Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, other than Christabel.
Rated: M
Warning(s): Slash, Mpreg, Violence, Domestic Violence, Murder, etc.

"I want you to wait in the car, mi hermosa." Hours had passed and now Alberto leaned over to his husband, preparing him to meet his new father-in-law. "Wait for me to tell you that it is safe for you to come out, si?"

"Yes." Ricardo turned to look over the little baby in the car seat beside him. "I will wait for you to tell me to come out." And then, he sniffled softly. "What if he doesn't like me, Alberto?"

"Mi hermosa, how could he not like you? You are perfection! And you have given him his grandbaby! What more could he ask for? Nothing. Cut him some slack and do not think him so selfish, okay?" Alberto asked.

Ricardo dried the tears that had started to bud in his eyes. "If that is what you say, then I have little choice then to believe you. I have faith that you would not lead me astray, mi amor."

Alberto smiled at the term of endearment. "Do not worry." He uttered those same three words one last time, before he kissed Ricardo's full lips once and slid out of the car to greet his father.

Carefully, Ricardo peeled Christabel's tiny body out of the car seat and held her close to his chest. All the while, his eyes followed his husband as he made his way across the front yard and embraced the man that was waiting on the front porch of the expensive estate. Dos Caras embraced his son warmly and it soon became apparent that the little tiff that they had had about Ricardo earlier had smoothed over. They were right as rain.

Alberto kissed his father on each cheek, before he allowed his father to look him over. Once he saw that he was in good health, he would, of course, ask what woman had kept his son so well fed. It was as if Ricardo could read lips, because at that exact moment, Alberto inclined his head toward the car. He would, no doubt, have to explain that this woman was not actually a woman, but a man. And that man had now had their last name and his heir.

When Alberto turned fully toward the car and waved a hand in that direction, Ricardo knew that this was the time to act. With Christabel all but plastered to his chest, he carefully slid out of the car and shut the door with his hip. Alberto's mother gasped, putting a hand over her mouth in an attempt to hide her shock and apparent disdain. But Dos Caras put a hand on her shoulder to calm her. He had promised his son that Ricardo would have one chance.

Ricardo stared into the eyes of his father and law, before he bowed his head to look down at the baby in his arms. "What is your name, son?" The older man asked.

"Ricardo Rodriguez… well, actually, I mean Ricardo del Rio, sir." He wasn't used to introducing himself as a married man. His heart swelled at the very idea of it.

"He doesn't even know his own name." Alberto's mother chuckled behind her dainty hand.

Ricardo's heart sank. "Maybe this was a mistake…"

He started to turn around and head back to the car. "No, Ricardo!" Alberto's hand hooked around his shoulder and he froze. "We've come too far to back down now. Mother!" He exclaimed harshly.

His mother swallowed hard and looked as if she had been struck across the face. "How dare you speak to me in such a manner, Alberto! We raised you better than that!"

"You also taught me to respect those that I love. You love me, I love Ricardo. What you have just done has hurt Ricardo, and therefore, it has disrespected me." Alberto hissed.

"Dear heart," she turned to her husband. "Talk some sense into your son. This is foolish business."

Dos Caras turned to her, his face pained. "You cannot pretend like his words don't mean something."

"I will not have such filth in my household!" She screamed, waving her hand at Ricardo wildly.

Ricardo looked like he was about to be sick. Alberto held him lovingly. "If you won't have him, you won't have me."

"Don't be foolish, Alberto." His mother attempted to placate him with a soft, gentle smile. "You know that you are always welcome at our table. You're our son."

Alberto narrowed his eyes at her. "I would much rather be struck down by a truck then listen to you belittle my family at the family dinner table! They have your blood in them too! We're all related! We're all family!"

Dos looked around, noticing that their screaming match had started to attract the eyes of the neighbors. It was best to keep this out of the tabloids. "Come inside and sit down. I'll warm us something to drink."

Alberto's mother seemed less-than-thrilled with her husband's idea. As soon as the two men went inside, she yanked him aside and spoke to him in harsh, low tones. This was her house. This was where she had raised her two boys to become brilliant men who would one day do brilliant things. They would save countless lives, solve the endless mysteries of time, or even wrestle for thousands of fans like their father. This was not in that plan.

But it was also obvious that Dos Caras was a man of his word. When he had been on the phone with Alberto, he had heard how desperate he was. When Alberto had recounted how the man known as Sheamus and the brawler known as Wade Barrett had assaulted Ricardo and left him to die, he could hear the pain in his boy's voice. If he could have, he would have taken care of those monsters for his eldest son. But instead, he had to face them on his own.

Despite how hard she had tried to raise them into the perfect men, Alberto just wasn't as close to his mother as he was to his father. He felt that he could tell his father all of these things, while his mother infuriated him to the point where he just didn't care whether she liked him or not. They would come and live with them for two weeks time and she could learn to live with it, no matter how far she had sunk into her ways.

Hurt by her husband's unbending position on this matter, she rushed inside and ran upstairs. If she couldn't get rid of the situation, then she could separate herself from it. "I'm sorry about her. She's just a little emotional."

"Maybe it would have been better if we hadn't come at all…" Ricardo trailed off warily.

Alberto stroked his back comfortingly. Dos shook his head. "She would have found out some way, somehow. It isn't that she doesn't like you, it is that she is rather close minded when it comes to marital etiquette."

"As in, she thinks that the marriage between us should be null and void because we are two men?" Ricardo asked, his eyes wide with disbelief. How could a mother deny her own son such a basic human right?

"Yes. And while I cannot say that I'm thrilled with your union, I can assure you my views aren't that extreme."

Ricardo bit his bottom lip. "What are your views, then, if I may ask?"

Dos Caras nodded. "You shouldn't be afraid to ask me anything, son." Ricardo's heart warmed at the sentiment. "It is not a traditional union and your firstborn is not a son… but we can work around that, I suppose."

Alberto smiled. "Thank you, father."

"I refuse to lose my son because of my stupidity. And I do not want to chance not being able to see my grandchild."

Ricardo looked up hesitantly. Christabel had just started to awaken and she cooed softly. "Her name is Christabel."

"A truly beautiful name." Dos Caras assured them. "May I hold her?"

Ricardo was silent for a moment, before he nodded. "Yes."

Carefully, he handed the baby over to his father-in-law. The baby let out a little cry, but Ricardo shushed her softly. Her brown eyes flickered between Ricardo and Dos Caras, before she smiled brightly and let out a cheerful shout. Dos looked started at first. For all Ricardo knew, this was his first interaction with a baby in close to twenty years. But Ricardo could also see the almost instantaneous bond that had formed between grandfather and granddaughter.

He stared at her in absolute amazement. Alberto touched a hand to his husband's shoulder and Ricardo leaned over, laying his head on the older man's shoulder. It was clear that this was what they had wanted. If Dos Caras fell in love with Christabel, then Alberto was certain that the love for Ricardo would follow soon after. And as he watched his father stroke her soft brown hair away from her little face, he smiled.

"She's beautiful…" he trailed off in awe. And they knew that they had him hook, line, and sinker.

Randy awoke to find himself alone. He lay on his stomach, with wires criss-crossing all over his back. He couldn't see his wounds, which he was thankful for. From the splitting pain in his shoulder, he knew that he had been shot there at least once. But there was also a fire in his lower back. No matter how he turned, he couldn't alleviate it at all. And he didn't want to move too much, because that would set his heart monitor off and he would be bombarded by nurses.

It took a minute for it to truly sink in that he was alone. John wasn't there with him. Fear twisted his stomach into knots as he wondered about what could have happened to his boyfriend. He didn't hear much about his condition. He knew that he had been shot because he had heard it before he blacked out, but there hadn't been a damn thing that he could have done about it. He was blinded by the pain in his upper torso and could barely move.

Blindly, he reached out and took hold of his morphine pump. Relief flooded him and he almost fell back into the blissful oblivion that was his dreamland. But he couldn't do that. He needed to find out about John, make sure that he was okay. So he leaned over and hit the call button, summoning the nurse. She came in a few minutes later, a warm smile on her face when she noted that he was awake.

"What can I do for you, sir?" She asked kindly.

"I need to… I need to know about the condition of my boyfriend. He was shot and I don't… I don't know where he is." Randy swallowed hard. "His name is John… John Cena."

"Oh, Mr. Cena?" She seemed pleasantly surprised. "Mr. Cena is very well. He was shot in the knee, but we were able to remove the bullet and he is healing well. He's been asking about you."

Randy's eyes widened. His surprise was only slightly clouded by the pain that still lingered in his handsome blue eyes. "He has? What did you… What did you tell him?"

"We told him that all of the bullets had been removed from your body, but it was still touch-and-go because you hadn't regained consciousness. I can arrange for him to be brought down here if you want to see him for yourself."

"You would do that for me?" Randy asked, his eyes starting to get blurry with sleep.

"Yeah." The nurse nodded. "Why don't you sleep now, because I can tell that you're tired, and when you awake, he'll be here. How does that sound?"

Randy nodded. A small smile lit up his features, before he allowed his eyes to fall closed. "It sounds great."