Erin slept in her own bed that night, her neck firmly braced inside of a hard collar once more. Unsurprisingly, she had a hard time sleeping, and was still incredibly tired when John knocked at her door the next morning.

"I left you a card key under the doormat," she called sleepily, and John chuckled, opening the door with it.

"I brought you breakfast," he replied, holding up a tray. Erin smiled drowsily, pushing herself into a sitting position. "I thought you might be feeling a little nauseous after those hits and the Vicodin, so I stuck to oatmeal and toast for you. But I did bring tea, so I hope that helps."

"Mmm…you're the best, Superman," Erin mumbled, blinking the sleep out of her eyes.

"Still calling me Superman?" John asked, amused, taking the seat next to her.

"Truth, justice, and the American way," she told him. "That's what you stand for. And you've got the muscles for it."

"Alright, G.I. Jane," John teased, passing her food over. "How're you feeling, by the way?"

"Exhausted, hungry, and cranky," Erin said honestly. "I'm not a huge fan of having to take time off, but at least I'll get a chance to sleep."

"Well, you won't be alone—I haven't used more than a week or two of vacation time in the past few years, so I convinced Steph to give me three weeks off, which is what they're giving you," he said, and Erin smiled.

"You're the best," she told him quietly. They were quiet for some time, Erin leaning against John's shoulder.

"Well, since it seems we both find ourselves with some vacation time, I have an offer for you," John started, hesitant.

"What's that?" Erin asked.

"Come home with me for Thanksgiving," John said quietly. Erin smiled, blushing.

"Alright, then," she agreed, almost shyly. "I can't believe this'll be the first time I'm at your house."

"And we can do dinner at my parents, so we don't even have to cook," John said cheekily. "Plus, my whole family wants to meet you." Erin's eyes widened, and she looked more than a little nervous at the prospect.

"Whole family?" she managed. John chuckled, holding her close.

"Relax, love," he rumbled. "Just my parents and my brothers and their girlfriends. Are you telling me that taking on Randy Orton doesn't make you so much as blink, but you're scared of meeting my family?"

"I'm not scared," Erin protested, defensive. "I'm—apprehensive."

"Apprehensive," John repeated.

"Apprehensive," Erin confirmed. "I can't remember the last time I met someone's family. Other than fans."

"Haven't you stayed with Beth and Nat and—oh, I don't know, half of the Raw and Smackdown rosters at one point or another?" John asked, curious. Erin nodded agreeably.

"But the only family I've met is Rey's," she replied. "I don't—I don't do well with families. Never had a good one to start with." John looked down at her.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked gently. "You never said anything while we were with your mom, and I didn't want to ask in case it upset you." Erin snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his chest.

"Not much to talk about," she said, trying to sound casual, but John could feel the tension in every muscle of her body. "Dad was an angry drunk. He drank whenever he wasn't working, and he couldn't hold a job because he was always drunk. Mom worked at a factory down the road—night shift—and did housecleaning for the upper crust during the day. My brother Aiden got mixed in with a bad crowd. Jail straightened him out, then he went Marines. He died in Iraq; I was thirteen. I got out of there at 18 and never looked back."

John rested his lips on her forehead, smoothing her hair gently.

"My family is going to love you," he said firmly. "You're funny, and sweet, and you can hold your own against the worst in the WWE. I'm telling you, they're going to love you." Erin managed a small smile.

"Alright," she whispered. "But—do you think you could pick me up from my mom's? If I'm coming with you for Thanksgiving, I'm baking something, and that requires my mom's recipes."

"You don't have to bring—" John started.

"I do so," Erin informed him stubbornly. "Besides, Mama likes helping me bake. It's a mother-daughter thing."

"I love it when you get all commanding," he told her, chuckling. "It's sexy." Erin smiled wickedly.

"Is that so?" she commented, shifting so that she straddled his lap, leaning down to kiss him teasingly before slipping out of his grasp, glancing over her shoulder as she pulled a bikini from her closet. "Hot tub. Five minutes. And that's an order."

The slightest of smirks creased John's face as he replied, "Yes, ma'am!"

Erin left the next morning for her mother's, reassuring John with a phone call every hour to let him know that no, her neck did not hurt any worse than before, and yes, she was almost there. Rachel only laughed upon hearing the story, remarking that she found John's care "adorable" before ushering her daughter into the kitchen.

And that was how John found them a week later, when he knocked politely at the door. Rachel peered around the corner, smiling as she saw who it was.

"It's unlocked!" she called. "Come on in, John."

"Hey, Rachel," John called back, closing the door behind him. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm doing just swell, sweetheart," Rachel said, pulling something out of the fridge. "Erin's right upstairs—go ahead up." John smiled, tipping his hat to her as he ducked out of the kitchen, tip-toeing upstairs to surprise Erin. He could see her through the door, wearing the soft brace once more. Her dress was sandwashed silk charmeuse, with a swirling ivory-and-brown print and a smocked bustline. Long, loose sleeves reached to her wrists, and a darker print marked the hemline.

"Hey there, beautiful," he said softly, wrapping his arms around her waist. Erin let out a soft gasp of surprise, a smile spreading across her face as she realized who it was.

"I missed you," she told him, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him sweetly before stepping back. John frowned, and she paused. "What's wrong?" John didn't bother answering, pulling her close to him once more and kissing her soundly. Erin laughed, understanding.

"Ready to go?" John asked. Erin grabbed a brush, pulling her hair back into a low, sleek ponytail.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied. John smiled, stepping behind her to massage her shoulders.

"I promise my family doesn't bite," he said teasingly. "And they're going to love you. How could they not?"

"I just don't have the best track record with families," Erin laughed nervously. John turned her so that she faced him, taking both hands and pulling her close.

"You're sweet, funny, and absolutely perfect," he informed her quietly. "My family will love you. Don't worry." Erin smiled, rising on her tiptoes to kiss him.

"What car are we taking?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Well, since I brought back the Hemi Charger last time I went home, I thought we'd take that," John replied.

"Sounds good to me," Erin agreed. "Let me just grab the tart, and then I'll be ready. And I'm sure my mom will want to say hi. And I really hope the tart turned out alright, because I messed up the first one, and—"

"If you made it, I'm sure it's delicious," John assured her. "What's in it?"

"Crushed pecans, brown sugar, and chocolate syrup for the crust, then chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and Bailey's Irish cream for the filling, with caramel drizzle and pecan sprinkles on top," Erin ticked off. John looked as though he were about to start drooling, and Erin laughed, pulling out a miniature tart the size of her palm. "I made one for you to test-taste."

"You're amazing," John said, taking the tart eagerly. "Like I said—my family is going to love you." He took a bite of the tart, and his eyes widened. "Let me correct that: my family may well ask me to propose to you after tasting this." Erin blushed, and John laughed. "Nice to see you again, Rachel."

"You stop on by anytime, John—you're always welcome here," Rachel told him. "Now, you two hurry up and skedaddle out of here. The sooner you go, the sooner I can head over to the church. I'm helping with the Thanksgiving dinner for the homeless."

"You're an inspiration to us all," John told her, leaning down to kiss her cheek. Rachel turned the same shade of red Erin did when embarrassed, he noticed, as Erin hugged her mother goodbye and followed him out the door. "And I promise, you're going to love my family, too," he told her, holding open the door to the car. "Ready to meet them?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Erin said, taking her seat carefully. "So your brothers are Dan, Matt, Sean, and Steve, right?"

"I always knew you had a good memory," John replied, laughing, as the engine roared to life. "It won't be a long trip. I guess I'm too much of a homebody to live too far away from my family."

"That's really sweet," Erin said, smiling. "How close is close?"

"About 20 minutes," John admitted. "Sean and Steve still live at home, Dan and his girlfriend live in Philly, and Matt and his wife are about half an hour away from my parents in the other direction."

"And what are their names—the girlfriend and the wife?" Erin asked, trying to keep everyone straight."

"Tori is Dan's girlfriend, and Elizabeth is Matt's wife, but relax," John chuckled. "You don't have to know everybody's names. It's fine. How are you feeling, by the way?"

"A little tired—I didn't get much sleep last night," she admitted.

"You should nap, then—we've got a plenty long trip," John told her. Erin smiled gratefully, settling more comfortably into her seat as she closed her eyes.

It seemed like only moments before John was tapping her shoulder gently to wake her, but she knew the trip had taken several hours.

"Didn't want to shake you—thought it might make your neck hurt," he explained. "Feeling any better?"

"Just nervous," Erin replied, stretching carefully.

"You've got nothing to be nervous about," John assured her.

"I just like being prepared," Erin said, blushing, as they pulled into the driveway.

"You've got the most amazing chocolate tart I've ever tasted. That's more than prepared enough," John informed her. "Now, come on. My mom can't wait to meet you." Erin got out of the car slowly, carrying the tart in both hands. John opened the door to the house, calling out as they entered. "Ma! We're here!"

"Welcome home!" John's mother called, bustling out of the kitchen. She was a short, plump woman with the same bright blue eyes as John, and she hugged her son tightly. "Erin, it's such a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Karen." Erin smiled, her nervousness beginning to melt away.

"My family doesn't have any secret recipes, but I just couldn't resist bringing this," Erin said, handing over the tart. "Chocolate with pecans and caramel—how could it go wrong?"

"I like the way you think," Karen informed her, and Erin giggled. "Come on in. John can do the introductions." Erin followed John to the living room, twining her fingers through his. John's brothers all sat on the couch, next to their father, and two girls sat with them.

"Erin, these are my brothers—Matt, Dan, Sean, and Steve," John said by way of introduction. "That's my dad, Bill, Dan's girlfriend, Tori, and Matt's wife, Elizabeth. Guys, this is Erin Harris, my girlfriend."

"Oh, good—someone improving the girl-to-guy ratio," Elizabeth called, grinning. "Nice to meet you, Erin."

"Nice to meet you too," Erin said, still somewhat shy.

"Hey—while we're waiting, anybody want to play an icebreaker?" Matt asked.

"Charades?" Tori suggested. "Maybe guys versus girls?"

"But that really wouldn't be fair at all," Dan protested.

"So you're too scared we'll kick your butts?" Erin teased. John snickered, and Erin narrowed her eyes, though she smiled. "Chicken…"

"I'm in," Elizabeth agreed, eyes sparkling mischievously. "I think you're right, Erin. I think the boys really are too chicken to play us."

"Oh, it's on," Matt informed them, plopping onto the loveseat. "It's on like Donkey Kong."

"You're going down, Charlie Brown," Erin threw back.

"Well, you're going to—going to—crap, I'm out of comebacks," Matt muttered.

"The first victory is ours!" Elizabeth crowed. "Alright. Because we're feeling merciful, we'll let you go first. First to five correct guesses?"

"It's a deal," John agreed, pulling the game out from the shelves. "What do we want the category to be?"

"Movie names?" Dan suggested, and they all nodded. "Alright. I'll go first." He drew his card, shaking his head, and stood up. The girls all stifled giggles, and the guys all stared, puzzled, as he mimed firing a gun, made a strange face while pointing and laughing, and flapped his arms.

"Do it again," Sean asked, utterly confused. Dan performed the same motion once more.

"Shooting a laughing…flying…thing?" Matt sounded out, and Erin's eyes widened.

"To Kill a Mockingbird!" she called. Dan swore, and the girls all cheered. "First point to us!"

"How did you get to kill a mockingbird out of that?" John demanded, bewildered.

"He was shooting, and then mocking, and imitating a bird," Erin said defensively. "That, and that's one of my favorite books of all time. My turn!" She drew a card from the deck, laughing. "Alright, here goes." She glanced around, catching sight of a Wrestlemania poster on the wall, pointing first to John, then to Randy's picture, then to CM Punk's picture. When no one said anything, she pointed to John again, making a halo over her head with her hands. She then pointed to Randy's picture, making devil horns over her head, then screwed up her face into the strangest expression she could manage.

"I have no id—"Matt started.

"The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!" Elizabeth interrupted. Erin grinned, pointing to her. The guys groaned, shaking their heads, and Elizabeth jumped up to hug her. "Damn, girl, we are good at this!"

"Guys, they're crushing us," Steve complained as Elizabeth drew her card, raising her eyebrows.

"Ok, girls, get ready," she warned. She raised both arms, forming an X with her forearms three times.

"Triple X!" Sean bellowed immediately. Elizabeth frowned as Sean performed a victory dance.

"It's okay," Tori consoled her. "We clearly watch only quality movies."

"Good point," Elizabeth agreed, cheering up immediately. "Besides, I'm sure we'll get the next one."

"Let's do it," Erin grinned. John stuck his tongue out at them as Sean drew his card, wrinkling his nose. As they watched, he drew an imaginary gun, firing a bullet. He then jumped into the path of the bullet, falling down in an overdramatic death scene. He then rose, pointing to the girls, and then mimed writing something.

"The girls wrote your death?" Sean asked.

"Ghost Writer!" John tried.

"Murder, She Wrote," Karen called, joining them. "And I'm on the girls' team, so that's three points to your one." She glanced down at the girls, smiling. "I do love my Angela Lansbury."

"Glad to have you aboard, Mrs. C," Tori said breezily. "It's your turn to act one out for us, now." Karen laughed as she drew her card.

"Alright," she said, taking up a boxer's stance. "Here I go." She threw several fake punches.

"Boxing!" Matt called.

"Fighting!" Erin offered. Karen tapped her nose before picking up a log of wood from the shelves near the fire, hitting it on the ground like a club. "Fighting, beating, clubbing—Fight Club!" Karen laughed, nodding.

"You got it," she replied. "One more and we win, boys!"

"Wait, wait, wait," Tori called, grinning wickedly. "I want to up the ante—if we win, the boys have to do all the cleaning up. If we lose, we'll do it."

"I don't know," Dan said hesitantly.

"Oh, come on, you wuss," Sean said, rolling his eyes. "We can make an epic comeback easy. It's a bet. Go ahead, Erin." Erin grinned as she drew her card, taking up a runner's stance. She pumped her arms rapidly, and Elizabeth smiled.

"Fast!" she called, and Erin tapped her nose. She crossed her arms over her chest and made the angriest face she could.

"Too easy—The Fast and The Furious," John called, and Erin stuck her tongue out at him. "Come on, G.I. Jane. I know it's your favorite movie."

"I should be mad, but I'm too happy that you remembered," Erin said, smiling even as she blushed.

"Way to make the rest of us look bad," Dan grumbled under his breath. John laughed, catching Erin's wrist as she went to sit down and kissing her quickly.

"For luck," he explained. Erin laughed softly as she took her seat. John held up two fingers, forming a V, before pointing to Erin, then to Randy's picture. When no one spoke, he repeated the motion, then again.

"V…enemy…revenge…grudge…" Elizabeth tried.

"V for Vendetta!" Tori and Erin yelled at the exact same time, jumping up as John nodded resignedly. Karen and Elizabeth bounced to their feet, joining the two.

"Girls, you just got us out of the post-Thanksgiving cleanup!" Karen cheered. The guys groaned, but the girls just laughed. "And I believe I hear the timer for the turkey, so why don't you all take a dish out to the table while Bill carves it?"

"I'll get the potatoes," John volunteered immediately.

"Dibs on the cranberry sauce," Matt called.

"You just want to put it as close to you as possible," Tori accused.

"I resent that implication!" Matt protested. "Wait. I do just want it as close as possible. Never mind." Erin chuckled as Karen handed her a basket of rolls before pushing the gravy boat into Tori's hands.

"The drinks are already out there, so I'll grab the stuffing," Elizabeth offered.

"If Steve will take the green beans, I'll take the corn," Sean added. "Is that everything?"

"That's it," Karen replied, beaming. "Thank you."

"You made all of this—the least we can do is set the table!" Tori remarked, surprised.

"You might be altruistic, but I'm just helping because if we bring it out, I get to eat faster," Sean informed her, laughing.

"I'm not surprised in the least," Bill remarked, shaking his head. "We'll be out in a minute, boys." Erin helped John and his brothers set the table, taking a seat as John pulled one out for her.

"Now, we've got a tradition in our family, Erin," Karen told her, taking her seat. Her husband followed behind her, bearing a still-steaming turkey on a platter that he set down at the center of the table. "Before we start eating, we go around the table and say what we're thankful for, so we're hoping you'll join us in that."

"Of course!" Erin said cheerfully, and Karen smiled.

"I'll get us started, then—I'm thankful for my wonderful husband, Bill, our incredible sons, and their equally incredible better halves," Karen listed, eliciting smiles from Tori and Elizabeth.

"Although my wife stole the best ones, I'm also thankful for our children—and for family in every way, shape, and form," Bill said.

"I'm thankful for my beautiful wife, Liz," Matt said, leaning over to steal a kiss from Elizabeth before adding cheekily, "And I'm thankful for moms who love to cook." Karen tsked at him, though she was smiling.

"I'm every bit as thankful for my wise-cracking husband, and this incredible family that I married into," Elizabeth laughed.

"Well, I don't have a girlfriend to be thankful for, but I'm thankful for my crazy brothers and the wonderful family that lets me live at home while I get back on my feet," Sean said. Next to him, Steve grinned.

"I'm thankful for a wonderful family that lets me live at home, and a steadily improving housing market," he quipped. Bill chuckled.

"Well, I'm thankful for my girlfriend, as well as for all the future wrestlers who want to be trained by a Cena," Dan said.

"And I'm thankful for my sometimes insane, always loving boyfriend," Tori told him, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "John, I think it's your turn."

"I'm thankful for my family, my health, and my career," John said. He took a deep breath, and Erin glanced at him, puzzled. John looked straight at her, looking surprisingly nervous. "And I'm thankful for you, Erin Brigid Fionna Harris, because I am truly, madly, deeply, and irrevocably in love with you." The room was completely silent as John's family looked at him. John had eyes only for Erin, though, and Erin's eyes were wide and bright with tears. "I guess—I guess I'm trying to say I love you." The silence went unbroken until Erin took a deep breath.

"It's my turn to say what I'm thankful for, right?" she said quietly. "I'm thankful for my health, my career, my friends, and to be here—and I'm thankful for John Felix Anthony Cena, because I love you too." John's nervousness was gone as soon as he heard the words, and Erin smiled up at him. John leaned over and kissed her softly, one hand cupping her cheek. Dan wolf-whistled obnoxiously, and Erin blushed, sinking back in her seat.

"If you two get any more adorable, I'm going to—" Sean started. Karen cleared her throat loudly, and Sean rolled his eyes. "Going to die of how sickeningly sweet it is. Happy, Ma?" John chuckled, kissing Erin once more.

"Well, I'm happy," he announced, and Erin looked every bit as happy.

"Well, hear, hear!" Karen cheered, and relaxed chatter rose around the table as the first plates were passed.


A/N: IT'S SO FLUFFY I'M GONNA DIE! *ahem* Seemed the perfect time for a Despicable Me reference. Anywho, we are rapidly nearing the end of the chapters I have pre-written (only four of them to go), so we will soon be diving headlong into the unknown! Read and review, please.