Hey everyone! Happy October! I hope you all had an awesome week and will have an even better weekend! I've been meaning to do this and I feel bad for not sooner, but I want to dedicate this chapter to my guest reviewer Michelle! They mean the world to me and I'm glad you're enjoying it as much as I enjoy writing it!

I do not own anyone affiliated with WWE or Drew's cat's names...yes they have a place in this story :) I only own Anna, Josie, Ray and the mention of the Golden Retriever. True story, we...my family and I...had a Golden and we had to put her down and it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through. However, we've had plenty of animals along the way.

Anyways...ENJOY! :D

Previously...

"After you, love," he says and Anna opens the door, walking out into the hall with Drew on her heels. Josie turns her head when she sees Drew and Anna walk back into the kitchen and a smile grows on her face.

"Thank you for coming back out, honey," she says to her daughter who sits back at her original seat at the island, only this time Drew takes the seat next to her.

"I didn't want to. Drew persuaded me to have us come back out, but if dad tries anymore of that shit; we're gone and I'm going to Tampa with Drew," Anna addresses sternly with no room for argument.

"Well, still…thank you and don't worry, he won't. After Drew went after you, I talked to your father; I'm on your side baby," Josie tells her daughter, walking up to the island, taking Anna's hands in hers, "you two are the real deal and I told him that. He's not going to see what I see and I can see how happy the two of you make each other; I can see that you actually want to be together, otherwise Drew wouldn't be sitting here right now."

"Thank you, mama; you don't know what it means to me to hear you say that and I know he wouldn't be if he didn't want to," Anna replies with a smile and glances at Drew, linking her fingers with his proffered hand resting on the counter before returning her attention to her mother.

"Which brings me to what I'm about to say and please don't flee because I know you and you are my child when it comes to this and Drew, I'm sorry if I embarrass you; it's not my intention and you have no reason to be," Josie says and Anna gets ready to stand from her seat, "sit down, Annie; I'm not talking about that," Anna reluctantly settles back down in her seat.

"Mom…you're making me nervous."

"Don't be…you have no reason to. Last night and this morning," Josie begins, looking at Drew, "I saw the way you looked at Anna. The last time I saw that look was Ray towards me when we were your ages; that's how I knew you're father was the one," Josie puts her attention on Anna.

"Mom, where are you getting at?" Anna asks and she feels Drew squeeze the hand he his holding and she looks over at him, finding a knowing look of where her mother is going with this, "I'm assuming you do?" she asks Drew and he slightly nods his head.

"I have a small feeling, but I'm going to let her finish what I know she wants to say," Drew responds, looking from Anna to Josie and Josie lifts an eyebrow at him, intrigued at his insight, but continues nonetheless.

"I know what that look is when I see it and I don't see it often. So, I'm going to ask you, Drew and you don't have to answer if you don't want to, so no pressure, but do you love my daughter?" Josie asks and a smile crosses Drew's features.

"With everything in me. Anna means more to me than you'll ever know; even she has not a clue," Drew replies, grabbing the stool Anna is on and pulls it the small distance closer to him so he can wrap his arm around her, "I'll protect her with my life and I don't plan on going anywhere. The only way I'll leave is if she sends me away," he says, pressing a kiss to Anna's head.

Anna smiles up at Drew and he gently presses his lips to hers, "I love you, baby," he tells her quietly even though he knows Josie can hear him. A big smile spreads across Josie's face as she watches them and Ray walks into the kitchen unbeknownst to the threesome right before Anna responds.

"You know thats never going to happen and I love you, too…so much," she replies, resting her forehead on Drew's and lightly rubs her nose against his.

"You're kidding me, right?" Ray responds after hearing Anna's reply to Drew, "Annie, you can't possibly mean that; you hardly know him!" he berates his daughter, eyes wild with fury.

Josie's head snaps up at her husbands outburst while Anna and Drew pull apart and look in the direction of Ray. Anna's never seen such hatred and anger in her father's eyes, that she doesn't know if he would actually deliberately go after Drew despite his size. She gets out of her seat quicker than she ever has before and steps in front of Drew, blocking him from her father. If he wants to lay a hand on Drew, he is going to have to go through her first and if she knows her father like she think's she does…he wouldn't dare hit her regardless of the situation.

"Raymond…" Josie warns and Anna looks over her shoulder at her and shakes her head.

"I got this, mama," she says and whips her head back around, landing her focus on her father with rage in her eyes, "no dad…you hardly know him. You don't want to get to know him…you want to interrogate the hell out of him and hope that he leaves; well tough shit because that's not going to happen. And I know Drew a hell of a lot more than you think I do," Anna snaps at her father.

"So you know that he's previously been married for just a year AND fired from his current employer," Ray throws in Anna's direction and she begins to shake with a fury of her own for attacking Drew personally without even knowing the full story. Drew's body tenses up at Ray's comments that Anna can feel it behind her with how close they are and she places a hand on his knee that is closest to her. Ray's eyes follow the action and takes a step forward.

"Don't you dare take a step closer to him," Anna threatens her father, "and of course I know both of those things and you wanna know why they don't bother me like you think they would? His ex-wife verbally, emotionally and physically abused him the entire year they were married, yet he never laid a hand on the bitch once," she grounds out and Josie gasps in shock at the new information.

"He was fired because he was on a downward spiral after losing his mother to an illness that couldn't be fought no matter what type of treatment she tried to get for it. He never got to say goodbye to her because he was here in the states living his dream while Angela lost her battle thousands of miles away. He had two of his best friends by his side through everything, but there was only so much they could do," Anna fires off and a dumbfounded look crosses Ray's face while Josie walks around the island, placing her hand on Drew's shoulder in comfort, not knowing what else to do at the moment. She can't even imagine to begin the pain he felt and is feeling.

"Anna, love…please," Drew begs quietly, his voice filled with distress that only she and Josie can hear him, "please stop and let's just leave; I'm obviously not wanted here," he says and Josie tightens her hold on his shoulder.

"You are very much wanted here, sweetheart…by me, but if you feel you guys need or want to leave, I'm not going to stop you," Josie tells him.

"Thank you, Josie. That means the world to me," Drew replies, looking over at her while Anna continues her standoff with her father…for him…to protect him and his feelings.

"You wanna go get ready and I'll be right behind you?" Anna turns her head towards Drew, but never takes her eyes off her father. She is beyond furious with him, but at the same time is beyond thankful for her mother.

Drew nods his head, "yeah, just don't start anything with him that you'll regret please. I don't want you to push him away because of me," he tells Anna and she turns around to look at him, taking his face into her hands.

"I'm not pushing him away; he's pushing me away, baby. Yes, he is my father, but you're my life now and I'm not going to let him disrespect you like that based off of some information he found on the internet," she tells Drew determined for him to listen to her and he subtly nods his head, looking into her eyes, "now go, I'm right behind you, okay?" he nods his head once again with a soft 'alright' and Anna presses her lips to his, "I love you."

"Annie," Ray says again with less hostility, but the damage has already been done. She turns around at the sound of her name and a half apologetic look can be found on his face.

"No daddy; you went too far. I love him…I love him so much, it's more than my heart can handle. I'd give my life for him because I know he'd do the same for me and none of that is going to change. Maybe next time we come back to Orlando, you'll actually show him some respect. The respect that he deserves. I love you, dad, but I'm done and I'm leaving with him," Anna tells him and turns to her mother, "mama, I'm gonna go get changed and I am going with him; I'm just glad you can understand that."

"I know you are, baby and I do. I've never seen you more happy in your entire life and I'm glad you found someone to do that for you. Now…go to your man," Josie replies, smiling, cupping her daughters face like Anna did Drew's and places a kiss to her forehead, "I love you, baby girl."

"I love you, too, mama," Anna smiles up at her mom and walks to her bedroom to get changed into shorts, a black spaghetti strap and a pair of Tom's before quickly brushing her teeth, going to the bathroom and spritzing on her favorite Bath and Body Works perfume. She packs up everything she had to remove from her bag last night and this morning and makes her way to the living room where she sees her mom and Drew talking.

"Thank you so much, for everything," Anna hears Drew say to her mom when she walks up and wraps her arms around Drew's waist from behind, placing a kiss between his shoulder blades. He smiles at the gesture and places his hands over Anna's that rest on his stomach.

"Get over here," Drew says, lightly tugging on Anna's arm until she gets the hint and moves to face him that he wraps his arms around her, holding her close, "much better; now I can see your beautiful face," he says and places a kiss to Anna's forehead.

"Anytime, honey. Please know you are always welcome here, regardless of how my pain in the ass husband acts and if you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask," Josie replies, smiling at the couple.

"I'll be sure to remember that; Anna is pretty lucky to have you as her mother," Drew replies and Josie's smile grows.

"She is pretty amazing, isn't she? Even when she embarrasses the hell out of us," Anna adds, landing her mother with a knowing look and Josie rolls her eyes.

"Oh, you'll survive. You're 29, not 13 and besides, it's my job to embarrass you; I'm your mother," Josie retorts with a matter of fact tone and all Drew can do is smile at their banter.

"If it makes you feel any better, love, my mum would have done the same thing to me," Drew tells Anna, looking down at her with a smile.

"I'd be lying if I said yes and you don't know this woman, Drew; she is relentless with her teasing. She will find a way," Anna replies, glaring playfully at her mother and Josie returns the glare just as hard.

"Watch it missy or I'll really find a way to embarrass you in front of Drew," Josie says, and Anna's eyes widen as she purses her lips in dissatisfaction because she knows that her mother is right, "that's what I thought."

"Oh shush," Anna tells her mom then looks up at Drew, "you ready to go?" she asks him and he nods.

"I am; let's head out," Drew tells Anna and lets her go then turns his attention to Josie, "I know I already said it, but thank you again for your hospitality," he says and pulls Anna's mother into his arms for a hug, "please know that I will keep Anna safe with my life; she's my world now," Drew whispers in her ear and Josie smiles up at him when he releases his hold on her.

"I know you will, sweetie and like I said, you are always welcome here and if you need anything…" Josie tells Drew and he smiles with a nod.

"I know, I will; I promise," he replies, presses a kiss to her cheek and turns to Anna who watched the interaction between her boyfriend and mother, "alright, lets head out," Drew says and takes Anna's bag from her despite her protests that she can carry it herself.

"Stubborn man," Anna grumbles as Drew makes his way out of the house with their bags while she says goodbye to her mom.

"You know you're stubborn, too," Josie tells Anna who rolls her eyes at the comment.

"Yeah, I get it from you, but seriously, thank you so much for being so accepting of him; you have no idea how much it means to me," Anna says, pulling her mom into a hug.

"Sweetie, he's an incredible man. I learned that within the first 5 minutes. You found a good one and there aren't many like him, so you better not let him get away," Josie tells Anna after they break apart from their hug.

"Don't worry, mom; I don't and won't plan on letting him go anywhere. He means the world to me. I don't know how I got so lucky to find him, but I thank whoever is watching over me that they sent him to me. I love him so much, mama; it's why I'm choosing him over daddy right now and I hope you understand why," Anna replies, looking out the door, watching Drew pack their bags in the trunk of the rental.

"I do, honey which is why I'm okay with you leaving with him and I can see that he loves you just as much," Josie says, looking in the same direction as her daughter to find Drew now leaning against the car, waiting for Anna.

"Isn't he handsome?" Anna asks her mother, looking at her with joy radiating from her brown eyes.

"You and I both know that he is. Now go to him; he's waiting for you. Just text me to let me know that you guys got there safely, please," Josie says, pulling Anna in for one more hug.

"You know I will; I love you, mama."

"I love you, too, baby. You guys drive safely," Josie tells Anna in motherly fashion.

"We will," Anna promises and walks through the grass to get to Drew. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Anna leans her body into him and presses her lips to his, "mmm…I love you," she whispers against his lips before pulling back to look at him.

"I love you, too, baby. We're you two talking about me? You did look over at me after all," Drew asks, letting go of Anna to open the passenger side door for her and she slips in, buckling her seatbelt.

"You already know we were…don't act so surprised," Anna responds to Drew when he gets into the car while looking at him. He looks over at her wearing a grin and leans over the center console, "don't look at me like that," Anna chides him and he leans in just a little bit closer, "you're lucky you're gorgeous because cute doesn't do you justice…wipe that smirk off your face!" she exclaims with a laugh and Drew places a kiss to her lips that she eagerly returns.

"What were you guys saying about me?" He asks, inches from her face.

"How handsome and incredible you are and how I'm never letting you go," Anna says, looking deep into his blue orbs, "oh, and how much I love you," she adds with a smile, tucking the small stray hairs at his temple behind his ear.

"My ego loves you more and more everyday…just not as much as I do," Drew returns her smile, placing another kiss to Anna's lips before starting the car and pulling away from the curb.

Anna grabs his hand nearest her, linking their fingers and kisses the back of his hand, "you've boosted my self-esteem and self-confidence through the roof this past week and a half and besides, we both know you're good at what you do…pun intended," she says and looks over at Drew to gauge his reaction.

He keeps his eyes on the road, but Anna can see the gleam in them at her comment and the closed mouth smirk playing on his lips, "I wouldn't have gone out of my way to do so if I didn't want anything to do with you; I wanted you the moment I laid eyes on you. It's why I worked as hard as I did and I knew I had to be patient because in the end, I knew you were worth it," Drew tells her, looking over at her to see her eyes shining.

"You keep that up and I'll be falling in love with you over and over again Drew Galloway," Anna declares with love in her eyes, letting Drew pull their linked hands into his lap after he places a kiss of his own to her hand.

"If you do, then I know I'm doing my job of being the best boyfriend I can be," Drew says, squeezing Anna's hand, glancing over at her for a few seconds before returning his eyes to the road.

"Baby you did that before you became my boyfriend. Why do you think I'm here with you right now, instead of my parents?" Anna replies, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles, "I wasn't going to let my father win. He needs to know how important you are to me, that I'm serious when I say that you're not going anywhere and how much I love you; it's why I chose you over him. I wasn't going to just let you leave and stay with them and let him think that he chased you away. If I need to shut him out to get him to understand, then that's what I'm going to do."

Drew looks over at Anna and shakes his head in disbelief that she'd do all of this for him, "no one's ever put me before their own father or any family member for that matter. You really are a one of a kind woman and you're mine."

Anna kicks off her Tom's and tucks her feet underneath her, leaning closer to Drew over the center console, "I'd do anything for you; aside from my family and friends, you're my world, Drew," she tells him and takes her free hand to stroke his beard. She places a kiss to his cheek before laying her head on his shoulder, being mindful of the fact that he is still driving.

Drew places a kiss to the top of Anna's head, "I honestly don't know what I'd do without you, but on a less romantic note…I'm hoping you like cats because Hunter and Chaz will be meeting us at the door," he says, pulling onto the highway.

"I love all animals and I cannot wait to meet them. We had a dog when I was growing up…a Golden Retriever and she was the best dog ever. We haven't had a pet since because it was too hard when we had to let her go," Anna replied solemnly and Drew squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"I'm sorry, baby."

"It's alright. It'll be nice to have Hunter and Chaz to care for; I'll treat, care and love them as if they were my own," Anna smiles, looking at Drew.

"You'll become mom to them in no time," Drew returns her smile and looks at Anna's lips quickly giving her the hint that he wants her to kiss him.

"You are insatiable; it's a good thing that I love kissing you," she growls, wanting to do more to him at this moment than just kiss him before she places her lips on his with a quick kiss so he can put his focus back on the road, "now keep your eyes forward. We don't need to get into an accident because you can't keep your eyes off of me for two minutes," Anna teases him, "lucky for me, I can stare all I want."

Anna penetrates him with her stare and licks her lips as she admires his strong chest underneath his tight forest green shirt, "babe, if you continue to look at me like that, then I'm definitely going to get into an accident; you know what your stare does to me," Drew groans out, not liking the fact that he can't act on his current desire.

"Soon baby, I promise. We are both in the same predicament, believe me," Anna says and presses a kiss to his shoulder before resting her head it.