Disclaimer: Anything related to TNA or anyone else clearly doesn't belong to the writers of this story. This is written purely for entertainment purposes. If TNA is willing, though, the writers of this story would very much love to own any of the TNA-owned people mentioned within this story. That is all.

A/N: This story is a collaberation between myself, Phoenix-Satori10, and Liz1986. Let us know what you think in a review. Constructive criticism is greatly accepted. Phoenix


Lily Myers nervously adjusted her business jacket and fussed with her honey blond hair - putting it into a ponytail and then pulling it out, only to put it in again. She was waiting to be called into Dixie Carter's office and was unbelievably stressed out by the interview she'd be facing on the other side of the door. Beside her, her 14 year old daughter scoffed. "Relax, mom. It's not like this is an interview with Donald Trump or something." The girl smirked.

"This is important to me, Kadence. I have to make a good impression." Lily told her quietly.

"Too bad Dixie's not a guy. You'd surely be able to strip your way into a job if she were." Kadence continued. Lily turned a harsh glare on her dark haired child.

"That's enough out of you. Just sit there quietly and think about why it is that I brought you with me, rather than leaving you at home." She stated.

Kadence lowered her head, just a little, so that her mother would think she was doing what she'd been told to. In a way, she was. It had been perfect! So many kids had talked idly about pranking the principal of her school but only she'd had enough guts to actually do it. She was now facing a lengthy suspension, of course, but it was well worth it. A perfect prank and a holiday. Who could ask for more?

"Ms Myers, they'll see you now." Dixie's receptionist smiled at Lily.

"Thank you. Kadence, stay put. I shouldn't be long." Lily said as she got to her feet and walked towards the door to Dixie's office.

"Yeah, it won't take long for you to screw up. See you soon." Kadence smiled sweetly after her mothers retreating form. She watched her mother tense up slightly, obviously having heard her parting words.

Once inside the office, Lily was surprised to see Jeff Jarrett standing in front of Dixie Carter's desk. He offered her his hand to shake and motioned for her to take a seat next to him. Dixie smiled at her warmly and she felt all her concerns and stress slip away.

"Lily, thanks for coming. This is Jeff Jarrett, he'll be telling you a little about the position we have for you within the company." Dixie told her. Lily was a little taken aback.

"You mean, I already have the job?" She asked curiously.

"You sure do. I've read through your resume and I think you're perfect for what we need. Jeff, I'll let you take over." Dixie smiled. Jeff nodded at her and turned to Lily.

"Well, primarily, you'll be coming in to the company as my personal assistant. You'll be helping me out with things like rounding up people I need to meet with, or passing out scripts, that kind of thing. Eventually, you might end up with a spot in front of the camera, maybe managing someone or being a backstage interviewer. Think you can handle it?" Jeff asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Absolutely. Although... I'd rather not have too much to do with the wrestlers, if at all possible. I mean, I understand that this is a wrestling company but..." Lily stammered a little before Jarrett finished her sentence for her.

"There's someone in particular that you'd like to avoid?" He figured.

Lily nodded uncertainly. She didn't really want to have to talk about her past, or her history with the person she wanted to avoid. Still, it looked as though she was going to have to in order to keep the job they'd just given her. Jeff was looking at Dixie with a worried expression on his face. The expression on Dixie's face was more thoughtful.

"You're from Ft. Wright, Kentucky, according to your resume. There's only one person that I can think of that we have working with us who also comes from Ft. Wright." Dixie told her. Lily gulped. Jeff finally caught on.

"Chris Harris. Why would you want to avoid him?" He wondered.

"We have history that he decided to throw away when he started pursuing wrestling. I'd rather not have to see him everyday but this job is almost too good to be true, you know." Lily reasoned.

"Right. Well, I can't promise that you won't see Chris but, the job's still yours if you want it." Jeff told her, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable by prying into the 'history' she'd mentioned.

"I'll take it." Lily finally decided.

Meanwhile, Kadence was getting bored just sitting in the waiting room. Figuring the interview would take a while, she decided she'd find something for herself to do.

"Hey, could you tell my mother that I've gone to the bathroom?" Kadence asked the secretary.

"Sure, sweetie." The older lady smiled at her kindly.

Kadence faked a smile in reply and left the room. She wandered down a few of the hallways, taking in the sights and sounds around her. Hearing a whoop of laughter, she figured she may as well investigate it. She made her way over to a door that was not quite completely closed. Peeking in, she spotted two guys obviously enjoying challenging each other on some kind of video game.

"Ugh. Boys and their toys." Kadence spoke quietly.

Not quite quietly enough, though, as one of the guys turned towards her. Kadence took a few stunned steps backwards and turned to run as the guy got up from his seat. He managed to catch up with her before she ran and he grabbed for her wrist.

"Slow down. What's the rush?" The dark haired guy asked with a friendly smile as Kadence turned towards him. She tested the strength of the grip on her wrist and realized it was a little tight.

"Let me go." She ordered.

The smile on his face grew a little which only served to annoy her more. She balled her free hand into a fist and swung wildly for him. By now, his fair headed friend had come out of the locker room and was leaning against a wall watching the interaction.

"Let her go, Andy. She'll hurt herself before she manages to hit you." He joked. Andy laughed as Kadence swung yet again, her fist missing by inches.

"Fine. I'll let you go but you have to stick around and answer two questions for me. Deal?" Andy offered.

Kadence scowled but nodded, wanting nothing more than her freedom – and to wipe the stupid smiles off their faces. Andy slowly released his grip on the girl, half expecting her to bolt. She stood in front of him, rubbing at her wrist and waiting for him to ask his questions.

Chase watched from the sidelines, knowing exactly why Andy had stopped her. She was right up his alley. She looked like a classic goth stereotype – dressed in a black corset style top, black pants. Her hair was shorter at the back, longer in the front, dyed black with a purple streak on one side and a blue streak on the other. Her make up was dark – black lipstick, smoky gray eyeshadow, heavy mascara and eyeliner, not to mention the black nail polish on her fingernails. Chase bet himself that her toenails were painted black too.

"Can we get to the questions or do you need to go look them up first?" She asked with a heavy sigh.

"Funny. Who are you?" Andy asked, his curiosity evident.

"Does it matter?" She shot back. Chase stifled a laugh. Her attitude amused him.

"Yeah, it does. We weren't aware that there was supposed to be fan access today. Which leads to my second question – what are you doing back here?" Andy continued, getting a little more serious.

"Looking for a bathroom. Guess your locker room doesn't qualify, although it smells almost as bad as a sewer. Either of you ever heard of deodorant?" The girl smirked. Andy looked insulted by this but Chase finally let out a laugh.

"Classic." He smiled. She looked at him with mild disdain for a moment before turning to walk away from them both.

"Hey, wait. Where are you going?" Andy called after her.

"I would answer that but the deal was for two questions and you've already asked them. Bye now." She called over her shoulder. Andy looked to Chase for some help but he shrugged and wandered back into the locker room.

Kadence walked further and further into the maze of hallways and wondered if maybe this was a bad idea. What were the chances she'd be able to find her way back to the office before her mother came out of the interview? Figuring her mother would send out a search party to find her even if she hadn't gotten lost, Kadence went on her way.

Before long, the hallway opened out into a spacial area. Tables and chairs were set up for people to sit at, and there was a canteen type area along one wall. Pulling her wallet from her pocket, Kadence dug through it and counted how much change she had. Looking up at the board where the prices were listed, she realized she didn't have enough money to buy anything.

"Damn mom holding back my allowance." She muttered before turning and wandering down another hallway. That had been part of the punishment for pranking her principal – no computer, Tv or allowance for a month.

Coming across another door in the hallway, Kadence stopped to read the name plaque. Raven. Wondering what, or who, was on the other side of the door, Kadence turned the handle. After pushing the door open a little, she stuck her head inside to get a look around. Seeing that no one was in there, she let herself in and closed the door behind her.

Looking around again, she spotted a gym bag sitting in front of a locker against the far wall. Natural curiosity getting the better of her, she made her way over to see what was inside. Sitting on top of a pile of clothes was a wallet and a wrist watch. Picking up the watch to inspect it, she realized it was nothing special. The wallet now drew her attention more.

She dropped the watch back into the bag and lifted the wallet out. It was a plain black fake leather wallet which felt quite bulky. As she opened it up, a few store receipts fell to the floor. Ignoring them, Kadence searched through the wallet to see what else it contained. Finding a couple of $10 notes in the billfold, Kadence slipped one out and pushed it into her pocket.

She did up the wallet and placed it back in the bag before making her way back over to the door. Peeking her head out, she checked the hallway quickly before slipping out of the locker room and pulling the door closed as she went. She failed to notice the hand that stopped the door from closing completely. Failed to notice Raven going into his locker room.

He hadn't failed to notice her exiting the room and now wondered what she'd been doing in there. Spotting the receipts on the floor, he grabbed his wallet and flipped it open as he left the room to follow the young girl. Counting the bills his wallet contained, he came up short by $10. Growling low in his throat, he watched as the girl pulled a drink from the chiller and handed over a $10 note to pay for it. He walked over and stood behind her just as she turned around.

"How sweet. You read my mind and saw how thirsty I was, so you went into my locker room, took money from my wallet and came to get me a drink. I'll take that. And the change, too." Raven told her, without an ounce of humor in his voice, as he took the drink out of her hand and held his free one out for her to hand over the change.

Kadence cursed her luck as she dropped the change into the man's outstretched hand. The tone of his voice let her know straight away that she was in trouble. Her mother was going to kill her – if she found out.

"Congratulations, you caught me. I'll just be going now." Kadence decided, pointing one way and then running the other. Raven's outstretched arm caught her around the waist and he pulled her back to stand in front of him.

"Nice try but, I don't think so." He stated.

Kadence pushed his arm away and folded her arms across her chest, striking the natural angry girl pose. Raven raised an eyebrow, wondering what it was that she had to be angry about.

"So, Little Miss Thief, got a name? I'd like to know who it is that I'm reporting to the police." He asked as he pulled his cellphone from his pocket, not expecting to get an answer. Kadence smirked, smelling the bluff for what it was.

"Nice try but, I don't think so." She mocked.

Just then, Lily walked into the catering area. She had been frantically looking for her daughter since leaving Dixie's office and finding her gone. Bathroom break? Yeah, right. Kadence's history made Lily sure that she was getting into trouble of some kind. Spotting Kadence glaring at Raven, Lily made her way over to them with an inward groan.

"Kadence, I thought I told you to stay put. What's going on?" Lily asked as she stood between the 14 year old and the wrestler. Raven watched as all expression and emotion drained from the girl's face, leaving her paler than she was before. It didn't look like she was going to offer an answer any time soon.

"She yours?" Raven asked cautiously. He couldn't imagine that this dark, rebellious child belonged to such a tidy, respectable looking woman.

"Depends on what she's done." Lily replied with a weak smile.

Kadence didn't even bother to reply to that one – very unoriginal in her opinion. Instead, she stared at the floor, digging her shoe into the carpet with 100 disinterest in whatever her mother had to say now. Whoever the dude was, he didn't scare her and Lily sure as hell didn't have much affect on her anymore.

Raven glared at this much screwed up kid and couldn't help but wonder what her mother must have done to result in her turning out like this. Or, alternatively, what event in their lives took place that could send this otherwise attractive girl into such a wild state. Either way, he wanted a full apology from her. He didn't give a damn as to whether it was sincere or not because he knew that just getting the words out of a gothic/punk kid was hard enough – enough damage to their pride, if they had any left.

Lily, meanwhile, was silently fuming – once again, Kadence had done nothing but cause trouble and humiliate them both. Maybe it didn't matter to her, but for Lily who had just been offered, and accepted a position here, this meant a lot. And, as God as her witness, she was not going to let Kadence get away with it this time. Controlling her temper, she tore her eyes away from her pouting daughter to look at this guy who had apparently got into a confrontation with her.

"So, uh… what's she done now, exactly?"

Raven crossed his arms. "I caught your kid – Kadence – hauling ass out of my locker room. And surprise, surprise I turn out to be minus ten dollars when I check my wallet thirty seconds later!"

Kadence didn't flinch at all as he rehashed the details of their encounter and continued to gaze at the dull carpet as if it held some significance or interest. It was a good thing she avoided her mother's very harsh look as well, because if looks could kill… well, let's just say she was drilling holes into the back of Kadence's head with such an icy stare.

Nowadays, she wouldn't put it past the fourteen year old to progress to theft – she was such a handful. Lily Myers was a single mother, 32 years of age, trying to juggle paying the bills and also taking care of a trouble-ridden child who was quickly losing her grip on reality and life itself.

But she kept her composure, though felt the anger rising in her… what had she done to result in having such a fucked up kid? This wasn't right. As much as she loved her daughter, Kadence was quickly proving to be too much for her to handle, and now this very freaky-looking dude had caught her stealing money?

"Oh God…" she muttered, casting a sideways glance to her daughter who was now staring around the large room, not paying attention at all. Looking at Raven again, she stumbled to find words – she wanted to protect Kadence, but at the same time knew that she couldn't make excuses for her behavior. Not anymore. "I am… so sorry, Mr.?"

"Levy." He snapped, his annoyance more than seeping through his relatively calm demeanor. "Scott Levy. And you are?"

"I'm Lily… uh, Lily Myers. And my daughter is very sorry for causing you trouble…" she stopped and turned to Kadence. "Right, Kadence?"

As expected, she got no response from the Goth and sighed, reached out and firmly grabbed her jaw (though not hard enough to hurt her), and forcibly turned her head so she could meet her eyes. It wasn't like Lily to show any sort of force with Kadence, but in the wake of receiving this huge new career prospect, there was gonna be zero tolerance with her now.

Kadence successfully pulled away from her mother and took a few steps back.

"Whatever." she mumbled, with a soured expression. Raven didn't look convinced.

"I'd rather hear her say it, if you don't mind." He told Lily. Lily honestly didn't like his chances of ever hearing an apology out of Kadence. Lily hadn't heard one from her child in the last three years. Things had slowly been going from bad to worse for both of them, but this just topped it all.

"Apologize to the man, Kadence." She spoke quickly, wanting this confrontation to be over and forgotten about. Kadence continued with her disinterest and silence.

"Kadence!" Lily snapped loudly. She was on the verge of losing the plot, no matter how hard she tried to hold on.

Kadence turned her gaze back to her mother, her eyes seething with unspoken anger and frustration. There was no way she was going to say anything to this guy. It was his own fault, anyway. Who in their right mind would leave their wallet in plain sight? Deciding she'd had enough of the whole thing, Kadence turned on her heel and walked away. Lily watched her go and sighed such a deep sigh that Raven thought the weight of the world must be crushing down on her shoulders. Deciding he was in a more... sympathetic mood, he made an offer he thought was fair.

"How about you give me permission to have Kadence as my... personal assistant or, for lack of a better word, lackey, until she swallows her pride and offers up an apology?"

Lily turned to look at him with suspicion clearly written on her face. Where did this guy get off, asking to have a fourteen year old as his 'personal assistant'? Then again... if Kadence was forced to help him out, she wouldn't have time to get into trouble and Lily would be able to keep an eye on her from afar. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad?

"I suppose anything is worth a try now. Be warned, she's a temperamental fourteen year old." Lily gave in with a small smile. Raven laughed.

"I hadn't noticed." He told her with a conspiratorial wink.

Kadence paced her way angrily down the hallway. Scott Levy had no right to ask for an apology from her. He got his money back – in one way or another, with the drink and the change. She started pondering ways to get him back for his arrogance, her anger not yet abating. She was staring down at the carpet of the hall as she walked so she didn't notice the two guys heading straight for her. They both wore long jackets and one had a cowboy hat on his head and a beer bottle in his hand.

"Man, you have got to lay off the drinking. The bottle's meant to be a prop. Use an empty one for promos from now on, okay?" The guy without the cowboy hat told the other, so absorbed in their conversation that he didn't notice the gothic girl on a direct collision course with himself.

"Relax, Chris. So I like to have a drink sometimes, no biggie." The cowboy replied before turning his attention to the collision that was just about to happen. Why bother stopping it? It could prove to be amusing.

"Ow! God damn it! Get out of my way." Kadence fumed, her anger at Scott being displaced and reflected onto the person she'd just run into.

"Get out of your way? You ran into me, little girl." Chris shot back. The guy in the cowboy hat snickered, obviously enjoying the altercation.

"And what the heck are you laughing at, you liquored up cowboy hick?" Kadence glared at him.

"Ouch! Chris, did the girl with the Kentucky accent just try to insult me? I can't tell under all that make up." The cowboy joked.

"James, shut the hell up. We have a promo to get to. Scoot, you little rug rat." Chris tried to brush past Kadence, only to trip over her outstretched foot. Watching his tag team partner hit the floor only made James laugh harder.

"Oops, my bad. Jackass." Kadence muttered.

Lily had followed after Kadence in order to tell her about Raven's plan. She was still nervous about working in TNA, seeing as someone from her past that she'd rather forget was currently one half of the tag team champions. She had been hoping, praying and wishing that she wouldn't run into him. Instead, Kadence had. Lily stopped in the hallway and watched as Chris Harris fell to the floor after tripping over the foot that Kadence had put in his way.

"Oh, good lord, this girl is trying to kill me!" Lily muttered to herself as she continued down the hall.

"Kady, do you think you could stay out of trouble for five minutes, please? That door down there on the left is my office, go wait for me in there. I'll be in to talk to you in a minute." Lily told her daughter calmly, hoping they wouldn't have a repeat of the earlier performance.

Kadence turned her attention towards her mother briefly before looking down the hall at the door she'd pointed out. Deciding to go sit in the office rather than listen to her mother trying to get her to apologize to another waste of space, Kadence sent one more glare at both men before walking off.

James had bent slightly to help Chris up from the floor so Lily used one hand to help pull the man to his feet. Once he was upright again, Chris took one look at Lily and almost fell back to the floor. She was the last person he'd ever expected to see there.

"Lil? What are you doing here?" He asked the woman in front of him in slight amazement.

"I just signed a contract to be Jeff Jarrett's personal assistant, if you must know. It's not easy raising a kid on nothing." Lily told him, the bitterness in her tone surprising James.

"That... that was Kadence?" Chris asked in disbelief. He'd figured the girl was another wrestler's daughter, or maybe belonged to one of the staff. He'd never imagined that she was... well, his.

"In all her glory. Goodbye, Chris." Lily sighed as she walked towards her office.

"Who... was that? And who's Kadence?" James wondered, pausing briefly to follow Lily with his eyes.

"That was Lily... my ex. Kadence is our kid." Chris admitted, also watching after her.

"Wait... what?" James asked, not believing what he was hearing.

"Lily and I were together in high school. Shortly after graduation, I got her pregnant. That answer everything for you?" Chris offered.

"Not quite. Why does she hate you so much... and how come you didn't recognize your own daughter?" James pressed.

"Rather not talk about it. We have a promo to get to." Chris told him before walking in the direction that Lily had come from.

Lily made her way into her office and almost smiled at the sight of Kadence sitting in the chair behind the desk, her feet propped up and her hands behind her head. The sight didn't quite rid Lily of the image of her daughter tripping Chris up. She was secretly quite pleased but was also worried that Chris may try to confront Kadence about it at some point.

"Feet off the desk, Kady. You and I need to talk." Lily told her. Kadence grudgingly removed her feet from the desk.

"So talk. Standard lecture number three, is it? What I did was very wrong and I should never do it again. Times it by two – once for the money thing and the other for tripping the guy in the hall, right?" Kadence guessed, a wry smile on her face. Lily sighed.

"I have three points to make. One: You are now Scott Levy's personal assistant. You will do whatever he tells you to do. Your only way out of it is to apologize for stealing from him." Lily paused and watched the smile slide from Kadence's face.

"Two: If you so much as try to prank Scott, or anyone else, while you are here, the punishment will be ten times worse than any other punishment you have ever received. I need... WE need this, Kady." Lily continued, trying not to plead with her daughter too much. Kadence opened her mouth to speak but Lily cut her off.

"Three: Stay as far away as possible from those two guys out there. If either of them tries to talk to you, pretend they're me and walk away. Am I understood?" Lily finished. Kadence thought it over.

"One: Fine. Two: Whatever. Three: What the hell? Why would you even care?" She wondered.

"Would you rather that I punish you for tripping the guy? Because, if that's the case..." Lily reasoned. Kadence changed her tune quickly.

"Fine, I'll stay away from the drunken, hick cowboy and his boy toy." She agreed.

"Thank you. Now, go find Scott and see what he wants you to do." Lily told her. Kadence got to her feet and stomped out of the office, slamming the door behind her. Lily let out a small breath of relief.

Kadence wandered the halls, looking for Scott. The more she thought about her mother's three points, the less she understood why Lily had asked her to stay away from the two guys in the hall. Did her mother honestly think she was worried about the cowboy and the jackass? Or maybe there was a different reason? Kadence let out a frustrated growl. She had to work this out, had to find out why her mother had made the two guys off limits. There had to be a reason. As she rounded a corner, she spotted Scott leaning against a wall, almost as if he was expecting her.

"Slave, reporting for duty, sir." Kadence mock saluted. Scott almost laughed.

"I find it funny that you'd rather I humiliate you by making you my assistant than apologize. Is it really so hard for you to swallow your pride?" He asked.

"Just tell me what the heck you want me to do, already." Kadence replied, still mulling over the conversation with her mother.

"For now, just follow me around. If I think of anything, you'll be the first to know." Scott decided.

"Oh, yawn. Why ask for me to be your slave if you don't have anything for me to do?" Kadence posed, her annoyance continuing to amuse Scott.

"Honestly, I didn't think your mother would allow it. Seems that you've trod on her last nerve, though." He told her before walking down the hall. Kadence stood stock still and watched him go. Halfway down the hall, he turned back.

"You coming?" He asked. Kadence wondered what he'd do if she said no, but reluctantly followed after him. Once she'd caught up, Scott continued on his way with her at his heels.

"Scott... can I ask you something?" Kadence asked hesitantly. This served to catch Scott totally off guard. He'd been expecting her to continue her sarcastic or silent ways.

"Go for it." Scott nodded, making sure to show her the proper amount of attention.

"Why would my mother tell me to stay away from two guys that I've never met until ten minutes ago?" Kadence questioned.

"What? How would I know? You've known her a hell of a lot longer than I have." Scott answered, the question not making any sense to him at all.

"See, that's the thing, I can't work it out. I ran into this guy in the hall after leaving you and mom. He was extremely impolite so I tripped him up. The other guy laughed his stupid cowboy head off. Then mom comes in and sends me to her office, only to make a point about me staying away from them. Why tell me to stay away from them when I clearly want nothing to do with them anyway?" Kadence pushed.

"Hmm. Cowboy? That would probably be James Storm. The other guy, I would assume, would be his tag partner, Chris Harris. I have no idea why she'd want you to stay away from them though." Scott figured.

"Guess I'll have to ask one of them, then." Kadence decided pointedly.

"You live to make your mother's life harder, huh?" Scott queried.

"Not like she hasn't made my life harder. I mean, I'm 14 and she has never once told me anything about my father. Any time I ask, she changes the subject or just walks away." Kadence fumed. She took a deep breath and steeled herself again, realizing she had said too much.

"But, whatever. It's not like I care, anyway." She shrugged nonchalantly, slipping back into her normal closed off state.

"Of course you don't. And your little stunts aren't designed to get her attention. Not at all." Scott smirked, using the art of sarcasm well.

Kadence rolled her eyes and kept quiet. She hated the way he acted as if he knew her. He didn't know the first thing about her, or her life. Where did he get off assuming that everything she did was a cry for attention? Heck, most of the things she did were purely for her own entertainment. Boredom often led her to pranking someone. It had nothing to do with her mother. As they were passing through the ring area, someone called out to Scott from in the ring.

"Raven, could you throw me that towel, man?" The dark haired wrestler called.

"I can do one better. Kadence, take the towel to Andy." Scott decided, finally finding a use for her. Kadence groaned but picked up the towel and walked towards the ring before holding it out to the guy she'd had an earlier run in with.

"Kadence, huh. Nice name." Andy smirked.

"Bite me, dickweed." Kadence mumbled. Before she could retract her hand, Andy playfully bit it.

"What the hell! Dude, that is so gross!" Kadence hissed as she wiped her hand furiously on the towel that Andy now held.

"Lesson one for today, Kadence. Never tell someone that's obsessed with vampires to bite you. They will always take you up on the offer." Scott smirked.

"Could have used that information before I said it." Kadence glared at Scott. Scott laughed.

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't be having as much fun right now." He retorted.

"She yours, man?" Andy asked Scott with a grin on his face, thinking that maybe he'd finally get a proper answer to his second question from earlier.

"No, thank god. Her mother has just been hired as Jarrett's backstage assistant. Kadence has decided to do me the same honor." Scott answered. Andy took in the information and nodded.

"Welcome to TNA then, Kadence. I'm Andy Douglas." He smiled at her, offering his hand for her to shake. Kadence looked at his hand as if it was on fire.

"Shake the man's hand, girl." Scott insisted. Kadence reached out hesitantly and placed her hand in Andy's. They shook for a few seconds before he let her hand go.

"You were expecting me to bite again, weren't you?" Andy teased. Kadence looked away. That's exactly what she'd thought he'd do.

"I only bite when asked to." Andy assured her.

"Can we get out of here now?" Kadence addressed Scott, totally ignoring Andy's comment.

"Actually, I wanted to do some work in the ring. You up for it, Andy?" Scott wondered. Andy got to his feet and bounced off the ropes.

"Bring it on!" He called to Scott.

Scott shook his head in amusement as he shed his jacket. He held the jacket out to Kadence and shook it when she didn't get the hint. Finally realizing what he expected, Kadence took the jacket from him and hung it over her arm. Andy watched in silence before wondering if the same trick might work for him. He held the towel out towards Kadence and waited. Kadence raised an eyebrow at him but didn't move.

"Take the damn towel." Scott ordered before climbing into the ring. Kadence snatched the towel out of Andy's hand and shook her head at his smug look.

"Laugh it up, dickweed. You'll get yours." She muttered under her breath. Already, a prank was forming in her mind. Scott and Andy traded holds and various wrestling moves for a while before they were interrupted by Chris Harris and James Storm coming into the ring.

"You two, out, now." Chris ordered. Scott and Andy stopped and glared at the current tag team champs.

"We're working here." Andy informed them. Chris stepped over and stood toe to toe with him.

"Not anymore, you're not." He stated before grabbing Andy by the back of the neck and throwing him over the top rope, straight into Kadence. Scott had tried to stop it happening but James took him down to the mat, hard, before he could.

"Ow! Fuck. Watch what you're doing, you retard!" Kadence yelled at Chris after she only just managed to stop herself from hitting her head on the floor as Andy knocked her to the ground. Unfortunately, Andy wasn't as lucky and ended up knocking himself out. Kadence untangled herself from him quickly.

"Who are you calling a retard?" Chris shot back, heatedly, not noticing who he was talking to. Not until she was climbing into the ring, anyway. As she stood up after climbing through the ropes, he finally realized.

"You, you moron! What kind of an egotistical asshole are you? Just because Andy and Scott had the ring, you wanted it? You couldn't wait five minutes for them to get done? You had to go throw Andy right into me? You're fucked in the head, dude!" Kadence yelled, getting right into Chris' face. Scott tried to get free of James but he wasn't having a bar of it and lay a few well aimed punches into his midsection, successfully winding him.

"Well, jackass, what have you got to say for yourself, huh?" Kadence questioned, shoving Chris slightly.

Chris was still stunned. There, right in front of him, was the daughter he'd never been given the chance to know. He wanted to say so many things to her... tell her how much she meant to him. Instead...

"I... I... I..." He stammered. Kadence shook her head. This guy was clearly out of his mind! She took a quick glance at Scott who was still being beaten by James, and then turned back to Chris.

"I don't need this shit." She muttered before turning and leaving the ring again. She spared a passing glance for Andy and then headed up the ramp and into the tunnel that she knew led backstage.

"What the hell, Chris? Are you just going to let her talk to you like that?" James asked his friend, now abandoning Scott.

"I didn't know what to say." Chris told him honestly.

Scott managed to catch his breath and was now worried about Andy. He rolled closer to the edge of the ring and looked down to see the younger man out cold. Knowing that was a bad thing, Scott rolled out of the ring and knelt next to Andy, being careful not to move him.

"Andy, wake up. Come on... wake up." Scott spoke quietly as James and Chris were still in the ring.

James was staring at Chris as if he had two heads. Scott found it mildly interesting that Chris had shut down upon sight of Kadence. He was sure that James was wondering the same thing he was – had Chris gone soft? Andy started to rouse and Scott watched as he put a hand to the back of his head and groaned.

"You should have told her not to talk to you like that." James berated Chris.

"She doesn't know, James. Just leave it alone, okay?" Chris pleaded, trying to push the other man away. Scott motioned for Andy to keep quiet and helped him into a sitting position. He wanted to hear what it was that Chris thought Kadence didn't know.

"No, I won't leave it alone! You're her father! She has no right to talk to you like that." James yelled at him. Andy raised an eyebrow, wondering what the hell was going on. Scott, got to his feet and stood looking up at the two men in the ring.

"Please, tell me you're kidding, Storm." He spoke up. Chris and James both turned their attention towards Scott. Chris let out a breath as he realized that Scott had heard every word of what James had said.

"Thanks, James. And, while we're at it, fuck you as well." Chris hissed at his partner before hitting him upside the head.

"Ow! What the hell was that for? I didn't know he was listening." James pointed out. Scott climbed into the ring and stood in front of both men.

"Is it true?" He asked Chris calmly. Chris looked away, in a sight that was definitely reminiscent of Kadence – at least, to Scott anyway.

"I guess it is, then. Certainly explains a hell of a lot. Although, it poses another question. Why would Lily tell your daughter to stay away from you?" Scott pondered.

"She what?" Chris snapped back to reality quickly.

"After Kadence tripped you, Lily told her to stay away from you and James. Care to explain that for me?" Scott asked.

"The last time I saw Kady, she was... not quite a year old. Lily had given me an ultimatum. I either chose to pursue wrestling or I asked her to marry me and finally make the three of us family. She said I couldn't have it both ways as she wouldn't put up with me being away so much. It wouldn't be fair to Kadence. I didn't think she was serious and went off to train. When I tried contacting her again, she told me I'd made my choice and had to live with it. She wouldn't let me see Kadence. I tried, god did I try." Chris replied honestly.

He pulled his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans and opened it before handing it to Scott. Scott looked down at it and saw a photo of a beautiful baby girl with a goofy baby smile on her face. It was hard for him to believe that this child had grown into the angry young person he'd been dealing with.

"She was around... ten months old there. It wasn't long after that was taken that I went to train." Chris mused as he took back his wallet.


A/N2: So, do Lizzie and I a favour and let us know what you think of the first chapter. Reviews are much appreciated. Senseless flames will be used to roast marshmellows, so bring it on. Phoenix