I looked around at the rest of the table and their handiwork was sad. Sad and scary.
"Seriously guys, that's the best you could all do?" I asked them, gesturing to their joint sad excuse for a dessert.
"What? I thought it was pretty good" Veronica stated, clearly unconvinced it was bad.
"Yeah if someone just sat on it. It's all squished and not pie-looking at all" Punk said, laughing at the baking effort of Veronica and Jeff.
Thankfully, Randy and I each made our own pies, and Edge, Frank and Punk were nowhere near the baked goods—they could cook for the life of them, hence why they were on peeling duty. As I loaded the good desserts into the oven, the other "pastry chef" as we had been dubbed from the group—Randy went over to aid the others with their treat. After multiple of being cooped up in the kitchen with all of our crazy friends, dinner was finally done and it was time to enjoy Thanksgiving. Everyone went to change into nicer outfits, all of their clothes covered in various ingredients from our baking time. Punk and I were already changed, and we were just finishing up getting the baby ready.
"Gosh, how is it possible for him to be this cute? I just don't get it" I gushed proudly, admiring the onesie I picked out for today.
"Because he looks like his mother" Punk said matter-of-factly, kissing Matthew as he picked him up to take downstairs.
I smiled at my husband's words—our son really did look adorable, festive too. He was dressed in a sweet little onesie inscribed with the words 'Gobble, Gobble' on it, a cute picture of turkey beneath it.
Rachel and her fiancé James had arrived at the house, and it was announced by my mother that Thanksgiving could officially begin. We all sat down to dinner, famished and ready to taste the fruits of all of our hard labor. And the cooking wasn't even the hardest part—getting everyone to focus and not try to kill each other or make snide comments was the worst. I swear, the baby acted better than they all did sometimes. After dinner, it was time for dessert and all the guys were really excited to sample their hard-work.
"Gosh, I'm so excited for this pie, it's sad really" Jeff said with a chuckle, earning one from the rest of the table.
I set down all the treats on the table and some of the guys looked at me dumbly.
"What the heck is that?" Edge wondered, pointing to the least fortunate looking dessert.
"That would be the pie of Veronica and Jeff—the ones next to it are mine and Randy's. Eat up everyone" I announced, grinning at my best friend and the godfather of my son.
"I'm gonna pass on that one—so I don't pass out. But bring on the apple pie Randal made, oh and some of Rach's pumpkin one too" Edge said, quickly filling his plate.
After dessert, we all sat down around the TV to watch the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade that we had to record because we were all busy in the kitchen. A few hours later and I could see my husband falling asleep in the arm chair beside me, so I decided to call it a night. I woke him up gingerly and then quietly lifted Matthew out of Frank's arms, both of us making our way upstairs and to bed. We got changed into less formal and more comfortable clothes before I carefully placed our sleeping son into his crib. Punk was already in bed, looking half-asleep. I silently got into bed myself, and it didn't take long before I felt his arms pull me close into his body. I smiled at the contact and began to get comfortable and settled.
"Today was a good day, huh baby?" he whispered against my shoulder and I shuddered against the feel of his warm breath on my bare shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm glad all the guys were here. They're insane as hell but it was good to have them with us. And I know my parents loved celebrating their grandson's first Thanksgiving. It was perfect really."
"I agree, hectic but great. Just like everything else in our life."
I shifted until I was facing my groggy husband. His eyes were closed and his breathing was becoming more and more shallow, but I knew he wasn't asleep yet.
"Punk?"
"Mhmm?"
"I'm sorry about last night—I'm sorry this is hard for you. Just know that you're not a failure and we know you're doing your best. We love you so much, okay?"
He opened his eyes at the sound of this and I couldn't help but get lost in his green orbs.
"I know babe, I know. I just got caught up in all of it" he admitted, throwing his arm over my middle and pulling me even closer to him.
"It's okay honey, it's hard for me too. I know it's worse on you though—just know I'm here, okay? Always." I told him as I pecked him quickly.
He smiled and I knew simply from the way his entire body relaxed that he was better,
"Well at least we got to spend a few days in the real world and not with all of the craziness. Back to our insane reality soon" he said, a hint of sadness laced with his words.
"Yeah, but we'll be back here soon enough. Don't worry."
Punk furrowed his brow at me, causing lines to form on his forehead.
"What are we coming back here for?"
I smiled at him knowingly and kissed him before divulging it in one word.
"Christmas."