"Are you sure it's a good idea?"
"I'm sure it'll be ok Stephanie," Lita said, "My cousin has baby-sat for years and years, Tristan will be in good hands at the reception, I swear to God."
Stephanie gave another worried look, "I guess that would be ok, I've just never left her with anyone before that she didn't know already."
"Steph, it'll be fine," Chris said, squeezing her hand, "I'll be worried right along with you."
She smiled at him, "Yeah, ok, but only until the reception is over, then we go immediately and get her."
Chris nodded, "That's a deal."
"Now that, that's settled," Lita said, "I really want to thank you both for being in my wedding. It means so much for being here for me, and oh my God, I'm getting misty!"
Chris just hugged Lita and laughed as he glanced over at Stephanie. Stephanie had been asked about a month ago to be one of the bridesmaids for the wedding. Stephanie had been so touched by the invitation, she and Lita had started hugging and jumping up and down. Since she had moved in with Chris and revealed Tristan as Chris's daughter, her, Lita, and Trish had become friends, which was nice, considering she didn't really have a lot of friends.
Stephanie smiled as Chris hugged Lita, "It's ok Lita, we're really happy to be here. It's always great to see two people so in love get married."
"Yeah, and you're a saint for marrying Matt," Chris laughed as Lita pulled away and hit him in the shoulder.
"That's my soon-to-be husband you are talking about!"
"Yeah, but he's not your husband yet," Chris pointed out, "So I thought I'd get a few insults in there before you get hitched so you can't beat me up."
"Can you keep him in line Stephanie?" Lita asked, glancing over at Stephanie.
"I haven't been able to so far, but there is one person who can," Stephanie said knowingly.
"Where is she?" Lita asked.
"She's over with her Uncle Shane," Stephanie said, looking over to see Shane holding Tristan as he talked to Trish.
"I'm so glad he could make it," Lita said, "It wouldn't have been the same without Shaners."
"He wouldn't have missed this for the world," Stephanie said, "He made me promise to keep him a secret until he got here. I didn't even tell Chris."
"I'm hurt by that Stephanie, I thought that we were best friends."
"Well, I told Tristan, I can't help it if she didn't want to tell you."
"So is Victoria coming tomorrow morning?" Lita asked as she looked to Chris.
Stephanie remained silent then and just looked around the room, not exactly wanting to hear Chris gush about Victoria...again. Her eyes settled on Tristan, who was leaning on Shane happily. She smiled a sweet smile as she watched her daughter's face as she watched various people around the room. She wasn't even aware that she was being watched at the moment. And not even by one person, but more like two.
Chris watched as Lita went to find Matt and then turned his attention across the table. He had been having a lot of fun at this rehearsal dinner and hoped that Stephanie was too. It was more like a huge party than anything else, since everyone who was coming to the wedding was invited, not just the people in the ceremony. She was sitting there, looking over at something and he turned his head slightly to follow her gaze. His eyes fell on Tristan who was squirming in Shane's arms as Trish let her grab her finger and smiled. Chris turned his look back to Stephanie and saw the sweetest smile he had ever seen on her face as she watched Tristan.
"You look beautiful tonight," Chris said as he leaned over the table, "I think that nine hours in a car really suits you."
She giggled and turned her eyes to him, "Yeah right, it's a miracle that I even look coherent right now. After Tristan's hour-long cry session I thought my hair would permanently turn white."
"Yeah, see, she only cries and acts obnoxious when she's around us and when she's around other people she's a perfect little angel," Chris said with a smile.
"That's true," Stephanie nodded, "Look at her over there being a little charmer."
They both turned to look at Tristan who was giving smiles for everyone who came over to visit with her. She had quite the crowd gathering around her and Chris just laughed because he knew that Tristan was just eating this up. One thing they were sure that she loved was the fact that she would probably be the center of attention anywhere they went. She was a smart little girl, which was probably why she chose to scream and cry her head off when only Chris and Stephanie were around.
"Everyone loves her," Chris whispered.
Stephanie looked over at him and nodded in agreement. She stared into Chris's eyes and saw a different kind of light in them. She stared deeply at him, trying to figure out whatever mystery he was holding behind his eyes. He reached over to lay his hand on top of hers across the table. She looked down at their hands and almost turned her hand over to come palm to palm with him and interlace their fingers in an intimate hand-holding gesture. Before she got the chance, Kurt Angle plopped himself down on the chair next to her and Stephanie pulled her hand away hastily, not catching the annoyed look Chris sent Kurt's way.
"Hey Steph," Kurt said brightly.
"Hi Kurt," Stephanie said politely as she looked over to him. She knew that Kurt had always had a soft spot for her. She did like him, but she always thought that his intentions were less than honorable when it came to her.
"You look really great tonight," he said smiling widely.
"Thank you."
"I just saw your daughter over there, she's really cute."
"Yeah, I know," Stephanie said, then looked over at Chris who was staring darkly at the two of them. Seeing an opportunity to do some potential damage to Chris, she smiled coolly over at Kurt, "She just loves being the center of attention."
"She looks like you, you're both beautiful." Stephanie laughed airily. That line was so cheesy, she almost wanted to hand him some wine. But she just blushed slightly.
"That's so sweet of you to say," Stephanie giggled, "It's not everyday that you get such a nice compliment from a great guy."
Now it was Kurt's turn to laugh, "Do you want to dance with me?"
"Yeah, sure," Stephanie responded as she let him help her up. She gave Chris a little smile as Kurt led her by the arm out onto the makeshift dance floor that they had constructed in the middle of the restaurant that Matt and Lita had rented out for the rehearsal dinner.
Chris sat back and watched as Stephanie wrapped her arms around Kurt's neck. Kurt pulled her in closer to his body, obviously surprising Stephanie by the look on her face. All Chris needed was one sign of her distress and he was ready to rip Kurt from her arms and save her. But she didn't seem to mind after a second as she whispered something into his ear, causing him to grin. Chris looked down and wished that Victoria could've come to this instead of flying in tomorrow morning. She had, had a dentist appointment that she couldn't miss.
"Chris, I think someone misses their daddy."
Chris looked up to see Shane holding Tristan who was starting to whimper. Obviously she was getting cranky and he looked at his watch. It was about the time that she ate dinner and went to bed. He took Tristan from Shane's arms and she calmed down a little as she looked up at him. He took a bottle out of her bag, which had been sitting on the table. She reached her hands out towards it as soon as she saw it and he shifted her in his arms and held the bottle for her as she started eating.
"Eat up beautiful," Chris said, not even noticing that Shane had sat down next to him.
"So how's Stephanie?"
Chris looked over at Shane, "She's fine, why wouldn't she be?"
"Well, the divorce and everything. I know that it was finalized recently. I didn't want to ask her about it in case it was a sensitive subject. I don't really think it is though..." Shane gave Chris a lingering glance.
"She doesn't really like talking about it, but overall, she's doing fine. I think that Tristan just makes it seem easier than it is."
"Yeah, I'm sure having her does," Shane answered, "What about you and Stephanie? The living arrangements going alright?"
"Great, fine, we're both very happy," said Chris, a little bit suspiciously as he regarded Shane. It seemed like he was suffering from an interrogation, but that couldn't be it.
"Look, I know my sister," Shane said, "And, please just be careful with her. She's...not as strong as she makes herself out to be, and I don't want her to get shot down again. I mean, Hunter, he slept with someone else and God, how did that make Stephanie feel, I just don't want her to go through that again."
"Shane, we're not dating," Chris told him, his brow furrowing.
"Chris, don't be blind," Shane responded, shaking his head a little, "Have you ever really seen Stephanie? She likes you Chris, more than just as Tristan's father. I've known Stephanie forever, and she doesn't go around sleeping with people who she doesn't have feelings for."
"Shane, she was upset."
"That may be, but there must've been something inside her that made her want you."
"I'm with Victoria," Chris said, "I don't think people seem to get that. They all seem to think that I'm dating Stephanie. She's just my friend. And Stephanie and I were together over a year ago, it's a moot point."
"I know you're with Victoria, that's why I'm telling you what I'm telling you. Just be careful with Stephanie, she doesn't deserve more hurt alright."
"Whatever Shane, I don't see what you all are thinking you see though. Stephanie and I are just friends. Granted, yes, we have a daughter together and that links us for the rest of our lives, but that doesn't mean that we're together. We're just friends."
"Ok, I just don't see it that way, and from what I can tell, nobody else buys it either."
"Well, they're going to have to 'buy it' because I think I'm falling in love with Victoria. I'm sorry that you all think you see something that doesn't exist, but that's what it is, it doesn't exist."
"Sorry I brought it up then," Shane said, getting up, "Bye Tristan, be a good girl for Mommy and Daddy."
Shane left then and Chris set his jaw. He was getting pretty tired of all this crap with people thinking that he and Stephanie were secretly in love with each other. He stared at Stephanie again and she was giggling over something Kurt had just told her. He scowled. She was looking fine with Kurt, not looking like she was hung up on him. He looked down at Tristan who had finished her bottle. He burped her and then put her in her carrier, watching her yawn as he started rocking it.
"Is my little baby tired?" Stephanie said as she walked up to the duo.
"Hey, having fun over there?" Chris asked, part curious, part demanding.
"Yeah, it was fun," she said as she rubbed Tristan's stomach, "Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, it's probably better if we want Trist to get to sleep," he said, "I guess our partying days are over huh?"
She sat down, "Yeah, I guess they are. You can stay if you want to, I can take the car back and I'm sure you can find a ride with someone. I know that you like to you know, hang out with people and stuff."
"Nah, I'm fine, we'll go back to the hotel, might as well get a good night's rest anyways, don't want to fall asleep during the wedding."
"Ok, it's just I don't want you to resent Tristan because you can't hang out with your friends anymore and have a good time."
"I don't," he reassured her.
"Do you ever...wish that you didn't have her, so you could, you know, go out and do all the stuff you used to do...I mean, you have so much responsibility now, and you can't exactly go out there and have fun anymore, and I just really don't want you to resent her, or me, because I let this happen."
"Hey, hey," he said, putting his hand on her arm, stopping her monologue, "I don't resent or regret anything. And YOU let this happen, if I remember correctly, we both let this happen. Sure, I liked partying and having a good time and staying out until the wee hours of the morning, but I like putting her to bed, I like waking up to her, so let's go back to the hotel. She'll probably fall asleep in the car."
Stephanie smiled and nodded. She was glad that she got that cleared up. She just didn't want to have to drag Chris away from anything that he really wanted to do. He got up and she followed suit as they walked around saying goodbye to everyone and telling them they'd see them all tomorrow. They hugged Lita and congratulated her and Matt as they got Tristan and her things and brought them out to the car. Tristan ended up falling asleep in her car-seat on the trip to the hotel and Chris gingerly carried her upstairs to their room. He changed her diaper, causing her to wake up and start crying. He put her pajamas on and then started walking her around the room.
"Come on sweetie, where's the cute little girl that everyone saw tonight," he whispered as he kept walking around. Tristan kept wailing loudly and Chris winced as she cried loudly right into his ear, "Shh, shh sweetie, it'll be alright."
"I think she's starting to teethe," Stephanie said as she walked out of the bathroom in her pajamas and her hair pulled back.
"But she's only four months old."
"They say that teething can start this early even if she doesn't have any teeth," Stephanie said, "But I could be wrong."
"Yeah, or maybe my little girl is just mad that she was woken up from a good dream," Chris said, "Come on sweetie, let's try and go back to sleep."
After a few more minutes of crying, Tristan finally fell asleep and Chris set her down in her crib. He rubbed her stomach a little and kissed her goodnight. She clenched and unclenched her hands a little and snuffled. Stephanie came over and kissed her goodnight as well. Then they both walked into the other room and turned on the television, finding a decent movie on one of the channels.
"Tonight was fun," Stephanie said, "Don't you think?"
"Yeah," he answered, "So what's going on with Kurt?"
"What do you mean," she asked.
"Well, I just saw you guys dancing and laughing and stuff and thought that there might be something there," he said nonchalantly.
She laughed, "Chris, do you really think that there is something going on with Kurt and me just because we danced?"
"Well, I know he's had a crush on you since forever, and I just wondered. I bet it killed him to find out that we had a kid together."
She shoved him lightly as she laughed, "Chris, that's a terrible thing to say!"
He laughed too and said, "It's the truth, that man has wanted in your pants since forever."
"You don't think I know, but I don't just let anyone sleep with me after all," she said, giving him a knowing smirk, "It takes a special guy to get me in bed."
"Hmm, so I'm part of the elusive club huh?" He nodded his head as if he were proud of this fact, and in a strange way, he was.
"Of course, and you're the only one who got me pregnant," she said, then turned serious for a moment, "I'm really happy for Matt and Lita."
"Me too, I think its about time they got married though. But yeah, I'm really happy for them too."
"Kind of makes me want to get married again," she told him, "Maybe in the future I'll get another wedding."
Chris stared at her and grabbed her hand, "I would've married you, you know."
She swung her head to look at him, "What do you mean by that?"
He shrugged, "When I told you I loved you, God, how long ago was that, like 10 months ago or something, I really meant it. I wanted to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you. You didn't feel the same, but yeah, I thought that. You are part of my life forever though, so in a weird way, I guess it worked out."
She gave him and apologetic look as she spoke to him, "I shouldn't have treated you the way I did back then. I totally disregarded your feelings and I really shouldn't have. I shouldn't have treated you so poorly, and I'm so sorry I did."
He kissed her hand, "Steph, it's time to stop apologizing for that, we've both moved on, and we're happy now. I'm happy with you and Tristan."
She noticed he made no mention of Victoria, and for that she was kind of grateful. But the way he said things like that, it almost made her think that there was a chance that they could be together. She smiled at him and he ran his hand up her arm and then back down again. She was keenly aware of his touch and how it warmed her. His fingers sliding up and down were almost maddening to her.
"Chris," she whispered.
"Yeah?" he whispered back, his voice husky and deep.
"I want you to kiss me," she confessed, her eyes boring into his and her cheeks flushed as the sound from the television seemed to fade into the background. She hoped that she wasn't about to get rejected. He had every right to run to the room and lock the door. She had just told a guy with a girlfriend that she wanted to be kissed by him.
While she was mulling over her stupidity, the shock was overwhelming as his lips came forcefully down on hers. She almost fell back against the couch from the force of his kiss, but managed to steady herself by wrapping her arms around his neck, as his arms wrapped around her lower back. She let him kiss her and returned his kiss with the same amount of intensity, but then it was over as he pulled back breathlessly and with shame in his eyes.
"Oh my God, I shouldn't have done that," he said, looking around frantically.
"Why not?" she asked, scooting back and away from him, trying to create some distance.
"Vic! I think I'm falling in love with her, and then there's you, and we have a daughter, and we're obviously involved in each other's lives, and there's all this tension and unresolved feelings, and God my mother was trying to tell me about this, and did I listen, no, and then with everyone telling me to be careful with you, and that there's something with us, and I'm so damn confused."
The only thing that Stephanie actually paid attention to was the fact that he had said he thought he was falling in love with Victoria. It created a world of hurt in her stomach and she swallowed hard. But that wasn't important now, the important thing was trying to get Chris to calm down.
"Chris, calm down," she said, "It's ok, you don't have to worry about what just happened. It's just the tension and the wedding and stuff, and it was a mistake, easily forgettable."
"But that's the thing Stephanie, what if I don't want to forget it? Everyone is telling me to look at you, to talk to you, and I don't know anymore," he said, "I just don't know."
"Things don't have to work themselves out in a moment," she answered, "Look, you don't love me, you just said it yourself that you think you're falling in love with Victoria. Obviously that means you can't be in love with me. We'll just forget this even happened. We can do that right."
He nodded.
"Yeah, we can do that."
