Disclaimer: I don't own Randy Orton (shucks!) or any other WWE superstar that may appear in my story. They are the property of themselves and Vince McMahon. If I did, do you really think I'd be sharing Randy with all of you? Anyways, I don't own them but I am using them in my story. I only own my original characters and the storyline, which I have created. Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 17 – Do You Love Her?

Danielle remained asleep for the rest of the day and into the evening. The doctors couldn't figure out why she wasn't waking up. They told Ric that she should wake up soon but they could never be sure. Randy and Ric took turns sitting by her bed all day. Ric had called Vince to let him know what was going on. Vince had told Ric that he would have emergency leave for as long as he needed since he was Danielle's father. Randy, on the other hand, had to fly out tomorrow to do a show. Randy didn't want to leave until Danielle woke up but he knew he couldn't disobey Vince. So, Randy hoped the Danielle would wake up soon.

Randy was sitting by Danielle's bed when Ric came in to the room. Randy was holding her hand but he had his head down resting on the bed too because he was so tired from being at the hospital all afternoon and into the evening. Ric noticed Randy holding Danielle's hand and wondered what that was about. He had seen Danielle and Randy kiss but Danielle had said that the two of them were only friends, just getting to know each other. He wondered if maybe Randy's feelings went deeper than friendship. He then wondered if Danielle's did too but she just wasn't willing to admit it.

Ric went over to the bed. The motion caused Randy to wake up.

"Randy, maybe you should go home."

"No, I don't want to leave yet." Randy stood up. "Here you can sit there." He moved across the room to another chair. "I'll sit here and get some rest."

"You are not going to get a very good rest in a chair."

"I'll be fine." He tried to get himself comfortable in the chair but it didn't really work out very well.

"Why exactly are you so set on staying? You have to leave tomorrow to do a show. You should go home and get some rest."

"Why are you so set on me leaving?"

"Randy, you know I'm right."

"Yes, you are but I have to stay." He got up from the chair since it really wasn't very comfortable and walked back over towards the bed. "I care about Danielle and I want to be here when she wakes up."

"She probably won't wake up tonight and you have to leave tomorrow anyway."

"I know that I just can't leave." Randy looked down at Danielle laying in the bed unconscious and he just hoped she would wake up soon.

Ric decided to drop the issue since he knew how stubborn Randy could be. He knew he wasn't going to be able to get Randy to leave unless Randy wanted to leave. Randy was still standing there looking at Danielle lying in the hospital bed. Ric was disgusted by the thought of his daughter all banged up and bruised. He was so angry he just wanted to find the driver that ran the red light and…well he didn't really want to think about what he would do. But, when Ric looked at Randy he didn't see anger he saw something else and it surprised him.

"Randy?"

Randy was brought out of his thoughts about Danielle. "Yeah."

"Do you love my daughter?"

Randy looked up confused by Ric's question. "What?"

"Do you love my daughter?"

"Look, I know I've only known her for a few weeks and we haven't even really talked all that much but…" Randy didn't know what he should say to Ric.

"Randy, it's a simple question. Just answer it."

"Yes, I love Danielle." Randy was relieved to let that out again. It was one thing to tell Dave that he loved Danielle but it was another thing to tell Ric that he loved his daughter. Especially since Danielle didn't know it yet.

"That's all I wanted to know." Ric figured what he saw in Randy's eyes was love. Surprisingly he wasn't upset by it. He had overreacted when he saw Randy and Danielle kissing. Danielle was a grown woman and she could do what she wanted.

"You're not going to kill me?" Randy was surprised. He figured Ric would be extremely protective of his daughter when it concerned Randy based on the way he had reacted over seeing them kiss.

Ric laughed. "Randy, I'm not going to kill you. Having this happen to Danielle has shown me that I can't protect her all the time. She is a big girl, who can take care of herself, and date whoever she wants. I understand now why you are being so stubborn about staying but you really do need to get some rest."

"You're right. I'll try and sleep in that chair but its not really that comfortable." Randy went back over to the chair he had been in earlier. It still wasn't very comfortable to sleep in but there was no way he was going back to the hotel.

It had been a couple of hours and Randy was asleep in the chair. Ric was sitting by Danielle's hospital bed holding her hand. He had been talking to her for several hours about various things. He didn't know if it was helping Danielle but it was keeping him calm so he kept doing it. The first things he had talked about were just stories about his career and his life. Then he had started getting personal about things he was feeling and thoughts he had to get off his chest.

"Danielle, I don't know if you've been able to hear me the whole time or if you can even hear me now but I've been talking to you. I just want to apologize for all the time in your life I missed. I wish I hadn't missed it but sometimes your life is different than the way you want it to be. I missed so much of your life. I guess I missed my chance to be the overprotective father when you were a teenager and first started dating so I was trying to make up for it now. I didn't mean to be a jerk. I just didn't know how to react. I'm not going to stand in the way of you and Randy anymore. I just want you to be happy. If you will be happy with Randy then so be it. I know you haven't been able to call me 'dad' yet and that has pained me. I know you haven't had a father and its been hard for you to wrap your head around the thought of having one now. I just want to let you know that I'm here for you. No matter what I am and always will be your father. I guess I always have been" He gave a slight laugh. "We just never knew it. Now that I have you, I don't want to lose you." His eyes started to well up. "You have to wake up so that we can continue getting to know each other. I love you honey and I don't want to lose you." Ric was reduced to tears.

Who could blame him? The daughter he had recently found out he had was unconscious, lying in a hospital bed. He was just getting to know her and he couldn't imagine losing her now. Ric was crying and had his head down on the bed when he felt a slight squeeze on his hand that Danielle was holding. His head shot up and he looked at his hand holding Danielle's and then he looked at Danielle's face and noticed that she was waking up.

"I love you too daddy." She softly let out.

Ric couldn't believe his ears. Danielle had called him daddy. He was overjoyed for that and the fact that Danielle was awake. "I'm so glad you're awake honey. I love you so much." He kissed her forehead. Then he woke Randy up.

Randy couldn't believe that Danielle was waking up. He rushed across the room to see her while Ric went to get the doctors to let them know that Danielle was waking up.

"Hey Dani, its good to see that you're okay."

"Randy? I'm sorry for overreacting."

"Sshh, its okay. I'm just glad that you are alright."

"Thank you for staying here."

"It wasn't a problem. I wanted to be here when you woke up." He wanted to take her in his arms right there and tell her how much he loved her but he knew it wasn't the right time or right place. Plus, the doctors were coming in to check on Danielle.

After Danielle woke up Randy stuck around for a bit longer but they finally convinced him to go back to the hotel and sleep. The next morning he went to the hospital to check on Danielle and then he had to fly out to do a show. Danielle stayed in the hospital for a couple days but was then released. Ric took her back to his home in North Carolina. It was a strange way for Danielle to finally meet Ric's wife Beth. Danielle found her to be very nice though. Beth and Ric helped Danielle to get better. While she was in the hospital and when she was in North Carolina, Randy called her everyday to check on her. Danielle loved talking to Randy. He wanted to come visit her and see how she was doing but he was really busy with shows and WWE events.

It had been two weeks since Danielle's accident. Randy had just gotten off the phone with Danielle after another night of talking for a couple of hours. They talked about everything and anything. Randy loved their conversations. He was so happy the Danielle was okay. She had recovered fine and pretty soon she and Ric would be back on the road. Randy still hadn't told Danielle how he felt about her. It just wasn't something he wanted to say over the phone. He wanted to do something really special for her when she got back on the road too. He just hadn't figured out what to do yet. He knew they had only known each other for a month but he had no doubts. Their talks every night had solidified it. He was in love with Danielle. He just hoped she felt the same way.

A/N – Well, that's another chapter done. I am getting very close to the end of this story. There will probably be only a few chapters left. I haven't quite decided how to end it yet though. Thank you so much to all of my reviewers:

RKOxLegendKiller – Maybe some of you is rubbing off on me. So when exactly are you going to kick my ass?
tador – Don't cry! Danielle is okay.
viper-sa – I think its cute that Randy is in love too.
RKOgirl – Thank you. I'll try to keep Danielle safe.
Demon Spawn – Thank you. Last chapter was very emotional. This was happier.
Insane Zula – Please don't die! I would miss your stories way too much. She woke up so you are all better now, right?
RKOBlueEyes – Yes, Randy did finally admit his feelings. Isn't that sweet?
MrsLegendKiller00 – Thanks for all the compliments. I hope you like this chapter too.
shady-angel821 – She's okay. You don't have to worry anymore.

You are all the best! When I first started this story, I wasn't getting the feedback that I wanted but the last chapter had the most reviews yet on this story and I am so excited. I'm glad you all like it and I hope you continue reviewing. Remember, comments and suggestions are always welcome. Thanks a lot!

Kim