So much for focusing on writing and reading this summer...I've been an epic fail at both...FINALLY got some time to myself this evening and decided to dust off the laptop (it's been off for the bulk of the summer)...I hope what I threw together is some kind of entertaining for someone...looking for some inspiration of where to go from here, haven't thought too much about it, but if you have an idea hit me with a PM...I almost never do that kind of thing, but a lot of people are doing it lately, might as well give it a try...thanks guys :)

Melissa closed her eyes taking a series of deep breaths as she focused on getting through the latest series of contractions. The pain should've been getting to her, but in all honesty the labor pain was nothing compared to the pain in her chest. She should've been happy that in a few short hours she'd have another wonderful human being calling her mom, but she couldn't get past what she'd done to Phil.

Delivering a baby had brought upon a sense of clarity as she tried to focus on anything but the pain realizing that her pregnancy paranoia had her assuming that Phil was leaving and she'd never talked to him to find out what his plans were. Melissa had tried to call Phil when she arrived at the hospital, but he hadn't answered which made her think that he was done with her antics. Taking off was the last straw for him and she'd been successful at getting the one thing she didn't want: she'd be alone.

The nurse came in to check on Melissa's vitals and explained that Dr. Levine was in the next room scrubbing up and they'd begin the delivery process in the next twenty minutes. She nodded before laying back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling, taking a few more deep breaths to prepare her for the lonely feelings to come, but they were interrupted as another contraction set in causing a team of nurses and Dr. Levine to respond and for Baby Ryan to make his arrival into the world.

Punk raced down the hall of the maternity ward before sliding to a quick stop at the front desk where he was all too anxious to find out details. Despite the agony that Melissa had put him through in the last 24 hours, he was willing to put his feelings aside to witness the birth of his son.

Upon getting the information, he was once again on the run down the hallway where he stopped outside the room. A nurse gave him a set of scrubs to change into and he ran into the room.

"Alright Melissa, you're doing fabulous; a few more pushes and we'll have a new baby." Punk could see Melissa was struggling as she gripped the bed railings shrugging off the nurses that tried to help. Despite the rift between them, he couldn't help but smirk at how stubborn she was; just one of the many things that hadn't changed about her.

Punk moved to stand by her bedside taking her hand in his, but she tore it away. Rather then letting it get to him, his own stubborn streak kicked in causing him to grab her hand again and grip it tighter. She looked at him to protest his assistance before catching a glimpse of the familiar tattoos adorning his hand and arm; her eyes began to water and she wanted to say something to him to show her gratitude, but all she could think about was the pressure on her hips, a reminder that their son was ready to come out.

Punk noticed that she was distracted and gave her a simple wink before squeezing her hand. He pushed some hair out of her face while taking a second to admire how beautiful she was, "Come on Mel, you can do this; he's almost here…"

"You're not going to leave are you?" Melissa said between gasping breaths.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

Ryan Scott Brooks was born at 11:30AM and weighed 8lbs, 6oz; Punk was enamored by him the minute he was placed on Melissa's chest and for the first time in a long time he felt a legit sense of happiness.

Despite all the accomplishments in his life and all the people he'd loved, he was 100% sure nothing compared to the moment he first held his son in his arms; there was nothing that could measure up to how he felt at that moment, a high that no amount of endorphins or Wrestlemania moments could ever reproduce. Vince McMahon could've showed up at that moment with a multi-million dollar contract and he would've said no without thinking twice; he was meant to be a father and he was determined to be the best one possible.

Melissa's eyes fluttered open and she immediately sat up to check on Ryan and began to smile as she watched Phil rock him while singing a familiar tune.

"Do you remember when you were young and you wanted to set the world on fire? I was a teenage anarchist, but then the scene got too rigid. It was a mob mentality, they set their rifle sights on me."

Melissa couldn't help but laugh at Phil singing none other then Against Me to their son who was only a few hours old, "Against Me, really? Shouldn't you be singing lullabies?"

"No sissy lullabies for this guy, he's going to learn what good music is at a young age. Granted Brooke's taste in music didn't turn out so bad, but I'm pretty sure I caught her singing a Taylor Swift song the other day."

"We all have to have our guilty pleasures; if I recall you used to sing the Dawson's Creek theme all the time."

"That was only because someone made me watch endless hours of that ridiculous show."

"Oh hush, you totally had a man crush on Pacey!"

"What can I say, I related to him being a bad ass but still having a sensitive side." Melissa laughed again as Punk got up to place Ryan back in his bassinet. For a moment they both forgot about the tension between them, but as Punk sat down beside her it all came back.

Melissa swallowed the lump in her throat; she knew she had some explaining to do, but she wasn't sure what to say. A simple apology just didn't seem like enough, but at the same time it seemed like her explanation was nothing more then an excuse.

Punk noticed the look on Melissa's face and knew she wanted to say something, but as the minutes of silence ticked by, it felt like hours passing.

"Alright, so there's clearly an elephant in the room and maybe you don't have one, but I feel like you owe me an explanation. Why did you leave? What did I do that was so wrong that you felt the need to run without talking to me, and to make matters worse you took our son with you. I should've been here with you the whole time today; I told you from the beginning of all this that I'd be there for you through everything and you took that opportunity away. Why did you do it Mel?"

"You deserve answers, but I just can't…" Melissa tried her hardest to hold in her emotions, but as the tears began to fall she found it was pointless to keep a wall up. Punk knew her better then anyone else and he deserved to know what was going through her head.

"I overheard your phone call with Vince and convinced myself that you were going back. I should've talked to you about it, but between Brooke, work and the pregnancy I convinced myself that you had made up your mind and you were going back to wrestling. It made perfect sense seeing I couldn't keep you the first time, why would two kids make a difference? Wrestling is your first love; it always has been and I've accepted that it always will be."

Punk pursed his lips together as he felt a sense of anger course through his veins. Melissa had just told him why she'd run away and jeopardized their future and all it told him was that she didn't know him at all. Maybe in the past he would've jumped at Vince's offer, but now was a different time, he was a different man. He had two kids that he would give up his life for and a woman that he thought loved him unconditionally, but her words had stung; maybe she wasn't the one for him after all.

Melissa played with the hospital bracelet around her wrist hoping he'd say something, maybe he'd understand where she was coming from and find a way to forgive her, but instead she watched as he got up and walked away. She waited a few minutes hoping he just needed a minute and he'd come back as the man that loved and adored her, worshiping the ground she walked upon, but he didn't. She wasn't sure what she'd said, or if there was anything she could do to bring forth forgiveness, but as Ryan began to cry she realized she had to hold herself together for her son, daughter and herself.

Sorry, but I couldn't take such a big thing as her bailing without warning and make it better with a baby...babies aren't Band-Aids :)Thanks for reading, please reply if you can!

Credit to Dawson's Creek, that terribly catchy theme song by Paula Cole and Against Me! for one of my favorite jams "Teenage Anarchist"...enjoy!