To His Heart, Bidding It Have No Fear
By Kyizi
Disclaimer: These characters belong to the WWE, the Title belongs to WB Yeats
Rating: PG-13
E-mail: kyizifanfic@hotmail.com
Category: WWF
Distribution: If you want, ask, I'll likely say yes
Spoilers: No episodes, only for the previous two fics in this series.
Notes: This is the third (and final!) fic in my "Yeats Series", following "He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven".
I've introduced one more character, sorry, I know there were already a lot, but she was mentioned in the previous part and to round things off properly, I felt she just had to be in it. She is an original character, I stress original because I'm fed up with Mary Sues!
Due to the amount of characters, I've left out Matt, Lillian and Torrie for the main part of this fic, but they will appear at the tearjerker of an ending! (At least I cried writing it, if you don't, then nye to you!)
Please note, this isn't betad yet, so be kind to the grammar, spelling etc!
I thought the title was appropriate considering the main focus is resolving the Jeff/Lita thing and also the situation Rob is in.
~x~x~x~x~x~
BE you still, be you still, trembling heart;
Remember the wisdom out of the old days:
Him who trembles before the flame and the flood,
And the winds that blow through the starry ways,
Let the starry winds and the flame and the flood
Cover over and hide, for he has no part
With the lonely, majestical multitude.
~x~x~x~x~x~
"Jodie?"
At the timid voice she turned around, almost startled to see who was there. She smiled widely and nodded her head. "Hey, Robby,"
"I thought I told you not to call me that," Rob narrowed his eyes as he entered the room, but he was still grinning.
"You did, I chose to ignore it. I like the cute little frown you get when you hear it," she teased.
"Cute?" Rob crossed his arms. "Cute? If there's one thing a grown man hates hearing it's that he's cute,"
"Gee, sorry, did I bruise the ego?"
"Yes, you did. And for that I might just not bother asking you to come with us." He turned to go, smiling at the confused look on her face. He knew he had intrigued her and if there was anything he knew about her it was that she hated not knowing things. The question was, had he interested her enough to actually ask, or would it all backfire?
"Go where?"
He smiled and turned around. "Road trip."
She looked at him sceptically and crossed her arms. "As in one of those trips that involve the fatal five?"
"The what?" Rob laughed, having a pretty good idea what she was talking about.
"Chris Jericho, Lita, Jeff Hardy, Edge and Stephanie McMahon. You know the five that have been on two road trips in the last few months, both of which ended with them being stranded in the middle of nowhere?"
Rob laughed. "Come on, it wasn't that bad, and it's not very likely to happen again, is it?" She looked at him sceptically as if he'd just jinxed things, but he didn't seem to notice. "Besides, they both had their good points. Lita and Edge have never been happier, same goes for Jeff and Stace, and Chris and Steph are getting married next week. It's like, their last chance to have fun before they have to at least pretend to be responsible."
"Those two? Responsible?" she snorted. "That's about as likely to happen as me becoming a wrestler."
Rob smiled. "If you want me to arrange that, I'm sure I could try."
Jodie raised her eyebrows at him but smiled. "Yeah, right. For a start, I'd last about two minutes!" her grin faded. "Besides, I'd have to be fit and healthy for that, and we both know I'm not." Rob stared at her and she didn't like the look he was giving her, as if she was a time bomb about to go off. She thought he'd moved past that but she knew it was difficult. Shaking her head she grinned at him. "And anyway, the crew would be lost without me!"
"They certainly would. We all would." At the sincerity in his voice, she blushed a little, her pale features reddening easily and he smirked. "Your face is suddenly the same colour as your hair, Miss Reeves, I can't think why." She took a step towards him and smacked his arm. "Hey! You may not be a wrestler, but I don't think you know your own strength!"
She rolled her eyes. "Baby,"
He mock glared at her and then smiled softly. "So, you in?"
She took a deep breath and smiled. "If it means you'll go away and let me get back to work, then yes, I'm in.but only if I can sweet talk the guys into taking on my share of the get out."
"Hey, if it means you'll come, I'll find someone to tidy away your stuff for you." He grinned and winked at her before exiting the room with slightly more bounce than a man his size could really get away with.
"Hey, Van Dam, what're you prancing about like a sissy for?"
Jodie laughed as she heard Chris Jericho approach his friend, and turned back to her work. She loved spending time with Rob, but she was never sure how he thought of her. Was she just another one of the guys, or did he consider her a friend? Or, a small part of her hoped, did he think of her as more than a friend? She sighed and shook her head, if she was going on a road trip with the fatal five, she wanted to make sure she had very little work to do when they finally got the next arena.if they ever got there.
~x~x~x~x~x~
"Hit me."
"Oh, please, do not tempt me, jerky."
"Who's idea was it to play cards?"
"Uh, Stace, it was yours."
"You're my boyfriend, you're meant to be on my side!"
Jeff smiled and pecked Stacy on the cheek as Lita finally gave in and gave Jericho a card. They had been travelling for over two hours, but thanks to the heat and Lillian's absence, Stephanie's temperament was suffering. The early stages of her pregnancy were going well, but it seemed, to the others at least, that it was an excuse for her to fly off the handle for no reason. Not that anyone would actually tell her that in case she flew off the handle.
"Why did it have to be this weekend? She was meant to be here."
Chris resisted the urge to sigh and leaned into the front passenger seat to talk to his fiancé. "Steph, honey, I really don't think Lil's grandfather planned to have a heart attack just to ruin your weekend."
"I know that, and I'm glad he's okay, but Lillian and Matt were meant to be here. She's my best friend. This sucks."
Chris smiled and cuddled her from behind. "I know it does, sweetie, but we can still have a good time."
Stephanie let out an exaggerated sigh and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. It wasn't long before she was drifting into a silent sleep. Chris smiled and moved back into his own seat, nudging Rob further into the middle.
"Quit hoggin' all the room, wise ass," he said with mock glare.
"It's not my fault that you're letting yourself go just because you're about to get married."
"Hey! I resent that remark." He paused for a moment. "Good comeback though."
"Yeah, I'll have to cut back the time I'm spending with you."
Chris opened his mouth to speak but closed it quickly. "I have a witty retort for that, but not even I can bring myself to say it."
Jodie giggled and continued to stare out of her window.
"You have something to say, Miss Reeves?" Chris asked with an arched brow.
"I'm just wishin' I had this on tape. No one'll believe me when I tell them Chris Jericho actually thought before speakin'."
"Hey! I have thought,"
"Oh, I don't doubt it, but with you, doesn't it tend to follow the remark, rather than precede it?"
"Oh, she has wit," Chris smirked at Rob. "Better keep an eye on this one, she might give you the slip when she realises that I'm the one she wants." Both Jodie and Stephanie snorted and Chris pretended to look offended. "I thought you were meant to be asleep, my wife,"
"We're not married yet, Christopher, and remember if you keep making remarks like that about other women, we might never be."
"Hey, darling, sweetheart, I said she'd want me, I never said I'd want her, you know where my heart belongs!"
"Oh, dear lord, someone shoot me now," Edge said, glancing into the rear view mirror. "Chris Jericho baring his heart is a painful sight to behold."
"Actually," Jeff said with a smirk. "I'm thinkin' this could get amusing, do we have any popcorn?"
~x~x~x~x~x~
"This is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening,"
"Chill out, Li, we'll be fine,"
"Chill out?" Lita said with an icy voice. "Chill out? We're, once again, count, one two three times, stuck in the middle of nowhere with a broken vehicle, how is this fine?"
"Honey, I think Rob's right, you need to relax." Jeff stepped towards her, as Rob shied away from Lita's wrath, moving closer to Jodie.
"Do you want a broken nose?" Lita glared and Jeff raised his eyebrows. She relented and allowed him to pull her into an embrace for a few moments before she started pacing the roadside again.
"Who's idea was it to go on another one of our disastrous road trips *one week* before my wedding?"
"Uh, yours!" Lita glared at her friend and Steph glared back.
"Yeah, I believe it was something to do with bonding and fun," Edge said with raised brows as he approached Lita from behind, pulling her into his arms.
"Fine! So sue me if I wanted to spend a nice day with my friends before I got married!" Steph shouted, punctuating her sentence with a sob as she broke down.
"Look, Steph, I'm really sorry," Lita said moving towards her friend.
"It's not your fault, it's these damn hormones!" Steph said with a sniff, pulling away from her. Chris, who had returned from the car, placed an arm around her.
"Yeah, at least you have an excuse, Li's just pissy again." Lita whacked Jeff's arm and he pouted at her. "See what I mean?" he smiled and turned to Jodie. "Gee, aren't you glad you came along?"
Jodie smiled and shook her head. "You're all insane. You do realise that, right?"
Jeff winked at her. "Well, you agreed to come with us, what does that make you?"
"A glutten for punishment," she groaned, smiling when Rob winked at her. "So, what do we do now?" she asked.
"Well, usually, we walk for a bit and some random stranger picks us up and offers us their spare house for the night."
Jodie raised her eyebrows, "You're joking, right?"
"Actually, honey, he's completely serious," Edge said, smiling at the tech's incredulous look.
Chris shrugged, "And it's worked so far."
"You're all insane!"
"You said that already,"
"You get used to it," Stacy said with a smile, wrapping her arms around Jeff's waist. "And, like the idiot said, it's worked so far."
"Not you too, Stace! I'd pegged you with a little more class."
"Well, I guess I spend too much time with you Chris,"
Chris smiled widely and opened his mouth to speak but Jeff cut him off. "If this is you thinkin' you've found the opportunity to use that retort, think again and close your mouth, jerky."
Edge frowned. "Chris, there's just something fundamentally wrong with a grown man pouting."
Rob shook his head. "So, consensus says.?"
"I think we should do the walking thing," Stacy said with a shrug. "If it's worked before, I'm not scoffing it."
"I'm in," Rob shrugged.
"Anyone against?"
~x~x~x~x~x~
"We've been walking for hours!"
"This was your idea, honey."
"Don't try to tell me this was my idea, you said it'd never failed before!"
Jeff shrugged and pulled her closer. "It hasn't. Doesn't mean it'll work this time."
"I vote we rest," Steph said. "The pregnant lady's ankles are about to break."
"Uh, Steph, honey, you're hardly even showing yet, why would your ankles be.I'll shut up now." Chris smiled and pulled her to the side of the road where they sat down on his jacket.
Rob watched Jodie from the corner of his eye and frowned before sitting next to her. "You okay?"
"Just dandy, you?"
"Jo, I'm serious, are you okay?"
Jodie closed her eyes and sighed. "Rob, I thought we'd agreed, no treating me like the invalid, I'm fine."
"I'm not trying to treat you like an invalid, Jodie, but I'm just worried you'll take the not mentioning it too far and forget to let me know when it's serious."
She smiled a little and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'll tell you what, lets make a deal. I'll agree to make sure and tell you if it gets serious if you'll promise to treat me like everyone else here."
Rob smiled. "I'll try, but I'm not so sure I want to think of Jerky over there the same way I think of you, that'd just be disgusting."
"It would?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to continue probing, but her curiosity got the better of her. And if she was honest, so did her heart. "Why? How do you think of me?"
"Well, I-"
"Hey, Rob! You still got that candy bar you had earlier? The pregnant lady wants something sweet and apparently I'm not enough!"
~x~x~x~x~x~
The road was getting as muddy as the sky was dark and there was still no sign of anyone. They had been walking again for what seemed like hours, but Lita knew it could only have been about twenty minutes and she was getting more irritable by the second.
She glanced around the group, knowing that no one was really in the mood for talking, if she was honest with herself, she didn't feel much like talking either. She hated this time of year.
She glanced at Jeff and their gaze instantly locked. She couldn't breathe for what seemed like a split second before she offered him a small smile. He was always there for her, he always knew when to speak and when to be silent and right now all she wanted was to talk to him. She needed to speak to him and she knew the time had come when they had to face up to things. She just knew.
She turned her head from side to side, hoping to ease some of the tension in her neck. It didn't work. Sighing, she glanced at Edge who was regarding her curiously and she smiled reassuringly at him.
"You okay?" he asked softly.
"I'm fine."
"You sure? You seem a little, I don't know, spaced out."
She smiled and nodded. "Guess I am a little spaced. It's nothing."
Edge frowned but didn't push the matter further; instead he just nodded and turned his gaze ahead of him. Lita closed her eyes briefly, hating that she was lying to him. She just needed to sort things out in her own headfirst and until she did that, she didn't feel like she could talk about it. Even to him.
Glancing to her left she frowned, noticing the beads of sweat that were running down Jodie's face. The woman seemed to be having difficulty breathing and she was stumbling after every other step. She didn't want to overstep her mark, but she noticed that Rob was looking extremely concerned but seemed to be holding himself back. She wasn't so sure that was wise.
"Jodie? Are you okay?" Lita frowned when it took the woman a few minutes to register that she was being spoken to.
"Jodie?" Rob couldn't keep the panic out of his voice.
"Rob," she mumbled. "I think now would be one of those times I told you it was bad." With that Jodie fell towards the ground, stopped only as Rob's arms banded around her waist.
"Jodie!" Rob quickly laid her on the ground as the others ran towards them. "Oh, God. Jo are you awake? Can you hear me?"
"I'm-I'm awake. Just need to breathe."
"Well, that always helps," Rob said, trying to smile.
"Everything okay?" Lita asked gently as she sat on the other side of Jodie.
"Oh, yeah," the woman replied with a smile. "I'm havin' a blast. We should do this more often." She coughed and Rob helped her sit up, allowing her to lean back onto him.
"Make sure next week's free, I'm sure we can arrange something,"
"Hey, in case you've forgotten, my wedding is next weekend and you are all expected to be there," Steph said, trying to smile.
Jodie laughed and nodded. "I'll take that as my invitation then."
"We figured you'd be Rob's other half anyway, but yes, consider that your invitation." Chris smiled.
"So, y'all plannin' on standin' there starin' at me or you gonna take the opportunity to rest?"
"Well, I'm always up for a rest." Steph said with a smile.
~x~x~x~x~x~
"You gonna tell me what's botherin' you?"
"Nothing," Rob said quickly.
"Rob, you've always known I was sick, but if you want to stay away from me I understand."
Rob looked over her shoulder, tilting her head until she was looking up at him. "Why would I want to stay away from you?"
"I understand if you don't want to get too attached before I-"
"I'm already too attached, Jo," he smiled softly and leaned closer to her, gently brushing his lips against hers.
"I was hoping you'd do that," she said as they pulled apart.
"Sorry I took so long."
"That's okay," she smirked. "As long as you realise that you have a lot of lost time to make up for," her smile faltered. "And not a lot of time to make it up in."
Rob closed his eyes. "I know. Can we not talk about this?"
Jodie shook her head. "Rob, you can ignore it all you like. But I am going to die and you are going to have to get used to that. I want to love you for what little time I have left, but if you can't handle that I'll understand. But please don't ignore it, don't make it out to be nothing, or pretend it doesn't exist. It does and I'm living with it. I may not like it, but it's a part of me and if you love me, then it comes with that love. I'm going to die."
Rob reached a hand to her cheek, brushing away tears she didn't even realise were there. He smiled sadly at her and nodded his head before leaning in to kiss her again.
"I know, and I'm sorry if I hurt you by ignoring it. I want to love you 'til the day you die."
"That day might come sooner than you think,"
Rob closed his eyes but nodded. "I know. I guess I'll just have to love you enough every day that it won't matter how long we have left."
Jodie smiled and pulled him closer. "When you say love me enough-"
Rob laughed. "I meant the feeling of love, but if you want." he trailed off. "Hey, I thought you were tired."
She smiled. "What can I say," he voice got a little more serious. "You give me strength."
~x~x~x~x~x~
"Hey."
Lita smiled, not turning to look at him. "Hey, Jeff."
"So, what ya doin' all the way over here on your own?"
She shrugged, "Just thinking."
"Better watch out for that, don't wanna hurt yourself."
Lita shook her head, "I swear you get worse every day."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
There was a silence and both were aware that it didn't have its usual friendly atmosphere. Lita shifted from foot to foot, refusing to turn and look at him.
"How's Jodie?" she asked, trying to break the awkward silence.
"She was lookin' a little better, but it's hard to tell with Rob stuck to her face."
Lita laughed a little before resuming her silence. They were standing a good distance from the others, but not too far that the light from Chris' torch wasn't still shining near them.
"You plannin' on ignorin' this for another couple of months?"
"I was thinking about it," she said with a sad smile. "Should've known you wouldn't let me."
"You looked up the poem didn't you?"
She nodded. "Eventually," she smiled sadly. "A Poet To His Beloved. It's beautiful Jeff. I'd pretty much figured out what it meant by then. I guess I just never wanted to admit it."
"Why?" Jeff sounded so upset that she couldn't stop herself from turning to look at him. "Why is it so horrible for you? Is the fact that I was in love with you so appalling to you?"
"No, Jeff, never. It's not that it's-"
When she trailed off Jeff sighed. "It's what, Li? What's so wrong with me?"
"There's nothing wrong with you, Jeff, I loved you."
Jeff smiled. "Well, I'd kinda hope ya still do."
Lita shook her head sadly, "Not like that I don't. But that's what makes it worse."
Jeff's eyes widened. "Not like what?"
Lita smiled sadly. "I gave up on you. That's what's horrible, Jeff. I gave up on you."
Jeff placed his hands on her arms and gripped her tightly. "Not like what, Lita?"
"I was so in love with you, Jeff. You were everything to me, but-but I didn't think you'd ever love me back. I gave up on you and then I heard that poem and I just knew, I just-"
Jeff pulled her into his arms as she started to cry and held onto her tightly. "Shh, it's okay."
"No, it's not okay, Jeff. What if I hadn't given up? What if-"
"Stop it, Li," Jeff's voice was quiet but strong as she looked up at him. "There are so many things that we'll never know. Maybe we could've fallen in love together, maybe we'd've grown old and grey and happy together, but think of all the things we wouldn't have. Think of the people we wouldn't have."
"Edge," she said with a smile. "I wouldn't have Edge."
Jeff returned her smile and nodded. "And I wouldn't have Stacy." At her dejected look he smiled. "You said it yourself, you don't love me like that anymore. And as hard as it was for me to admit it to myself, I don't love you that way anymore either."
"It just feels like such a waste. What we could have had-"
"What if we had got together, Li? What if we'd got together and then fallen apart. If there's one thing I do not want to live through, it's losing you as a friend. Just think what could have happened if we'd ever got together."
"But we'll never know, will we?"
Jeff shook his head. "No, we never will, but we do know this. Whatever happens, we have each other. And I'll always love you, Li."
"To His Heart, Bidding It Have No Fear,"
Jeff smiled. "You read more than that poem."
"I did. And I only wish I'd seen it before, maybe then I wouldn't've given up. But you're right, I love you but I'm in love with Edge. And I don't think I'd change that for anything."
"And that's what's upsetting you, isn't it?" Jeff asked. "You think that because even though you know I felt the same way, you don't want to change it, and you think you should."
"Shouldn't I want to at least try?"
"Honey, I love you, but we're both happy with other people at the moment. We both want different things now, why should we want to ruin that?"
Lita sighed. "We shouldn't, but-"
"But nothing. We're happy and we'll always have each other and that's what matters."
Lita nodded and pulled him closer, hugging him tightly. "I love you, Jeff."
He smiled. "I love you, too, Li. Now when are you going to talk to Edge."
"I don't know what you mean."
"Yes you do, now stop pretending. You're upset, you're always upset at this time of year and you need to let Edge know why. You're pushing him away and he knows it. You're hurting him."
"He might laugh or think I'm silly."
Jeff pulled back and stared her in the eye. "Honey, that man loves you and he would never laugh at your pain."
"I only wish you realised that, Lita."
Lita turned and stared at Edge wide-eyed. "I just-I mean I was-"
"I'll leave you guys to it," Jeff kissed her forehead and smiled at Edge before moving off to sit with Stacy and the others.
"You wanna tell me what this is all about?"
"Jeff and I were just-"
"I figured what you and Jeff were talking about, Li. I've known for a long time you two needed to sort things out. What I want to know is what's been bothering you and why you think I'd laugh at you."
Lita looked at her hands as she fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt. "I knew you wouldn't laugh at me, I guess. I just feel silly. I'm still crying over a dog that died when I was sixteen and-"
"And you think that's silly?"
She shrugged. "I guess."
Edge smiled and pulled her into his arms. "That's not silly, Lita. A pet can be as much a part of a family as a person, you have every right to be upset."
"I just feel stupid sometimes."
"Well, look on the bright side, unlike Jericho, at least you don't look stupid."
Lita laughed and shook her head before looking up at him. "I'm so in love you,"
Edge smiled. "I'm in love with you, too, Lita. And nothing will ever change that."
~x~x~x~x~x~
Rob wiped his eyes as he filled up the vase, arranging the flowers in the way she had always liked. Daffodils and white lilies had always been her favourite and he knew that she'd appreciate that he kept them fresh at her grave. It was something they'd talked about, albeit briefly. As much as he'd always promised to never ignore that she would eventually leave him, he'd still found it difficult to know that their married life would be so short.
He smiled as he remembered the look on Stephanie's face when they'd turned up at her wedding having beaten her and Chris to the altar. It had shocked them all, and it was something that he and Jodie had loved to remember. Something he still loved to remember.
He sighed and traced his fingertips over her name, engraved deeply into the block of stone. He loved her so much that he still couldn't believe she was gone. She had been gone for over two years and it still felt like yesterday that he had held her in his arms as she had breathed her last breath, the cancer having eaten up her up from the inside.
"Rob?"
He smiled and glanced behind him, nodding to let her know that he needed a little more time. He turned back to his wife's grave and took a deep breath.
"Hey Jo," he said croakily, his voice threatening to leave him. "Happy Birthday, honey. I know I haven't been by in a few weeks and I am so sorry. You probably know why, I mean you're up there watching and I know you do, I just-I just feel like I'm betraying you. I know if you were right here you'd hit me and tell me to get on with my life, and that's what I'm doing. It's just so hard to move on and leave you behind. I feel like I'm betraying you.
I love you as much now as I did the day we married and I know people think we rushed into it, but those were the happiest days of my life and I wouldn't change them for the world. But I-" Rob rubbed his eyes, not bothering to wipe away his tears.
"I love her, Jo. It's not the same way I loved you, but it's real and it is love. I know you'd be happy for me, I hope you're happy for me. I love you."
"Rob?"
Rob wiped away his tears and indicated that she should move closer. Torrie smiled a little and moved to kneel beside him, placing a hand on his arm.
"Hey Jodie," she said, her eyes tearing up. "I just wanted to say hello." She lanced at Rob who smiled reassuringly and placed a hand over hers, squeezing it gently. She smiled and looked again at the grave. "I'll take good care of him for you. I promise."
Rob smiled and turned once more to the grave. "I love you, sweetheart and I always will."
~x~x~x~x~x~
Lillian giggled and smacked Matt lightly on the arm. "Leave the poor child alone! As if having those two for parents isn't torture enough!"
"Yeah, uncle Matty, leave her alone!"
"Well, that's you told," Steph said with a smile as she entered the room, picking up her son as she moved to sit next to Lillian. "I am so tired."
"Then let Chris finish dinner. He has hands and I'm sure he knows how to use them." "He certainly does," Steph smirked. "Okay, that was more information than I ever wanted," Matt said scrunching up his nose. He handed the baby to Lillian and stood up, moving towards the kitchen. "I think I'll go watch the football with Chris. I prefer that to this."
"I think I'm insulted!" Steph said, knowing exactly how much Matt hated football.
"Don't be, he's going through a phase."
Steph laughed. "Okay, if you say so." Lillian smiled at the baby in her arms and Steph watched her curiously. "Do you and Matt ever think about starting a family?"
"We talk about it sometimes," Lillian admitted with a smile. "But we're not ready. Think we'll wait until we're married and settled down. At the moment we're just happy with the way things are,"
Steph smiled. "I'm happy for you,"
"Yeah, everybody's happy. I think I like it."
Steph smiled. "I think I do, too,"
~x~x~x~x~x~
Lita grinned at the sparkling ring on her finger. It had never occurred to her just how much she actually wanted this, but she did. She had been through so much at this point with Jeff and with Edge that the day he would propose just seemed so far away.
"Hey you,"
She smiled as he approached her from behind and wrapped her in his embrace. She leaned back and closed her eyes, staring up at the stars. She loved the stars, it was something they had in common.
"Come on, Li, let's go back inside."
She smiled and turned around to kiss him. "Okay," she traced his lips with her fingertips. "Have I told you how much I love you yet?"
He frowned, "Not today."
Lita laughed, "I love you, Edge."
"I love you too, Lita,"
~x~x~x~x~x~
Jeff grinned at the child in his arms, loving just how much she looked like her mother. Her lovely eyes shone up at him and he didn't think he'd ever been happier in his life. He still couldn't understand how he had reached this point. So much had changed and what he had always thought was his future, wasn't.
Sure, Lita and he were still the best of friends. But there was a time when he had always thought, or at least hoped, that they would be married with a family. Well, he wasn't married, but he did have a family. A family that he loved more than anything he had ever thought possible.
"Jeff, Torrie and Rob are here,"
He turned and smiled as Stacy entered the room, being careful in case the baby was asleep. As if to prove her wrong, the child in his arms squealed.
"Hey there little one," Stacy said with a grin, reaching out to take the little girl.
Jeff kissed Stacy's forehead and indicated the door. "You go down, I'll be there in a minute."
She smiled and leaned over to kiss him. "Okay." She moved quickly to the door and down the stairs where he heard Rob and Torrie greeting his daughter.
Smiling, he glanced out his window, searching for a star, one that could carry his wish and he found it. But something was wrong. He didn't need to wish. He already had everything he needed; he already had all that he could ever want. With one final look at the stars and smiled and left the room, making his way down the stairs to be with his family.
~x~x~x~x~x~
The End
End of the Yeats Series
By Kyizi
Disclaimer: These characters belong to the WWE, the Title belongs to WB Yeats
Rating: PG-13
E-mail: kyizifanfic@hotmail.com
Category: WWF
Distribution: If you want, ask, I'll likely say yes
Spoilers: No episodes, only for the previous two fics in this series.
Notes: This is the third (and final!) fic in my "Yeats Series", following "He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven".
I've introduced one more character, sorry, I know there were already a lot, but she was mentioned in the previous part and to round things off properly, I felt she just had to be in it. She is an original character, I stress original because I'm fed up with Mary Sues!
Due to the amount of characters, I've left out Matt, Lillian and Torrie for the main part of this fic, but they will appear at the tearjerker of an ending! (At least I cried writing it, if you don't, then nye to you!)
Please note, this isn't betad yet, so be kind to the grammar, spelling etc!
I thought the title was appropriate considering the main focus is resolving the Jeff/Lita thing and also the situation Rob is in.
~x~x~x~x~x~
BE you still, be you still, trembling heart;
Remember the wisdom out of the old days:
Him who trembles before the flame and the flood,
And the winds that blow through the starry ways,
Let the starry winds and the flame and the flood
Cover over and hide, for he has no part
With the lonely, majestical multitude.
~x~x~x~x~x~
"Jodie?"
At the timid voice she turned around, almost startled to see who was there. She smiled widely and nodded her head. "Hey, Robby,"
"I thought I told you not to call me that," Rob narrowed his eyes as he entered the room, but he was still grinning.
"You did, I chose to ignore it. I like the cute little frown you get when you hear it," she teased.
"Cute?" Rob crossed his arms. "Cute? If there's one thing a grown man hates hearing it's that he's cute,"
"Gee, sorry, did I bruise the ego?"
"Yes, you did. And for that I might just not bother asking you to come with us." He turned to go, smiling at the confused look on her face. He knew he had intrigued her and if there was anything he knew about her it was that she hated not knowing things. The question was, had he interested her enough to actually ask, or would it all backfire?
"Go where?"
He smiled and turned around. "Road trip."
She looked at him sceptically and crossed her arms. "As in one of those trips that involve the fatal five?"
"The what?" Rob laughed, having a pretty good idea what she was talking about.
"Chris Jericho, Lita, Jeff Hardy, Edge and Stephanie McMahon. You know the five that have been on two road trips in the last few months, both of which ended with them being stranded in the middle of nowhere?"
Rob laughed. "Come on, it wasn't that bad, and it's not very likely to happen again, is it?" She looked at him sceptically as if he'd just jinxed things, but he didn't seem to notice. "Besides, they both had their good points. Lita and Edge have never been happier, same goes for Jeff and Stace, and Chris and Steph are getting married next week. It's like, their last chance to have fun before they have to at least pretend to be responsible."
"Those two? Responsible?" she snorted. "That's about as likely to happen as me becoming a wrestler."
Rob smiled. "If you want me to arrange that, I'm sure I could try."
Jodie raised her eyebrows at him but smiled. "Yeah, right. For a start, I'd last about two minutes!" her grin faded. "Besides, I'd have to be fit and healthy for that, and we both know I'm not." Rob stared at her and she didn't like the look he was giving her, as if she was a time bomb about to go off. She thought he'd moved past that but she knew it was difficult. Shaking her head she grinned at him. "And anyway, the crew would be lost without me!"
"They certainly would. We all would." At the sincerity in his voice, she blushed a little, her pale features reddening easily and he smirked. "Your face is suddenly the same colour as your hair, Miss Reeves, I can't think why." She took a step towards him and smacked his arm. "Hey! You may not be a wrestler, but I don't think you know your own strength!"
She rolled her eyes. "Baby,"
He mock glared at her and then smiled softly. "So, you in?"
She took a deep breath and smiled. "If it means you'll go away and let me get back to work, then yes, I'm in.but only if I can sweet talk the guys into taking on my share of the get out."
"Hey, if it means you'll come, I'll find someone to tidy away your stuff for you." He grinned and winked at her before exiting the room with slightly more bounce than a man his size could really get away with.
"Hey, Van Dam, what're you prancing about like a sissy for?"
Jodie laughed as she heard Chris Jericho approach his friend, and turned back to her work. She loved spending time with Rob, but she was never sure how he thought of her. Was she just another one of the guys, or did he consider her a friend? Or, a small part of her hoped, did he think of her as more than a friend? She sighed and shook her head, if she was going on a road trip with the fatal five, she wanted to make sure she had very little work to do when they finally got the next arena.if they ever got there.
~x~x~x~x~x~
"Hit me."
"Oh, please, do not tempt me, jerky."
"Who's idea was it to play cards?"
"Uh, Stace, it was yours."
"You're my boyfriend, you're meant to be on my side!"
Jeff smiled and pecked Stacy on the cheek as Lita finally gave in and gave Jericho a card. They had been travelling for over two hours, but thanks to the heat and Lillian's absence, Stephanie's temperament was suffering. The early stages of her pregnancy were going well, but it seemed, to the others at least, that it was an excuse for her to fly off the handle for no reason. Not that anyone would actually tell her that in case she flew off the handle.
"Why did it have to be this weekend? She was meant to be here."
Chris resisted the urge to sigh and leaned into the front passenger seat to talk to his fiancé. "Steph, honey, I really don't think Lil's grandfather planned to have a heart attack just to ruin your weekend."
"I know that, and I'm glad he's okay, but Lillian and Matt were meant to be here. She's my best friend. This sucks."
Chris smiled and cuddled her from behind. "I know it does, sweetie, but we can still have a good time."
Stephanie let out an exaggerated sigh and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. It wasn't long before she was drifting into a silent sleep. Chris smiled and moved back into his own seat, nudging Rob further into the middle.
"Quit hoggin' all the room, wise ass," he said with mock glare.
"It's not my fault that you're letting yourself go just because you're about to get married."
"Hey! I resent that remark." He paused for a moment. "Good comeback though."
"Yeah, I'll have to cut back the time I'm spending with you."
Chris opened his mouth to speak but closed it quickly. "I have a witty retort for that, but not even I can bring myself to say it."
Jodie giggled and continued to stare out of her window.
"You have something to say, Miss Reeves?" Chris asked with an arched brow.
"I'm just wishin' I had this on tape. No one'll believe me when I tell them Chris Jericho actually thought before speakin'."
"Hey! I have thought,"
"Oh, I don't doubt it, but with you, doesn't it tend to follow the remark, rather than precede it?"
"Oh, she has wit," Chris smirked at Rob. "Better keep an eye on this one, she might give you the slip when she realises that I'm the one she wants." Both Jodie and Stephanie snorted and Chris pretended to look offended. "I thought you were meant to be asleep, my wife,"
"We're not married yet, Christopher, and remember if you keep making remarks like that about other women, we might never be."
"Hey, darling, sweetheart, I said she'd want me, I never said I'd want her, you know where my heart belongs!"
"Oh, dear lord, someone shoot me now," Edge said, glancing into the rear view mirror. "Chris Jericho baring his heart is a painful sight to behold."
"Actually," Jeff said with a smirk. "I'm thinkin' this could get amusing, do we have any popcorn?"
~x~x~x~x~x~
"This is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening,"
"Chill out, Li, we'll be fine,"
"Chill out?" Lita said with an icy voice. "Chill out? We're, once again, count, one two three times, stuck in the middle of nowhere with a broken vehicle, how is this fine?"
"Honey, I think Rob's right, you need to relax." Jeff stepped towards her, as Rob shied away from Lita's wrath, moving closer to Jodie.
"Do you want a broken nose?" Lita glared and Jeff raised his eyebrows. She relented and allowed him to pull her into an embrace for a few moments before she started pacing the roadside again.
"Who's idea was it to go on another one of our disastrous road trips *one week* before my wedding?"
"Uh, yours!" Lita glared at her friend and Steph glared back.
"Yeah, I believe it was something to do with bonding and fun," Edge said with raised brows as he approached Lita from behind, pulling her into his arms.
"Fine! So sue me if I wanted to spend a nice day with my friends before I got married!" Steph shouted, punctuating her sentence with a sob as she broke down.
"Look, Steph, I'm really sorry," Lita said moving towards her friend.
"It's not your fault, it's these damn hormones!" Steph said with a sniff, pulling away from her. Chris, who had returned from the car, placed an arm around her.
"Yeah, at least you have an excuse, Li's just pissy again." Lita whacked Jeff's arm and he pouted at her. "See what I mean?" he smiled and turned to Jodie. "Gee, aren't you glad you came along?"
Jodie smiled and shook her head. "You're all insane. You do realise that, right?"
Jeff winked at her. "Well, you agreed to come with us, what does that make you?"
"A glutten for punishment," she groaned, smiling when Rob winked at her. "So, what do we do now?" she asked.
"Well, usually, we walk for a bit and some random stranger picks us up and offers us their spare house for the night."
Jodie raised her eyebrows, "You're joking, right?"
"Actually, honey, he's completely serious," Edge said, smiling at the tech's incredulous look.
Chris shrugged, "And it's worked so far."
"You're all insane!"
"You said that already,"
"You get used to it," Stacy said with a smile, wrapping her arms around Jeff's waist. "And, like the idiot said, it's worked so far."
"Not you too, Stace! I'd pegged you with a little more class."
"Well, I guess I spend too much time with you Chris,"
Chris smiled widely and opened his mouth to speak but Jeff cut him off. "If this is you thinkin' you've found the opportunity to use that retort, think again and close your mouth, jerky."
Edge frowned. "Chris, there's just something fundamentally wrong with a grown man pouting."
Rob shook his head. "So, consensus says.?"
"I think we should do the walking thing," Stacy said with a shrug. "If it's worked before, I'm not scoffing it."
"I'm in," Rob shrugged.
"Anyone against?"
~x~x~x~x~x~
"We've been walking for hours!"
"This was your idea, honey."
"Don't try to tell me this was my idea, you said it'd never failed before!"
Jeff shrugged and pulled her closer. "It hasn't. Doesn't mean it'll work this time."
"I vote we rest," Steph said. "The pregnant lady's ankles are about to break."
"Uh, Steph, honey, you're hardly even showing yet, why would your ankles be.I'll shut up now." Chris smiled and pulled her to the side of the road where they sat down on his jacket.
Rob watched Jodie from the corner of his eye and frowned before sitting next to her. "You okay?"
"Just dandy, you?"
"Jo, I'm serious, are you okay?"
Jodie closed her eyes and sighed. "Rob, I thought we'd agreed, no treating me like the invalid, I'm fine."
"I'm not trying to treat you like an invalid, Jodie, but I'm just worried you'll take the not mentioning it too far and forget to let me know when it's serious."
She smiled a little and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'll tell you what, lets make a deal. I'll agree to make sure and tell you if it gets serious if you'll promise to treat me like everyone else here."
Rob smiled. "I'll try, but I'm not so sure I want to think of Jerky over there the same way I think of you, that'd just be disgusting."
"It would?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to continue probing, but her curiosity got the better of her. And if she was honest, so did her heart. "Why? How do you think of me?"
"Well, I-"
"Hey, Rob! You still got that candy bar you had earlier? The pregnant lady wants something sweet and apparently I'm not enough!"
~x~x~x~x~x~
The road was getting as muddy as the sky was dark and there was still no sign of anyone. They had been walking again for what seemed like hours, but Lita knew it could only have been about twenty minutes and she was getting more irritable by the second.
She glanced around the group, knowing that no one was really in the mood for talking, if she was honest with herself, she didn't feel much like talking either. She hated this time of year.
She glanced at Jeff and their gaze instantly locked. She couldn't breathe for what seemed like a split second before she offered him a small smile. He was always there for her, he always knew when to speak and when to be silent and right now all she wanted was to talk to him. She needed to speak to him and she knew the time had come when they had to face up to things. She just knew.
She turned her head from side to side, hoping to ease some of the tension in her neck. It didn't work. Sighing, she glanced at Edge who was regarding her curiously and she smiled reassuringly at him.
"You okay?" he asked softly.
"I'm fine."
"You sure? You seem a little, I don't know, spaced out."
She smiled and nodded. "Guess I am a little spaced. It's nothing."
Edge frowned but didn't push the matter further; instead he just nodded and turned his gaze ahead of him. Lita closed her eyes briefly, hating that she was lying to him. She just needed to sort things out in her own headfirst and until she did that, she didn't feel like she could talk about it. Even to him.
Glancing to her left she frowned, noticing the beads of sweat that were running down Jodie's face. The woman seemed to be having difficulty breathing and she was stumbling after every other step. She didn't want to overstep her mark, but she noticed that Rob was looking extremely concerned but seemed to be holding himself back. She wasn't so sure that was wise.
"Jodie? Are you okay?" Lita frowned when it took the woman a few minutes to register that she was being spoken to.
"Jodie?" Rob couldn't keep the panic out of his voice.
"Rob," she mumbled. "I think now would be one of those times I told you it was bad." With that Jodie fell towards the ground, stopped only as Rob's arms banded around her waist.
"Jodie!" Rob quickly laid her on the ground as the others ran towards them. "Oh, God. Jo are you awake? Can you hear me?"
"I'm-I'm awake. Just need to breathe."
"Well, that always helps," Rob said, trying to smile.
"Everything okay?" Lita asked gently as she sat on the other side of Jodie.
"Oh, yeah," the woman replied with a smile. "I'm havin' a blast. We should do this more often." She coughed and Rob helped her sit up, allowing her to lean back onto him.
"Make sure next week's free, I'm sure we can arrange something,"
"Hey, in case you've forgotten, my wedding is next weekend and you are all expected to be there," Steph said, trying to smile.
Jodie laughed and nodded. "I'll take that as my invitation then."
"We figured you'd be Rob's other half anyway, but yes, consider that your invitation." Chris smiled.
"So, y'all plannin' on standin' there starin' at me or you gonna take the opportunity to rest?"
"Well, I'm always up for a rest." Steph said with a smile.
~x~x~x~x~x~
"You gonna tell me what's botherin' you?"
"Nothing," Rob said quickly.
"Rob, you've always known I was sick, but if you want to stay away from me I understand."
Rob looked over her shoulder, tilting her head until she was looking up at him. "Why would I want to stay away from you?"
"I understand if you don't want to get too attached before I-"
"I'm already too attached, Jo," he smiled softly and leaned closer to her, gently brushing his lips against hers.
"I was hoping you'd do that," she said as they pulled apart.
"Sorry I took so long."
"That's okay," she smirked. "As long as you realise that you have a lot of lost time to make up for," her smile faltered. "And not a lot of time to make it up in."
Rob closed his eyes. "I know. Can we not talk about this?"
Jodie shook her head. "Rob, you can ignore it all you like. But I am going to die and you are going to have to get used to that. I want to love you for what little time I have left, but if you can't handle that I'll understand. But please don't ignore it, don't make it out to be nothing, or pretend it doesn't exist. It does and I'm living with it. I may not like it, but it's a part of me and if you love me, then it comes with that love. I'm going to die."
Rob reached a hand to her cheek, brushing away tears she didn't even realise were there. He smiled sadly at her and nodded his head before leaning in to kiss her again.
"I know, and I'm sorry if I hurt you by ignoring it. I want to love you 'til the day you die."
"That day might come sooner than you think,"
Rob closed his eyes but nodded. "I know. I guess I'll just have to love you enough every day that it won't matter how long we have left."
Jodie smiled and pulled him closer. "When you say love me enough-"
Rob laughed. "I meant the feeling of love, but if you want." he trailed off. "Hey, I thought you were tired."
She smiled. "What can I say," he voice got a little more serious. "You give me strength."
~x~x~x~x~x~
"Hey."
Lita smiled, not turning to look at him. "Hey, Jeff."
"So, what ya doin' all the way over here on your own?"
She shrugged, "Just thinking."
"Better watch out for that, don't wanna hurt yourself."
Lita shook her head, "I swear you get worse every day."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
There was a silence and both were aware that it didn't have its usual friendly atmosphere. Lita shifted from foot to foot, refusing to turn and look at him.
"How's Jodie?" she asked, trying to break the awkward silence.
"She was lookin' a little better, but it's hard to tell with Rob stuck to her face."
Lita laughed a little before resuming her silence. They were standing a good distance from the others, but not too far that the light from Chris' torch wasn't still shining near them.
"You plannin' on ignorin' this for another couple of months?"
"I was thinking about it," she said with a sad smile. "Should've known you wouldn't let me."
"You looked up the poem didn't you?"
She nodded. "Eventually," she smiled sadly. "A Poet To His Beloved. It's beautiful Jeff. I'd pretty much figured out what it meant by then. I guess I just never wanted to admit it."
"Why?" Jeff sounded so upset that she couldn't stop herself from turning to look at him. "Why is it so horrible for you? Is the fact that I was in love with you so appalling to you?"
"No, Jeff, never. It's not that it's-"
When she trailed off Jeff sighed. "It's what, Li? What's so wrong with me?"
"There's nothing wrong with you, Jeff, I loved you."
Jeff smiled. "Well, I'd kinda hope ya still do."
Lita shook her head sadly, "Not like that I don't. But that's what makes it worse."
Jeff's eyes widened. "Not like what?"
Lita smiled sadly. "I gave up on you. That's what's horrible, Jeff. I gave up on you."
Jeff placed his hands on her arms and gripped her tightly. "Not like what, Lita?"
"I was so in love with you, Jeff. You were everything to me, but-but I didn't think you'd ever love me back. I gave up on you and then I heard that poem and I just knew, I just-"
Jeff pulled her into his arms as she started to cry and held onto her tightly. "Shh, it's okay."
"No, it's not okay, Jeff. What if I hadn't given up? What if-"
"Stop it, Li," Jeff's voice was quiet but strong as she looked up at him. "There are so many things that we'll never know. Maybe we could've fallen in love together, maybe we'd've grown old and grey and happy together, but think of all the things we wouldn't have. Think of the people we wouldn't have."
"Edge," she said with a smile. "I wouldn't have Edge."
Jeff returned her smile and nodded. "And I wouldn't have Stacy." At her dejected look he smiled. "You said it yourself, you don't love me like that anymore. And as hard as it was for me to admit it to myself, I don't love you that way anymore either."
"It just feels like such a waste. What we could have had-"
"What if we had got together, Li? What if we'd got together and then fallen apart. If there's one thing I do not want to live through, it's losing you as a friend. Just think what could have happened if we'd ever got together."
"But we'll never know, will we?"
Jeff shook his head. "No, we never will, but we do know this. Whatever happens, we have each other. And I'll always love you, Li."
"To His Heart, Bidding It Have No Fear,"
Jeff smiled. "You read more than that poem."
"I did. And I only wish I'd seen it before, maybe then I wouldn't've given up. But you're right, I love you but I'm in love with Edge. And I don't think I'd change that for anything."
"And that's what's upsetting you, isn't it?" Jeff asked. "You think that because even though you know I felt the same way, you don't want to change it, and you think you should."
"Shouldn't I want to at least try?"
"Honey, I love you, but we're both happy with other people at the moment. We both want different things now, why should we want to ruin that?"
Lita sighed. "We shouldn't, but-"
"But nothing. We're happy and we'll always have each other and that's what matters."
Lita nodded and pulled him closer, hugging him tightly. "I love you, Jeff."
He smiled. "I love you, too, Li. Now when are you going to talk to Edge."
"I don't know what you mean."
"Yes you do, now stop pretending. You're upset, you're always upset at this time of year and you need to let Edge know why. You're pushing him away and he knows it. You're hurting him."
"He might laugh or think I'm silly."
Jeff pulled back and stared her in the eye. "Honey, that man loves you and he would never laugh at your pain."
"I only wish you realised that, Lita."
Lita turned and stared at Edge wide-eyed. "I just-I mean I was-"
"I'll leave you guys to it," Jeff kissed her forehead and smiled at Edge before moving off to sit with Stacy and the others.
"You wanna tell me what this is all about?"
"Jeff and I were just-"
"I figured what you and Jeff were talking about, Li. I've known for a long time you two needed to sort things out. What I want to know is what's been bothering you and why you think I'd laugh at you."
Lita looked at her hands as she fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt. "I knew you wouldn't laugh at me, I guess. I just feel silly. I'm still crying over a dog that died when I was sixteen and-"
"And you think that's silly?"
She shrugged. "I guess."
Edge smiled and pulled her into his arms. "That's not silly, Lita. A pet can be as much a part of a family as a person, you have every right to be upset."
"I just feel stupid sometimes."
"Well, look on the bright side, unlike Jericho, at least you don't look stupid."
Lita laughed and shook her head before looking up at him. "I'm so in love you,"
Edge smiled. "I'm in love with you, too, Lita. And nothing will ever change that."
~x~x~x~x~x~
Rob wiped his eyes as he filled up the vase, arranging the flowers in the way she had always liked. Daffodils and white lilies had always been her favourite and he knew that she'd appreciate that he kept them fresh at her grave. It was something they'd talked about, albeit briefly. As much as he'd always promised to never ignore that she would eventually leave him, he'd still found it difficult to know that their married life would be so short.
He smiled as he remembered the look on Stephanie's face when they'd turned up at her wedding having beaten her and Chris to the altar. It had shocked them all, and it was something that he and Jodie had loved to remember. Something he still loved to remember.
He sighed and traced his fingertips over her name, engraved deeply into the block of stone. He loved her so much that he still couldn't believe she was gone. She had been gone for over two years and it still felt like yesterday that he had held her in his arms as she had breathed her last breath, the cancer having eaten up her up from the inside.
"Rob?"
He smiled and glanced behind him, nodding to let her know that he needed a little more time. He turned back to his wife's grave and took a deep breath.
"Hey Jo," he said croakily, his voice threatening to leave him. "Happy Birthday, honey. I know I haven't been by in a few weeks and I am so sorry. You probably know why, I mean you're up there watching and I know you do, I just-I just feel like I'm betraying you. I know if you were right here you'd hit me and tell me to get on with my life, and that's what I'm doing. It's just so hard to move on and leave you behind. I feel like I'm betraying you.
I love you as much now as I did the day we married and I know people think we rushed into it, but those were the happiest days of my life and I wouldn't change them for the world. But I-" Rob rubbed his eyes, not bothering to wipe away his tears.
"I love her, Jo. It's not the same way I loved you, but it's real and it is love. I know you'd be happy for me, I hope you're happy for me. I love you."
"Rob?"
Rob wiped away his tears and indicated that she should move closer. Torrie smiled a little and moved to kneel beside him, placing a hand on his arm.
"Hey Jodie," she said, her eyes tearing up. "I just wanted to say hello." She lanced at Rob who smiled reassuringly and placed a hand over hers, squeezing it gently. She smiled and looked again at the grave. "I'll take good care of him for you. I promise."
Rob smiled and turned once more to the grave. "I love you, sweetheart and I always will."
~x~x~x~x~x~
Lillian giggled and smacked Matt lightly on the arm. "Leave the poor child alone! As if having those two for parents isn't torture enough!"
"Yeah, uncle Matty, leave her alone!"
"Well, that's you told," Steph said with a smile as she entered the room, picking up her son as she moved to sit next to Lillian. "I am so tired."
"Then let Chris finish dinner. He has hands and I'm sure he knows how to use them." "He certainly does," Steph smirked. "Okay, that was more information than I ever wanted," Matt said scrunching up his nose. He handed the baby to Lillian and stood up, moving towards the kitchen. "I think I'll go watch the football with Chris. I prefer that to this."
"I think I'm insulted!" Steph said, knowing exactly how much Matt hated football.
"Don't be, he's going through a phase."
Steph laughed. "Okay, if you say so." Lillian smiled at the baby in her arms and Steph watched her curiously. "Do you and Matt ever think about starting a family?"
"We talk about it sometimes," Lillian admitted with a smile. "But we're not ready. Think we'll wait until we're married and settled down. At the moment we're just happy with the way things are,"
Steph smiled. "I'm happy for you,"
"Yeah, everybody's happy. I think I like it."
Steph smiled. "I think I do, too,"
~x~x~x~x~x~
Lita grinned at the sparkling ring on her finger. It had never occurred to her just how much she actually wanted this, but she did. She had been through so much at this point with Jeff and with Edge that the day he would propose just seemed so far away.
"Hey you,"
She smiled as he approached her from behind and wrapped her in his embrace. She leaned back and closed her eyes, staring up at the stars. She loved the stars, it was something they had in common.
"Come on, Li, let's go back inside."
She smiled and turned around to kiss him. "Okay," she traced his lips with her fingertips. "Have I told you how much I love you yet?"
He frowned, "Not today."
Lita laughed, "I love you, Edge."
"I love you too, Lita,"
~x~x~x~x~x~
Jeff grinned at the child in his arms, loving just how much she looked like her mother. Her lovely eyes shone up at him and he didn't think he'd ever been happier in his life. He still couldn't understand how he had reached this point. So much had changed and what he had always thought was his future, wasn't.
Sure, Lita and he were still the best of friends. But there was a time when he had always thought, or at least hoped, that they would be married with a family. Well, he wasn't married, but he did have a family. A family that he loved more than anything he had ever thought possible.
"Jeff, Torrie and Rob are here,"
He turned and smiled as Stacy entered the room, being careful in case the baby was asleep. As if to prove her wrong, the child in his arms squealed.
"Hey there little one," Stacy said with a grin, reaching out to take the little girl.
Jeff kissed Stacy's forehead and indicated the door. "You go down, I'll be there in a minute."
She smiled and leaned over to kiss him. "Okay." She moved quickly to the door and down the stairs where he heard Rob and Torrie greeting his daughter.
Smiling, he glanced out his window, searching for a star, one that could carry his wish and he found it. But something was wrong. He didn't need to wish. He already had everything he needed; he already had all that he could ever want. With one final look at the stars and smiled and left the room, making his way down the stairs to be with his family.
~x~x~x~x~x~
The End
End of the Yeats Series