PART 40

MONDAY

Stephanie sat with Vince and Shane just after a production meeting at the arena.  After the creative team departed, the three of them were discussing the direction of a few things in the company, specifically what they were going to do to get Britney off the air and how they were going to get the titles off the current champions, Brock and Paul.

"I think we should just have her go out there and announce the pregnancy… and she could bring Adam out with her.  Everyone already knows they're together… it wouldn't be a huge surprise to anyone," Stephanie said.

"I kind of agree with you Steph, but what about Bad Blood?  She's booked for that tag match with Lita against Victoria and Jazz," Vince brought up.

"She's not wrestling!" Shane cut in protectively.  "She's pregnant Dad."

Vince nodded, "I know that… but there's still two shows left until the pay-per-view.  We had segments planned involving her.  I think what we'll do for Raw and Smackdown is have Amy wrestle both women, Charlene on one night, Lisa Marie on the other.  That way, she can be out there, but not have to physically get involved.  We need to get her out of the picture at Bad Blood.  We could always run an injury angle, but I don't want her to do anything physical."

Stephanie shook her head.  She strongly believed that Britney should be able to tell the fans the truth about her upcoming absence.  "Dad, I still think they should announce it.  I mean, Edge doesn't have a match, and all the loyal fans know about Britney and Adam being together off-screen anyway.  They should go to the ring together during Bad Blood and announce the baby together," she said firmly.  Vince and Shane both nodded their heads in approval.  It sounded like a good enough idea.  It was rare that the Superstars got out of character, especially in the ring, but the fans almost always received it well.

"Alright… we'll do that," Vince agreed, turning to check with Shane, who once again nodded his head in approval.  "Good, then that's settled.  Now, onto the Heavyweight Title match.  As much as I want to get the title off of Paul, I think we've booked ourselves into a ditch.  Nash is just not convincible anymore as champion."

Stephanie winced noticeably at the mention of Paul's name.  She still hadn't told her father or her brother about what he did to her.  It wasn't as though it was going to be the easiest task in the world.  What would she do, just pop up and say, "Hey Dad, guess what?  Paul raped me," or something like that?  As Vince continued to talk, Shane eyed his sister curiously.  She'd been acting so strange for over a month now, and she all of a sudden had gotten this funny look on her face when their father began discussing the Title situation.  Suddenly, Vince's cell phone rang.  As he answered it, he discovered that he was needed out in the ring.  He quickly said goodbye to his children and excused himself from the room, saying they would talk more later.  Leaning forward on the black leather couch, Shane got Stephanie's attention.

"Steph?  Are you okay?" he asked, a gleam of concern in his eyes. 

"Yeah why?" she replied quickly.  Shane didn't like how fast she answered him… it was like she knew the question was coming.  And that meant that something must have been wrong.

"Because you've been acting weird lately, and I want to know what's up," he stated flatly. 

Stephanie felt her stomach flutter.  There was no way she could tell him… not alone.  The brunette could only imagine what her brother would do to Paul when he found out.  "I swear, guys like him need to be castrated."  Thinking back to Chris's comment from a few weeks back, Steph wouldn't be surprised at all if Shane to that statement to heart and *actually* castrated Paul.  The way Shane was about her and Britney… if he found out that anyone so much as even touched them, he could go crazy enough to kill them.  It wasn't so much that she was afraid to tell him because it hurt her, she was afraid to tell him because someone else would most likely get hurt.  Once he saw that she wasn't responding, Shane asked her another question.

"Are you and Jay okay?  You're not having problems, are you?" he asked.  Stephanie eyes shot open.

"Problems?  No, we're definitely not having any problems… Jay's great," she assured him.

Jay was great… he was being amazingly helpful and sweet towards her since finding out about the whole ordeal.  He was very loving and careful about touching her too often.  He was extremely patient with the shifts of mood that she had been suffering lately.  He was being absolutely incredible to her… he wasn't even pressuring her to tell her father and Shane.  In fact, all he'd said about that was to wait until she was positive she was ready, and to make sure he was there with her.

"Well, that's good," Shane said with relief.  "but then, what is it?"  Stephanie sighed audibly, running her manicured fingers through her hair. 

"I… I have to tell you something Shane… you and Dad both.  I-I just… I can't tell you now.  I want Jay and Britney and Adam to be with me.  I-I will though, soon.  In fact… I'll tell you on Sunday.  It'll just be a day of announcements.  Until then, don't mention anything to Dad, and please, just don't hound me about it.  It's going to be kind of hard for me, but I will tell you guys, I swear.  To her surprise, Shane agreed without a fight.  Good, Stephanie thought.  That gives me six days to think it through and to plan this all out.

BAD BLOOD- JUNE 15, 2003 You think you know me…

The people in the Compaq Center in Houston were at their feet at the familiar sound, but were a little surprised.  Edge wasn't scheduled to wrestle that night, but still, the Edge Army was out and were happy to see him.  Sure enough, as the smoke cleared at the top of the ramp, the Canadian emerged, clad in black leather pants and a plain black button-down shirt, buttons undone of course.  Adam sighed almost nervously, taking a deep breath and heading to the ring.  He slid into the ring, making all his trademark stops and poses, and then grabbed a microphone from Lillian Garcia. 

"Thanks guys," he said in response to all the cheers.  "I, uh… wanted to come out here tonight to make an important announcement.  Not to make an announcement as Edge, but to make one as  myself, Adam Copeland."  The crowd hushed down a bit, immediately intrigued.  "Well actually, the announcement I have to make isn't one I can make on my own.  So, I'm gonna get a little help from the first lady of the Edge Army."   The people stood again, cheering loudly as Britney's music hit, and she appeared at the top of the ramp.  Adam smiled as she made her way down to the ring, waving to the crowd as she did so.  He grinned at the outfit she had on… a black leather skirt and a Edge Army tee shirt, cropped up Amy Dumas and Jeff Hardy style.  That's what happens when you let Jeff Hardy and Amy come into a room with your clothes and scissors in their hands.  As she came to the ring, the two of them met eyes, grinning at each other. 

"Here we go," she said, letting him take her hand to lead her to the center of the ring.  Adam didn't let go of her hand, passing the microphone to her free hand.  Britney pulled away, turning away from him to face the people.

"Before we tell you our *real* announcement, I have to tell you all something else.  Unfortunately, I can't compete tonight, so Trish Stratus is going to take my place in my tag match with Lita against Jazz and Victoria.  But hey," she said, beginning to hear traces of disappointed boos, "I've got plenty of reason, trust me.  As much as I would love to get my hands on the psycho and the bitch, I really can't compete."


Adam then took the mic from Britney's hand, surveying the crowd as he continued for her, "What she means is, there is a perfectly legitimate reason as to why she's not wrestling tonight.  You guys know she wouldn't bail out on a match last minute unless she had a really good reason to.  You see, in about 8 months, there will be a little Edge or Edgette running around."  The people gave a collective gasp as Adam passed the mic over again.

"He's right… everyone, I'm pregnant."  The fans cheered loudly, happy for the young couple as they stood beaming in the middle of the ring.  She let them cheer for a moment, basking in the wonderful feeling, before she spoke into the microphone again. 

"Hey, I just wanted to say thank you… thank you for coming out and watching me do what I love to do.  I'm a McMahon, so trust me when I say that there is nothing more satisfying then coming out here night after night and hearing all you guys cheer for me.      I'll be out for Edge's matches for a few weeks, but I won't be doing anything to physical, and after the next few weeks you won't be seeing me around much.  I'll miss you all so much while I'm gone, but I promise… I *will* be back," she said, getting another warm response.  She waved goodbye and turned to walk away, but Adam caught her, grabbing her by the wrist.  He pulled her back to where she was and put his hands on her shoulders, signaling for her to stay put.  He took the microphone out of her hand.

"Before we go, I have one more thing to say, and to all the guys out here who just want to see someone get their ass kicked, bear with me, I'll be done soon," he said, hearing laughter in the crowd.  He grabbed Britney's right hand with his left, entwining their fingers together. 

"I just wanted to say that it's been nearly a year now Brit, and I honestly could never have asked for a better life—or a better person to share it with.  I know we've gone through of lot of shit over the last year, but I still think we have one of the strongest relationships in the world.  You are an amazing woman, and I have got to be one of the luckiest men in the world.  You've given me so much with or without realizing it, and now… now you're about to give me the best thing I could ever have hoped for.  I just… I just want you to know that I'm ALWAYS here for you, and I love you," he said.  He looked down to meet her eyes, seeing the tears glistening in them.  He smiled brightly, as he knew for once that they were tears of joy.  He supposed that if he wasn't in the ring with the entire male 18-34 demographic watching, he would be tearing up too.  Then again, he just spent about a minute of their precious pay-per-view time telling his girlfriend, who happened to be one of the best looking divas in the company, how much he loved her, so he supposed they were already plotting his murder.  To his surprise though, he heard cheers, not only from the female fans, but the guys too.

"Oh Adam… I love you too," she said, pulling his face to hers and kissing him.  The crowd whistled, cheered, and hollered for two for their favorite Superstars.  After a short, yet very sweet kiss, Adam pulled away, enveloping Britney in a tight hug.  He kissed on her the forehead, placing his hand on her stomach again.  He thought happily of their bright future together… and the family they were about to start.

Wow, three in a row where the chapter is for the most part happy!!  LOL, but you know what that means…  Anyway, wow… I can't believe I'm up to Chapter 40 already.  I didn't envision this story to go that far.  Anyway, you guys know what to do… review!!!!  Let me know what you think!!  I'm going away soon, so I wanna get as much in as I can before I go!  33yahs!!!!