Author's note: Hey there... sorry it took me so long to update and that the update is pretty short... it's not the best chapter either... but university is keeping me busy... and I thought a short update is better than no update... so I hope you enjoy reading it... Have fun 'huggles all'

Quick word to my reviewers:

OTHLover04: Thanks... I hope you enjoy the new chapter too 'huggles'

Roxxy1984: Sorry it took me longer to get a new chapter out but as I said I was busy... yeah the moment will be very touching but knowing my evil side it will not all be sunshine but a lot drama too... and now enjoy the new chapter 'huggles'

kandiland: Yeah it's good that Lexi know she'll have someone to turn to if the surgery fails... well don't worry it won't be very long until Shawn and Marissa run into each other... I hope you like the new chappy too 'smile'

randysgirl3: Well when Marissa arrives there will be a lot more drama... if I can manage to write it the way I want it 'smile' Thanks for the review and enjoy the new chapter 'hugs'

Mizz Molko: You got the most important names 'grin' and if everything works out... well you gotta wait and see 'evil grin' I know I'm always saying that but it's true... and now enjoy the new chapter 'smile'

foolishangel87: Thanks for the huge compliment 'hugs' I'm really glad you like the story... well I thought the line was fitting... since it is Randy's job now 'smile' Well yeah... I ended it there... and I have another cliffie for you in this chapter 'grin'

Miss Understood1212: Well I thought about making Chris jealous but I decided since their relationship is in the past and Chris tried to set Randy and Lexi up it would be a little weird if Chris was jealous then... well and why Marissa didn't pick up the phone... more drama 'grin' I hope you enjoy the new chapter 'smile'

rkorkorko: Well here comes the new update... and thanks for the review 'hugs' Enjoy the new chapter

Zanderlover: Hey there... I'm so happy to finally hear from you 'huggle' I'm not going to make my author's note to you that long because I'm answering your e-mail after I've posted that... I just wanted you to know how happy I am to know you're okay... well as okay as you can be... 'hugs'

Disclaimer: I own nothing besides Alexi and her mother...

Chapter 17: Almost there

Randy watched the car leave the parking lot and didn't move until the car was out of sight.

The smile on his face was brilliant and it never left his face until he reached the lobby of the hotel room.

His thoughts drifted to Alexi more than once. Suddenly he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey, Randy, wait up..."

The Legend Killer turned and came face to face with Christy Hemme. He smiled at the young diva. "Hey there Christy. What's going on?" He asked, noticing the concerned look on the brunettes face.

"Um... can we talk somewhere more private or do you need to meet up with someone?" Christy asked. Randy looked at her with confusion. "Actually I was on my way to see John." After a short look at his watch he added: "But I guess he's in a meeting with Vince right now... so I think we can talk now."
"Good... let's go somewhere more private... I don't want anyone to overhear what I've got to say..." Christy said and looked around to find out if anyone was watching their talk.

Randy looked at her with confusion in his eyes. "Christy... you're starting to scare me... what's going on?"
The young diva had an apologetic smile on her face. "Sorry... I know I'm probably overreacting anyways but I think it's better that you know..." She explained while dragging the still confused Legend Killer into a quiet corner of the hotel lobby. They both sat down in two chairs and Randy looked at Christy.

"So now calm down and tell me what's wrong."
Christy took three deep breaths and then she explained: "Well... I accidentally overheard a conversation between Hunter, Ric and this Sid Eudy..."

Randy immediately got worried and asked: "And what did they talk about that has gotten you so worried?"

"They were talking about you, Dave and Shawn... they have some sort of plan to get to you guys... but I've no idea why they were always talking about Shawn's daughter. I couldn't hear more because they vanished into the elevator." Christy explained.

Randy looked at the young diva with wide eyes. Oh shit... by Chris's earlier reaction to Sid Eudy, this is not going to be a good thing that Trips and Eudy have teamed up...

"Randy?" Christy's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry Christy..." Randy apologized and looked at the diva again.

"Do you have any idea what they mean? And did you know that Shawn had a daughter? I didn't even know Shawn was married... I mean I overheard you earlier when you were arguing with Chris... and there you were talking about an Alexi and that she's connected to Shawn somehow... so is she his daughter?" Christy said, the confusion evident in her voice. She had overheard part of the argument between Jericho and Randy but she hadn't really cared about what they had been arguing about. Now, however, she remembered that they had been arguing about an Alexi and now she wanted to know what was going on here.

Crap... what am I going to tell her? I can't just tell her that Shawn has a daughter he doesn't know about... I promised Chris I wouldn't tell... it was bad enough that Tyson and Christian overheard earlier... Randy meanwhile thought.

Luckily he didn't have to answer, because a voice suddenly called for Christy.

Randy and the diva saw Stacey running towards them.

"There you are Christy... I thought you just wanted to get some newspapers before we go shopping... I've been waiting now for nearly twenty minutes for you..." The blonde diva exclaimed.

Just now she realised who Christy was talking to.

"Oh... hi Randy..." She said, her voice a little awkward. Ever since the two had parted Randy and her had a complicated relationship. Not that they hated each other, because there was no reason to since they hadn't parted on bad terms. Stacey had just decided that Randy just wasn't right for her.

But still she felt a little awkward in his presence because she had seen what the break-up had done to him.

Randy smiled a little. He too felt a little uneasy. Sure, he had had a hard time getting over the break-up but ever since he had met Alexi, he realised that Stacey had been right and they just weren't meant for each other.

Christy noticed the tension between the two former lovers and quickly spoke up: "Sorry Stacey... I just needed to tell Randy something... but now I'm ready and we can go..."
She stood up and looked at Randy with an expression in her face that said as much as 'I'll find out sooner or later'. Randy just smiled at her, hoping that a shopping trip with Stacey would make her forget about Alexandria.

He stood up too and looked at the two women.

"Well I gotta go anyways... and thanks for the warning Christy... but please don't tell anybody about it... Dave, Shawn and me will sort this out alone."
The brunette smiled and nodded. "No problem Randy... I just thought you needed to know..."
The Legend Killer nodded and looked at Stacey with a small smile.

"Well then... have fun shopping and I'll see you later... now I gotta go and find John..." With that he waved goodbye at the two and went into the general direction of Vince McMahon's temporary office, hoping that he would indeed find John there. While he walked, he could hear Stacey questioning Christy what the two had been talking about, but as Christy had promised, she didn't tell Stacey. Randy hoped that she could keep her promise since he knew how persistent Stacey could be.

When he had nearly reached the office, he could see Dave in front of the office.

Oh I forgot that he's supposed to have a meeting with Hunter and Vince... Randy quickened his pace and walked up to the older man.

"Hey Dave... is John in there?" He asked casually.

Batista nodded. „Yeah... Vince is still talking to him..."
Randy nodded thoughtfully. "Are you really sure you want to give up your belt? I mean, Chris told me the whole story but still..." He then questioned. Even though he now knew the whole story, it was hard for him to accept that Hunter would once again win because he played dirty.

The Animal just nodded. "I don't think there's any other way to prevent Hunter from telling Shawn... and we both know who will be the one hurt when he tells..." He explained his decision.

"Alexi..." Randy replied and when he thought of the girl he couldn't help but smile for a second, despite the serious situation.

Dave saw the smile on the younger man's face and the dreamy look in his eyes. It was an expression he hadn't seen in the Legend Killers face for a long time.

He rose and eyebrow in question.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Batista then asked.

Randy looked at the bigger man, the smile still on his face. "Well... actually... I'm not really sure if there's something to tell right now... but if there is you'll be one of the first to know."

Batista smiled too and understood the meaning of Randy's words. "So are Chris and Alexandria already at the hospital?"
"They are... I just need to talk to John about something and then I'll be off to the hospital too..."
He then remembered what Christy had just told him.

"By the way... I ran into Christy on my way here. She told me that she's overheard Hunter, Sid and Ric talking about us... they have some sort of plan to get to us... Christy couldn't exactly tell what their plan was, but by what she's told me I'm sure it involves Alexandria."
Batista looked at the younger man with surprise. He had expected something like that but still it was hard to accept the fact, that Hunter hated them so much to drag innocent people into the whole thing. In a storyline it was one thing but if feelings were hurt in reality, Batista felt a rage inside him.

"I can't say I'm surprised to hear that but still it's hard to believe... and all we can do about it right now is to be careful and to support Alexandria as much as possible."
Randy smiled at the wise words of his friend. He was saying exactly what Randy had been thinking himself.

"You're right... so how is Shawn?" The Legend Killer then asked.

Batista shrugged. "He was okay when I left... well besides trying to call Marissa but not reaching her." He stated.
Randy looked at him with wide eyes. "He tried to call Alexandria's mother? Why didn't you stop him?" He wanted to know.

"Actually I was the one who encouraged him to do it. He seemed so miserable and you know as well as I do, that Shawn has a right to know... and if he calls Marissa and she tells him it would make things a lot easier..."

Randy nodded. Of course he knew that Batista was right again but still...

"You need to tell Chris about that..." Randy started and wanted to say more, but suddenly Hunter walked towards them and they both thought it was better to shut up now.

Triple H had that self-confident smile on his face that Randy hated.

"Well hello there Randy. I didn't expect to find you here. I would think that you'd be with Chris's cute girlfriend. If I were you I'd have an eye out for her... I mean she's quite the catch... I wouldn't mind to go out with her myself." Hunter said and the threat was clear in his voice. The man knew exactly what to say to make Randy angry.

The Legend Killer clenched his fists and gritted his teeth but decided to say nothing because he knew that if he did, Hunter would have another stinging reply and Randy had no idea how long he could keep his calm.

"What's wrong Randy? Lost your voice?" Hunter smirked. He could feel that the Legend Killer was about to snap and would give him a reason to tell Shawn all about Alexandria.

"Perhaps he's just tired of wasting it on you..." Another voice suddenly called and the three turned around to face John Cena, whose meeting with Vince had just ended.

"This is none of your business..." Hunter spat at the current WWE-Champion.

"Actually... the minute you started harassing my best friend and his current girlfriend you made it my business." John said calmly and went to stand beside John, a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from doing something stupid.

Triple H just smirked. „Oh... that's very interesting news indeed..." He then turned to Dave again.

"So... since our wannabe champion is finished it's time to confront Vinnie with our agreement."
He obviously knew, that with John there Randy wouldn't do anything that would justify Hunter telling Shawn about Alexandria. Not that Hunter planned on keeping his promise forever but right now he intended to keep it for himself until the right moment to tell Shawn had come.

Batista sighed deeply. Randy looked at him a little concerned. He could see how hard it was for him to just give up his belt.

"You know you don't have to do that..." He tried one last time to talk Dave out of it even though he knew it would be impossible.

Dave just smiled and shook his head.

"Don't worry Randy... I know what I'm doing." He replied. Hunter looked at the three and then told them rather impatiently and with his usual commanding voice: „Enough with the small talk."

Batista sighed again and then followed Hunter into the office.

Randy and John watched until the door had closed.

At first the two thought about waiting and trying to hear something that was spoken inside but they soon realised that this was of no use and they most likely knew what the outcome would be.

And besides that Randy wanted to go to the hospital as soon as possible since he'd promised Alexandria he'd be there as soon as he could.

So he looked at John, who in turn looked at his best friend with an unspoken question in his eyes that asked 'what's going on between Alexi and you?'.

Randy knew John long enough to exactly know what the question was.

The Legend Killer shrugged because he had no real answer to the question John wanted to ask.

John smiled a little. The wordless communication between the two still worked and John realised how much he'd missed to have his best friend around him more than once a month.

"So you're still trying to find out what you feel for each other?" He questioned while the two walked back into the lobby.

Randy looked around carefully to make sure that Christy and Stacey were really gone. Then he answered: "Actually I know exactly what I feel for her and I told her so... and she told me the same..."
John was actually speechless for a second.

"Woah... wait a second... you're telling me that you told her that you love her?" He wanted to know, looking at his best friend in surprise.

Randy ran a hand through his hair and smiled while he nodded.

"Yeah I did... actually I didn't intend to tell her so soon but when I had said it, it just felt right... and I know that it's true." The happiness in his voice was unmistakable.

John shook his head a little, only slightly surprised by this turn of events.

"So what's the problem then? I mean you told her that you love her, she told you that she loves you... Why aren't you sure if you two have a relationship."
Randy smiled but John could see the insecurity behind that smile and waited patiently until Randy had found the right words to answer.

"Actually... first of all I don't want to rush her... she's vulnerable at the moment and I want her to be sure that I'm the one she wants to be with so that I'm sure that I'm not taking advantage of her."

John nodded. He could understand Randy's reasoning. When he looked at his best friend however, he immediately knew that there was still something that bothered Randy.

And John was determined to find out what it was.

So he questioned: "So what else is bothering you?"
Randy looked at him surprised. But then again he should've known that John would easily see that something else was wrong. He also knew that it was no use to pretend that nothing else was wrong because John would only feel guilty for once again not being able to help him.

Randy could see it in his eyes that John felt guilty for not being there for him when he'd broken up with Stacey and had needed someone to talk to.

So Randy just answered: "Chris."

"What do you mean Chris?" John asked, not really understanding what Randy meant.

"Well actually it's not Chris exactly who's bothering me but the relationship between him and Alexi. I mean... she's having her breakdown and I'm trying my best to comfort her but she's calling for Chris." Randy stopped to think about how to best explain it to John what he meant.

John nodded. "I think I understand what you mean... but have you talked to Chris about it?" He wanted to know.

This time it was Randy's turn to nod. "Yeah... and he assured me that the relationship they had is in the past and that they love each other like brother and sister."
"Well then everything's okay... why are you bothered then?" John looked at his best friend to find out if there was still more.

Randy shrugged with a helpless expression in his face.

"Actually I don't really know what is still worrying me. Perhaps I'm just intimidated because they've known each other for so long. And I feel like I'm intruding into that friendship."

"Hey, if Chris wasn't okay with your relationship with Alexi he would've told you so..." John tried to assure his best friend.

Randy once again ran a hand through his hair and nodded.

"Perhaps I'm just overreacting because of the whole situation. I mean it isn't exactly what you would call a normal situation."
John grinned, determined to cheer Randy up.
"Well look at it this way. You're not just getting a beautiful girlfriend but a big brother too... well sort of a big brother anyway."

Randy chuckled, his worries gone, at least for now.

He turned to John and asked: "Now that we've cleared that up I want to go to the hospital to see Alexi before she needs to be prepared for the surgery. You wanna come? Or do you have something to do?"
John shook his head. "I have nothing to do... well at least nothing that can't wait a while. But are you sure it's okay when I come? I mean I've known Alexi for a few hours only."
"Oh come on... you know the saying 'the more the merrier' and by the way I'm sure Alexi won't mind... actually I think she'd be happy to have a few people who can take her mind off the operation for a while."

"If you put it this way..." John smiled. "I'll come..."

"Good... Dave will meanwhile have an eye out for Shawn..."

"Oh yeah... how is he by the way?" John questioned.

Randy shrugged. "I have no idea... Dave said he was okay... but what worries me is that he's been trying to call Alexandria's mother..."

John raised an eyebrow in question.

"He did? What did she say?" John asked, wondering what was going on.

"Actually, her mother wasn't home..." Randy explained. "Come on... let's talk in my car. I want to be at the hospital as soon as possible and I need to tell you something else... Christy overheard a conversation... and what she told me is something I don't want anybody else to overhear."
And with that the two walked to Randy's car and were on the way to the hospital while Randy told his best friend about Christy's warning.

If the two hadn't been so wrapped up in their conversation they had perhaps seen two brown eyes staring after them in shock and surprise.

to be continued if you want me to...