December 22, 2007
She wasn't sure who was more of a mess maker, her 10 month old son or her husband. Riley swore those two plotted against her sometimes. It was almost like John and Maddox had some kind of male code that she didn't understand, not that she wanted to anyways. Maddox and John may have been buddies but he was definitely his mommy's little boy. He'd make his way over to her after he was tired of his dad and she would hold him or rock him and he would fall asleep in her arms. It was so hard to believe that he had once been so sickly. Although they had to be careful if he got sick because his immune system was a little weaker than most kids his age he was perfectly happy and healthy. He was going to be tall like his dad, you could already tell that. He had these really long legs that just gave Riley the impression that he was going to be tall. She thought he looked like John, he was very solid like John and had almost all of his mannerisms, she still hadn't figured out if that was a good thing or not. But he was very sweet and affectionate which Riley believed would be a blessing for any girl who was lucky enough to snag him. Although no girl would be good enough for her son. She now understood where her dad was coming from; she wanted him to stay the way he was forever. He was only 10 months old and she already didn't want him to grow up. Maddox was loud and always into everything and forever making a mess but he was hers … all hers. All he had to do was bat his big blue eyes and give her a smile and she completely forgot everything else that was going on. She wanted nothing more than to protect him from all the badness that was out there in the world.
"Riley come on we need to go" John hurried her along. Steve and Deanna's niece Carissa was getting married and had been nice enough to not only invite them but allow Maddox to be their ring bearer. Then again Carissa was also Maddox's god mother so that could have been it too. Riley and Carissa had promised each other that when they had their first child each would make the other the god mother. Riley had kept up her end of the bargain.
"I'm all ready you crazy man" she stopped looking at herself in the mirror and stood up. Walking over to him she fixed his tie and then stepped back to inspect her husband. "You know Mr. Cena if you weren't a married man I would probably be undressing you right now instead of fixing your tie"
"What a shame but what my wife doesn't know won't hurt right"
"Sorry I'm just not that kind of woman" she seductively ran her fingers over his lips. Out of instinct he brought his hands up to her hair and pulled her to him like that. The instant heat exploded as their lips met. He pushed her up against a wall and pinned her arms above her head with one hand. His mouth still attacking hers.
"Eww" they both wanted to sigh as they broke their kiss to look at a very disgusted Declan.
"May we help you?" Riley asked
"You guys kiss too much" Declan disgustedly scrunched his face up.
"Believe me Decs the moment you find that special girl you'll want to kiss her all the time too" John told him.
"Girls are gross" the younger boy crossed his arms over his chest. He gave his uncle a look telling him he didn't believe a word he had said.
"I'm a girl" Riley mocked being insulted.
"You are my Auntie … so you don't count"
"Well she ain't my auntie" John added his two cents.
"Grandpa doesn't like it when you two kiss" Declan said.
"Grandpa doesn't like many things Decs" Riley remarked.
"Can I go to the wedding too?" Declan asked.
"Sorry Declan but you weren't invited" Riley kneeled down to his height "but I promise to bring you back something"
"Ok then you can go" he grinned at her.
"Thank you for your permission" she rolled her eyes "now go grab your stuff so we can drop your little butt off at home before we head to the wedding"
"Hey there Champ" John picked his son up "don't you look handsome in your tux"
"Well of course he does he's my son" Riley stole Maddox from John.
"Remember who helped you create him" he yelled after her.
--
"Aww look at little Maddox" the bride said looking at her ring bearer.
Maddox shied away and hid behind his mother's leg. He peeked out every few seconds to see if the attention was still on him. Riley picked him up but he continued to hide his face in the crook of her neck. Both parents were baffled by this unusual shyness.
"Maddox you are certainly not shy" John said "so stop pretending to be"
"Is he going to be ok out there?" Carissa asked.
"Maddie do you still want to walk with the pillow for Carissa?" Riley asked him.
"Uh huh" was his muffled reply.
"He'll be fine" she assured her "cousin".
--
It was amazing to Riley to be able to reconnect with the people who had raised her. They had all been her family once upon a time. Yet even though they knew she wasn't biologically related to her they treated her as if she never left. It was kind of like being on a really long vacation and coming home to catch up on the latest happenings. She got to meet her "aunt's" 4 year old twins. Her aunt had been pregnant when she left and Riley hadn't been able to come back home for the birth, although she really wished she had. Nicholas, the boy twin, was also going to be a ring bearer in today's ceremony. His twin sister Mak and Carissa's future husband's niece Lulu were going to be the flower girls. Her "family" also seemed to welcome John and Maddox with open arms. Deanna was currently holding the toddler, she was showing off her "grandson" to everyone she could get to stop. Steve liked John much more than Vince did and Riley thought her biological father could take a lesson from the man who raised her.
--
After the ceremony and late into the reception Riley found herself sitting in a chair watching her "family" interact. Maddox was passed out on her shoulder. It was nice for her to just be able to watch, to see that even though she wasn't around they were able to coexist but still invite her back. It was nice knowing that she could come back whenever she wanted and she planned to come back a lot more often from now on.
"Leave it to your cousin to have her wedding a few days before Christmas" John said taking the empty seat next to her. He handed her the ginger ale she had asked for before taking a swig of his beer.
"It was a beautiful wedding though" she observed.
Tiny lights had strung up all over the ceiling of the hall to look like icicles. The tables were covered with shimmering white table clothes to make it look like snow. She sighed, she had never regretted eloping but sometimes she thought about what her wedding would have been like. She wondered what she would have felt while she was walking down the aisle with her father, would her heart start racing the moment she saw John standing there waiting for her?
"Whatcha thinkin?" he asked.
"Just what our wedding would have been like if we were so lazy"
He laughed "It was your idea to elope sweetheart"
"Still haven't regretted that one" she kissed his cheek.
"Me either love"
"We should be really getting him home" she said.
John looked over at his knocked out son and couldn't help but laugh. "Little man had a little too much fun I take it"
"A regular party animal … wonder where he gets that from Mr. I'm gonna get drunk and sing karaoke"
"So I enjoy having a good time"
"I'm not saying anything bad about it I'm just pointing out that Maddox got his love for a good time from you and I swear to god if he turns 21 and I have to go pick his drunk ass up from some grimy bar I will make you pay"
"He's gonna be better than that Ri, him and Declan and Rory and Kenny … they are gonna be better than any of us are" he assured her. "That's why we have kids so they can be better than we were"
"That was a very astute thing to say John"
"Well I do try every once in a great while to dazzle you with my knowledge"
"You are smarter than you let on John Cena"
"That's part of the plan, to let them think I have no idea what is going on so eventually when I finally do take over the world they won't know what hit them"
"Ok Brain I think that's enough plotting for one night"
"Maybe you are right Pinky there is always tomorrow night" he said with a laugh.
--
"Hey there Champ" John Cena crouched down so he was the same height with the future owner of the WWE.
Maddox McMahon looked at the man in front of him curiously. He couldn't ever remember seeing him before. He looked around for him mother but couldn't find her. He had wondered off while he was supposed to be taken care of by his nanny. The toddler began to get upset because he couldn't find his mother.
"You miss your mommy?"
"Uh huh"
"Want me to help you find her?"
He little boy nodded and let the older man pick him up.
"Big mistake princess … big mistake"
