"Hey, come on in," Kurt said when he opened the door to see Jeff Hardy and
Stacy Kiebler. He almost thought they wouldn't come. "Mackenzie is
asleep."
"We brought beer," Jeff said, holding up a 12-pack of Budweiser. "Stacy wanted to bring wine, but I thought beer was more appropriate."
"You guys went to a store together?" Kurt asked.
"I needed a ride back from the arena," Stacy said, shrugging her shoulders. "Torrie was going out with Maven after the show. Jeff decided to take pity on me."
"More like she followed me to my car and got in before I could say no," Jeff snorted.
"And people think you are such a nice guy," Stacy said, throwing her hair over her shoulder. "You have them so fooled."
"Maybe certain people just bring out my less charming qualities," Jeff said, grinning at the blond. "Or maybe it's just you."
"Did you two come because you need an audience to bicker?" Kurt asked.
Jeff and Stacy and both smiled sheepishly. "Sorry Kurt. Did you get pizza?"
"Yeah," Kurt said, pointing to two pizzas on a table by the window. Jeff got three beers out of the case as Stacy and Kurt walked to the table and started opening the pizza boxes.
For several moments, the three ate silently. Kurt watched both Jeff and Stacy, wondering how much he could trust them. Jeff had been right earlier when he said that Kurt's friends probably wouldn't tolerate his daughter too well. Having a couple of people who might be willing to watch her during his matches would be a good thing.
He knew that he could probably trust Jeff. The young man had wild hair and was fearless in the ring, but he seemed to have basic human decency. He wasn't so sure about Stacy. She seemed to like cooing over Mackenzie, but she had done some sneaky crap in the past. But he himself had done a lot of sneaky crap.
"So?" Jeff asked. "How do you know you are Mackenzie's father?"
Kurt nearly choked on his beer and Stacy swatted Jeff on his upper arm. "Jeff!" she exclaimed.
"What?" Jeff asked defensively. "You know you were wondering too. It doesn't help that Stephanie was still married to Hunter when she got pregnant. That only serves to make me more curious."
"Stephanie wasn't sleeping with Hunter when she got pregnant," Kurt said, deciding to trust Jeff and Stacy completely. He would tell them everything. "Stephanie and I had been having an affair since she bought ECW. She knew I was the mole. She and Vince reconciled long before they let anyone else know. They were just smart enough to realize they couldn't let anyone know.
"Stephanie knew right away that I was the father of her baby, because I was the only man she had slept with in months. She jumped right back into Hunter's bed. It was a part of her plan. She was afraid of Hunter, she wanted to get rid of him."
"I think Hunter got rid of her," Jeff said.
"You don't know everything," Kurt replied. "The whole fake-pregnancy was a part of a larger plan. Stephanie knew she was taking chances with the baby, but she was desperate to get rid of him. She knew she had to make it seem like he was getting rid of her.
"Stephanie was the one who sent the tape to her mother," Kurt continued. "Of course, Linda was in on the whole thing too. Everything pretty much went off without a hitch. Stephanie didn't expect to get kicked off of programming completely. But she didn't care so much because she was pregnant. And you all know how I pretty much took care of Stephanie after she got kicked out of the WWF."
"Wow," Stacy said. "That's kind of interesting actually. I always wondered how Linda could do something like that to her daughter."
"Well, Stephanie and I bought a house together in upstate New York," Kurt said. "It was away from both of our families. We were happy too."
"Hard to imagine Stephanie ever being happy," Jeff commented. "Especially if she wasn't in the spotlight."
"I should have realized that too," Kurt said. "Stephanie became pretty depressed after she gave birth to Mackenzie. She was better for a bit, right after we got married. But all of a sudden she was depressed as hell again. I came home one day and she said she wanted to give the baby up for adoption."
"What?" Stacy asked in shock.
"That was pretty much my reaction," Kurt said. "She told me to choose between her and Mackenzie and I chose Mackie. She told me she wouldn't give me any of her money and I told her she would never see Mackenzie. As far as Mackenzie is concerned, her mother is dead."
"What if Stephanie comes back?" Stacy asked.
"It won't happen anytime soon," Kurt said. "She just bought a vineyard in Tuscany and she's convinced she can become a wine maker."
"How exactly do you know this?" Jeff asked. "I get the distinct impression that you don't talk to Stephanie at all anymore."
"I do talk to Shane," Kurt said. "He's the only McMahon I really talk to. I've taken Mackie to see Linda once or twice, but not too often. Shane comes and sees her pretty often."
"It's a good story," Jeff said.
"Stephanie is out of the picture completely?" Stacy asked softly.
"Yeah," Kurt replied.
"I couldn't imagine just giving up my child like that," Stacy said.
"I can't pretend to know exactly what was going on in Stephanie's head when she left," Kurt shrugged. "I hope she can make a life she's comfortable in. I just don't want her to mess Mackie up."
"She's going to need a mother," Jeff said. "Or at least another parent figure."
"How would you know?" Stacy asked derisively.
"Because my mother did die," Jeff said softly. "My dad did a great job raising Matt and I, but he had a whole lot of help."
"So did my mom," Kurt said. "Of course, I had plenty of pretty-much grown siblings when my dad died. It helped."
"Well, I'm here to help whenever you need it," Jeff offered.
"Thanks a lot," Kurt said. "I never thought I would ever be grateful to you Jeff. Hell, I was pretty certain I would never share a meal with you."
"And could you have imagined divulging all your skeletons to me?" Jeff asked, grinning at Kurt.
"I don't think so," Kurt replied.
"I want to help too," Stacy said. "It's not right that Stephanie left you high and dry. And if Jeff is going to be around, Mackenzie is definitely going to need someone normal around. And she'll need a little bit of femininity around."
"You guys, I really appreciate this," Kurt said. "But before you commit yourself to this I want to remind you that Mackenzie has already been left by her mother. And she realizes Stephanie isn't around. A child knows when their mother is not around anymore. I don't want you to commit yourself to Mackenzie if you can't promise to stick around. I won't hold it against you. I just have to look out for her."
Jeff looked at Kurt with new-found admiration. "I'll stick around."
"Me too," Stacy said.
"Okay," Kurt said. "Thank you both."
"Don't thank me until you know the kid ends up semi-normal," Jeff said, in good-humor.
"Oh God," Stacy groaned in mock-horror.
"I mean it though you two. I really appreciate you two going out on a limb here," Kurt said. "Especially considering my checkered past."
"It's not a problem Kurt," Jeff said. "All that really matters is Mackenzie, right?"
"Absolutely," Kurt replied.
"We brought beer," Jeff said, holding up a 12-pack of Budweiser. "Stacy wanted to bring wine, but I thought beer was more appropriate."
"You guys went to a store together?" Kurt asked.
"I needed a ride back from the arena," Stacy said, shrugging her shoulders. "Torrie was going out with Maven after the show. Jeff decided to take pity on me."
"More like she followed me to my car and got in before I could say no," Jeff snorted.
"And people think you are such a nice guy," Stacy said, throwing her hair over her shoulder. "You have them so fooled."
"Maybe certain people just bring out my less charming qualities," Jeff said, grinning at the blond. "Or maybe it's just you."
"Did you two come because you need an audience to bicker?" Kurt asked.
Jeff and Stacy and both smiled sheepishly. "Sorry Kurt. Did you get pizza?"
"Yeah," Kurt said, pointing to two pizzas on a table by the window. Jeff got three beers out of the case as Stacy and Kurt walked to the table and started opening the pizza boxes.
For several moments, the three ate silently. Kurt watched both Jeff and Stacy, wondering how much he could trust them. Jeff had been right earlier when he said that Kurt's friends probably wouldn't tolerate his daughter too well. Having a couple of people who might be willing to watch her during his matches would be a good thing.
He knew that he could probably trust Jeff. The young man had wild hair and was fearless in the ring, but he seemed to have basic human decency. He wasn't so sure about Stacy. She seemed to like cooing over Mackenzie, but she had done some sneaky crap in the past. But he himself had done a lot of sneaky crap.
"So?" Jeff asked. "How do you know you are Mackenzie's father?"
Kurt nearly choked on his beer and Stacy swatted Jeff on his upper arm. "Jeff!" she exclaimed.
"What?" Jeff asked defensively. "You know you were wondering too. It doesn't help that Stephanie was still married to Hunter when she got pregnant. That only serves to make me more curious."
"Stephanie wasn't sleeping with Hunter when she got pregnant," Kurt said, deciding to trust Jeff and Stacy completely. He would tell them everything. "Stephanie and I had been having an affair since she bought ECW. She knew I was the mole. She and Vince reconciled long before they let anyone else know. They were just smart enough to realize they couldn't let anyone know.
"Stephanie knew right away that I was the father of her baby, because I was the only man she had slept with in months. She jumped right back into Hunter's bed. It was a part of her plan. She was afraid of Hunter, she wanted to get rid of him."
"I think Hunter got rid of her," Jeff said.
"You don't know everything," Kurt replied. "The whole fake-pregnancy was a part of a larger plan. Stephanie knew she was taking chances with the baby, but she was desperate to get rid of him. She knew she had to make it seem like he was getting rid of her.
"Stephanie was the one who sent the tape to her mother," Kurt continued. "Of course, Linda was in on the whole thing too. Everything pretty much went off without a hitch. Stephanie didn't expect to get kicked off of programming completely. But she didn't care so much because she was pregnant. And you all know how I pretty much took care of Stephanie after she got kicked out of the WWF."
"Wow," Stacy said. "That's kind of interesting actually. I always wondered how Linda could do something like that to her daughter."
"Well, Stephanie and I bought a house together in upstate New York," Kurt said. "It was away from both of our families. We were happy too."
"Hard to imagine Stephanie ever being happy," Jeff commented. "Especially if she wasn't in the spotlight."
"I should have realized that too," Kurt said. "Stephanie became pretty depressed after she gave birth to Mackenzie. She was better for a bit, right after we got married. But all of a sudden she was depressed as hell again. I came home one day and she said she wanted to give the baby up for adoption."
"What?" Stacy asked in shock.
"That was pretty much my reaction," Kurt said. "She told me to choose between her and Mackenzie and I chose Mackie. She told me she wouldn't give me any of her money and I told her she would never see Mackenzie. As far as Mackenzie is concerned, her mother is dead."
"What if Stephanie comes back?" Stacy asked.
"It won't happen anytime soon," Kurt said. "She just bought a vineyard in Tuscany and she's convinced she can become a wine maker."
"How exactly do you know this?" Jeff asked. "I get the distinct impression that you don't talk to Stephanie at all anymore."
"I do talk to Shane," Kurt said. "He's the only McMahon I really talk to. I've taken Mackie to see Linda once or twice, but not too often. Shane comes and sees her pretty often."
"It's a good story," Jeff said.
"Stephanie is out of the picture completely?" Stacy asked softly.
"Yeah," Kurt replied.
"I couldn't imagine just giving up my child like that," Stacy said.
"I can't pretend to know exactly what was going on in Stephanie's head when she left," Kurt shrugged. "I hope she can make a life she's comfortable in. I just don't want her to mess Mackie up."
"She's going to need a mother," Jeff said. "Or at least another parent figure."
"How would you know?" Stacy asked derisively.
"Because my mother did die," Jeff said softly. "My dad did a great job raising Matt and I, but he had a whole lot of help."
"So did my mom," Kurt said. "Of course, I had plenty of pretty-much grown siblings when my dad died. It helped."
"Well, I'm here to help whenever you need it," Jeff offered.
"Thanks a lot," Kurt said. "I never thought I would ever be grateful to you Jeff. Hell, I was pretty certain I would never share a meal with you."
"And could you have imagined divulging all your skeletons to me?" Jeff asked, grinning at Kurt.
"I don't think so," Kurt replied.
"I want to help too," Stacy said. "It's not right that Stephanie left you high and dry. And if Jeff is going to be around, Mackenzie is definitely going to need someone normal around. And she'll need a little bit of femininity around."
"You guys, I really appreciate this," Kurt said. "But before you commit yourself to this I want to remind you that Mackenzie has already been left by her mother. And she realizes Stephanie isn't around. A child knows when their mother is not around anymore. I don't want you to commit yourself to Mackenzie if you can't promise to stick around. I won't hold it against you. I just have to look out for her."
Jeff looked at Kurt with new-found admiration. "I'll stick around."
"Me too," Stacy said.
"Okay," Kurt said. "Thank you both."
"Don't thank me until you know the kid ends up semi-normal," Jeff said, in good-humor.
"Oh God," Stacy groaned in mock-horror.
"I mean it though you two. I really appreciate you two going out on a limb here," Kurt said. "Especially considering my checkered past."
"It's not a problem Kurt," Jeff said. "All that really matters is Mackenzie, right?"
"Absolutely," Kurt replied.