Chapter 35

Well, that was good to know, apparently he had telegraphed his panic or something. "Now Tressa," He took a slow sip of his water, his throat suddenly a bit dry. It was one thing to have those thoughts, another entirely to basically newsflash them to the person they were about. "Any man would be lucky to have ye, if ye were ever open to dating or being in a relationship again." She wasn't and made that abundantly clear, which was why he probably hadn't tried pushing for more. Drew wasn't about to make the mistake her friend had. He knew better than to fall in love with a woman who couldn't love him in return. "I didn't mean to…come across like a jackass."

"You didn't. I just…saw the look on your face and I wanted to clarify what I meant."

Tressa was terrified to open herself up to a relationship again, slowly turning her spoon into the pineapple and cottage cheese. She was scared to be romantically involved with anyone, to date, and to let another man take care of her and now this baby. That guilt, that nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach…this wasn't Joseph's baby, this was Drew's baby – a Scottish baby, at that. She wasn't having Joseph's baby like she was supposed to and she couldn't get past that guilt yet, even though she loved this baby with all of her heart.

"I have too much baggage and emotional bullshit to really deal with a relationship right now, even if I wanted to try. No man deserves to deal with that, and they shouldn't have to. I know I wouldn't, regardless of how much I like the person."

"Seems fair."

Drew was definitely ordering her the pineapple upside-down cake for dessert. The poor woman deserved something pleasant because now she was down in the dumps. He examined his plate, finally trying the pasta salad he had ordered as silence reigned between them. Reaching across the table, he took her hand and squeezed gently.

"It will pass, ye ken." He said quietly. "Not anytime soon, but one day, when ye least expect it, it'll pass."

He had learned that watching his father, who had been married to the same woman for many, many years. Now he was dating and enjoying his life, though it had taken him a long time to pull himself out of his grief from losing the woman he had lived the bulk of his life with. All Tressa could do was hope that was true and, little by little, she didn't realize it yet, but it WAS happening the more time she spent with Drew.

Dean Ambrose is leaving the WWE.

Dean Ambrose has given his notice to WWE officials.

Dean Ambrose is not renewing his contract, which expires in late April.

Dean Ambrose turns down a multi-million dollar 5-year contract with WWE.

What the hell was going on? All Tressa could do was read the headlines flashing across her screen and couldn't fathom WWE without Jon. He was leaving? He was leaving the largest wrestling organization on the planet? Granted, things were happening in the wrestling world that was incredible, such as new wrestling organizations popping up. Chris Jericho had left WWE, refusing to re-sign with them and she knew Jon and Chris were good friends. What did Joe think of this, though? Or Colby? Did they even know this was happening? Tressa didn't realize she was crying until she felt a hand on her cheek and looked up from her phone, staring into the sad pale blues of Jon.

"You son of a bitch." She whispered, cupping his face in her hands, and wanted to slap the hell out of him.

Why? That was all she wanted to ask him was why. Why was he leaving the WWE? Was he really that unhappy here? Was it because of her and his feelings? Instead, all Tressa could do was crush herself against him, as far as she could because her belly had popped a week ago. Everybody in the company knew she was pregnant now, but nobody knew who the father was and had only speculated on it.

"Please don't leave…" She whispered in his ear, tightening her arms around his neck, and didn't know what she would do without her best friend here.

"I'm sorry, darlin', but there really isn't anything you can say that's going to change my mind." Jon whispered back, not bothering to try prying her off of him, and just held her close. He could feel Tressa's tears beating down on him and sighed, letting her cry. When she finally pulled away, he flashed a sad smile down at her. "This isn't about you, so don't think that." It was about where he was in this damn company and the way the higher up's 'seen' him progressing. He wasn't happy with it and he had made it known, a lot.

"W-What am I going to do without you?" Tressa knew he wasn't happy with his spot in the company, especially after coming back from a life-threatening, career-threatening injury. This man had given his life to this sport, since the age of 16 and he deserved far better than what this company gave him. "That's why you lost the Intercontinental title before the Royal Rumble, right?" He nodded and she hugged him again, feeling her heart shatter in her chest at losing her best friend. "I'm going to miss you so much, Jon. So damn much." What more could fate throw at her? She was pregnant by a man she barely conversed with, unless it was about the baby, she lost her husband and one baby already, and now Jon was leaving. "I believe in you, though. I believe you're doing what you feel is best and I hope you find what you're looking for out there. Because you deserve it. You deserve to be happy, you hear me?" Those words left a bitter taste in her mouth, even though she did mean them.

"Then why does your face twist up like you sucked on a lemon, darlin'?" Jon teased, blinking away the wetness in his eyes. Allergies or something. Part of him was royally pissed that the McMahons had used his prior germ phobia, the MRSA fear, and twisted it into something they could put on television. Sure, it had likely encouraged some kids to get vaccinated or something, but Jesus H. Christ was nothing sacred anymore? "Not like you're not going to see me, Kitten," She rarely called him 'Daddy' anymore, but he hadn't and probably never would stop with the pet names. "I'll pop around and bug you, and send you those pregnancy memes still."

"It's not the same and you know it. You know once you get rolling in the Indies again, or whatever organization you work for, you're going to be too busy to see me. A phone call here and there. Text messaging here and there, but…Jon, it's never going to be the same." Tressa sniffled, wiping her tears away, and let out a soft growl of annoyance, hating that her emotions and hormones were raging. "Just…be happy, okay? I do mean it, even though I don't want you to leave, I really want you to be happy because, as you very well know, life is too damn short to be miserable, Daddy."

She cracked a small smile when his eyes actually lit up and hoped they would always remain friends, even if they didn't see each other anymore. Now, if only she would apply that to her own life, Tressa would be on top of the world, but her fear was holding her back from achieving happiness again. The grief was gone, mostly, though she would always love and miss Joseph with all her heart and soul.

That would never, ever change.

Seeing the waves of emotions in those beautiful eyes, Jon hoisted her pregnant ass up again and felt her nearly squeezing him to death. He returned it as much as he could without hurting her or the baby she was carrying. He was planning on just taking it easy for a while and watching to see what happened with the new organization Chris had signed with.

"Love you, darlin'," He kissed the side of her head before putting her down. "Unfortunately, I still have to go work for these asshats, and I'm sure they're eager to punish me."

"I love you too. Be careful."

Tressa watched him walk back inside the arena and let fresh tears slide down her cheeks, feeling as though her heart was ripped from her chest. Again. She rubbed her stomach through the tunic she had on and closed her eyes for a minute or two, calming herself down the best she could. Then, she went back inside to get back to work, to do what she did best, and stuffed all the other emotional crap in the back of her mind for the time being. Even though everybody knew she was pregnant, nobody asked questions and left her alone, which is what Tressa preferred.

It was nobody's business who the father was, how far along she was or anything to do with the pregnancy. Tressa got lost in her work, focusing more than she ever had before, and couldn't wait to get back to the hotel to rest up. Tomorrow, she had two days off and, instead of going to Minnesota, she was heading to Tampa to look at a couple of houses she had her eye on. It wasn't just because of Drew living there; she really did like Tampa and it was even farther away from Minnesota than Texas.

"Here."

She had been talking about relocating to Tampa and once she had given him what was a laundry list of reasons why, Drew hadn't blamed her one bit. In fact, putting distance between herself and her in-laws was the best thing for her, and he preferred her and his wee one to be closer rather than on the opposite end of the states. So, he had started house hunting for her, knowing she was doing most everything online. He had a few sheets of paper in his hand, grinning sheepishly.

"I was trying to be helpful."

She'd been on her way out of the arena to head back to the hotel, the night over with, when Drew approached her with the papers. She took them from him, eyebrows furrowing at the houses he had picked out, and chewed her thumbnail thoughtfully. "We must be in sync or you're a mind reader, or maybe a psychic." She turned the third page and held it up to him with a soft smile. "I'm going to look at this one tomorrow afternoon." It was beautiful and perfect, with four bedrooms with a wraparound porch, and a huge fenced-in backyard for the baby. A pool as well, no stairs, it was a ranch, but it did have a basement.

"Ah well, this one I wasn't sure about, but the neighborhood is nice from what me realtor says." He said with a grin, rubbing the back of his neck as he stared down at her. "It's actually not that far from where I am."

Unlike most people assumed, he did not live right on the beach, that would have been asking for trouble. Not to mention, he wasn't home enough to enjoy it and he sure as hell didn't want to pay the outrageous taxes for something he wasn't enjoying. He was sweet to help her with finding a place in Tampa. She didn't think he was overstepping his boundaries at all. Granted, he'd given her space recently and Tressa didn't think he'd get too involved in her life until after the baby was born. However, this proved her assumptions wrong and Tressa found herself craving intimacy. It was in the book her doctor gave her – women craved sex a lot during the second and even third trimesters. The morning sickness was gone and she was feeling better than she had in months.

"Thank you, Andrew." Reaching up, she stroked his bearded face with her hand and slid the pad of her thumb across his bottom lip, shivering when he nipped it with his teeth. Her entire body was more sensitive now as the pregnancy progressed and that simple nip sent tremors throughout her frame. "If you want, you can come with me to look at it tomorrow. Make sure it has your stamp of approval with safety and whatnot for the baby." Her hand hadn't left his face, her eyes remaining locked on his and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, wondering what was going through his mind at the moment.

"Ah yeah lass, I can tell ye right now…nothing besides a giant hamster wheel made out of bubble wrap is gonna get my stamp of approval for the bairn."

He pulled her hand from his face, brushing his lips against her palm, and didn't miss the way she shivered, one eyebrow slowly rising. It was none of his business, but he was a bit curious if the last time she had been intimate with someone had been when she had been with him. That seemed like ages ago. There was no way she could have sex with another man that wasn't the father of this baby. That was just all kinds of wrong. And it had been almost 3 months since she'd last been touched by a man…him.

"I will have you know I will never have a hamster wheel of any kind in my home, Andrew." She informed him, a teasing tone to her voice, and wondered if he still desired her now that she was fat. Granted, it was for a good reason, but it still didn't make her feel beautiful – as a matter of fact, Tressa was self-conscious of her body more than ever nowadays. "So, is that a yes or no to come with me?"

"Aye, I'll meet ye there." He laughed, letting his hands drop down to his sides, and then stuffed them into his pockets. Stepping back, he adjusted his bag and grinned down at her. "Ye can swing by me place afterward, pet, see just how tame the Highlander is in his downtime." That was the first time he had invited her anywhere except to dinner or his hotel room, but considering they were going to be parents…now it just made sense.

"Sure, I'd like that." She slid her hand down his chest slowly, recalling how they'd gotten together in the first place. The hotel bar, the touching and pure fire between them. Tressa was feeling that all over again and it was even better because, this time, she was sober. "Just so you know, I haven't been with anyone else except you, Highlander." He had just given her the perfect nickname to call him and his eyes suddenly darkened a little, making her drop her own hand from his chest. "See you tomorrow." Tressa walked away from him, looking down at the papers in her hand, and smiled at his thoughtfulness.

The Scotsman never failed to amaze her, it seemed.

Any other time, Drew would have chased after that beautiful, swinging backside. He was well aware when a woman was giving him the come hither and she was definitely giving it. But…Not tonight. No, she was coming to Tampa and maybe some downtime off the road and definitely out of hotels. And…After everything, and knowing what he did now, he was trying to keep levelheaded around the beautiful woman, who could probably easily wrap him around her little finger if he gave in to even a fraction of his thoughts. Smirking, he headed for his own car.

Tomorrow would be interesting.