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. We also don't own Sterling James Keenan but would very much like to. That is all.

A/N: Hello, hello! More chapter for you! And... yeah. That's all. Phoenix, you're still a goose.


"Uh," she stammered and picked up her clipboard. "Mr. Harris, I'm Doctor Mary Taylor, I'm head of the Child Psychology department of this hospital…"

Chris raised an eyebrow and folded his arms over his chest.

"And," she continued. "This is Matthew Cardwell, he is a social worker."

Lily's jaw dropped, and Chris was visibly tensing up – Kady saw her parents' reactions to that news and decided that this could not be a good thing.

"What?" Lily said.

"Its hospital policy when a child comes in with self-inflicted wounds," Mr. Cardwell explained. "That an investigation be launched into the welfare of that child at home, that's why Doctor Taylor came to speak to you and your daughter, Ms. Myers. It was revealed to her by Kadence that there were some serious problems between you and her father."

"Wait. Wait… why is social services involved?" Chris asked and moved over to Kady, instinctively and protectively putting his arms around her, drawing her close to him and she didn't resist. Lily saw them together and her heart fluttered and part of her could hardly believe it especially when Kady rested her head back against Chris' chest and appeared relaxed and even comfortable. That's exactly the sort of thing she had wanted for all three of them, once upon a time. Matthew opened a file.

"It's simply a standard practice."

"We wanted to conduct an interview with Ms. Myers here about her daughter, and then another one with young Kady here," Mary added, sitting on one of the seats by the bed and putting her bag down next to her.

"Sure make yourself at home, bitch." Kady muttered sarcastically so that only Chris could hear and he resisted laughing.

"And where was I in all of this, don't you think I should've been told?" he pointed out, somewhat pissed off that it was looking like he wasn't going to be consulted about something of this serious nature.

"Well, your daughter told us you had left the state," Mary countered. "We were going to notify authorities to send someone to speak with you in Florida. Not that it matters much now, it's good that all three of you are here."

"Its not like I'm going anywhere," Lily told her.

"Indeed," Matthew replied. "But we need to conduct an evaluation."

"Evaluation for what?" Chris demanded. "Quit sugarcoating this and tell us what the hell you're doing here?"

"Mr. Harris," Mary cut in. "I should warn you that your attitude along with your propensity for violence and a short temper—"

"Violence? Short temper? Dude, he's a wrestler," Kady said and gripped Chris' arm, squeezing it and he hugged her a bit closer in response.

"In any case, I have to warn you that we are monitoring your behavior, as well as your former partner's," Mary looked at Lily and then back at him. "To determine an appropriate course of action regarding—"

"You wanna take my baby away!" Lily interrupted, loudly. "No! Over my dead body!"

She tried to move but yelled out when the pain became too much and within seconds, Chris and Kady were at her side, telling her to lay back and relax.

"Give her water," he instructed Kady and she did as she was told. After a few more seconds, Lily relaxed and allowed the pain to subside. "You okay, Lil?"

"Peachy fucking keen…" she croaked out.

"And you guys wanna interview my mom while she's like this?" Kady accused, glaring at them with renewed menace. As much as she often deliberately antagonized Lily and considering that there was minimal trust between them, Lily was still her mother and while she was in this state, Kady would be damned before these two morons made her feel even worse.

"Miss," Matthew said. "I'm sorry. But the evaluation must go ahead…"

"She's fucking in pain here! I doubt she'd be much help. Gee, you people really must be proud of yourselves for doing this to her!" Kady was on the verge of screaming at them until Chris put his hands on her shoulders and whispered in her ear.

"Kadence, quiet. Don't make things worse."

"But—"

"Stay with Lily."

He let her go and turned around to confront this new problem that he was sure was nothing more than a misunderstanding. What Lily had said seconds earlier almost winded him; the thought of the State taking Kady away from them now, after everything they've been through.

"Can I speak with you both?" he asked, walking past the doctor and the social worker and straight out the door. Matthew and Mary looked at each other but ended up following him from the room; Mary closing the door behind her as they stepped out into the main hallway. When Chris turned around, he was fuming. "Tell me what is going on. Now."

"Sir, I'm sorry—"

"Is it true?" he demanded. "What Lily said in there?"

"We simply need to ask you, Kady, and Lily some questions, that's all…" Mary assured him and Chris started pacing back and forth.

"To determine whether or not to take our daughter away from us?"

"That's not—"

"Yes or no, doctor. No bullshit. No pretenses. Give me the bottom line. Why are you really here?"

Mary sighed and hated being put in this awkward position; usually when speaking to kids like Kady it would be her job to recommend a removal or not to child services, like she would have to this time. The concern she read in Chris' eyes was enlightening in the sense that she could tell he cared about his child, and obviously that's a good thing.

"Fine," she said, exhaling deeply. "Yes, Mr. Cardwell and I are here to determine whether or not to recommend emergency removal of Kadence Myers from the custody of her mother and yourself. Even though you haven't been in her life, since you are her father, you automatically have custodial rights. Sir, after the injuries Kady inflicted on herself and her telling me of the events that occurred over the past week, it's only responsible that we check this out—"

"This is fucking ridiculous!" Chris responded, and was failing to keep his calm. So many times this past week alone he'd almost lost Kady again and now, to think that a power higher than himself was going to be responsible for taking her away, after everything - he wouldn't let it happen. "I love my daughter. Lily adores her; she's a wonderful mother!"

"Wonderful mothers don't slap their children and act the way Lily does," Matthew told him, in a tone of total authority. "You haven't been in Kady's life until now and, from what she's told us, she cut herself after an argument with you!"

"I brushed her off once and she got upset! It's getting better and I won't let you take our child from us!"

"You may not have a choice, Mr. Harris, that's what we're saying," Mary pointed out, weary of his attitude. "Just answer a few questions for us and the determination will be made."

"I won't put Kady through this. I won't put Lily through this, either. Both have serious injuries and they want privacy so, you'll have to come back another time." Chris said and walked over to the door with the intention of getting away from these two before he lost his temper. He closed the door only to give the three of them privacy, though didn't notice that it only closed part way. He saw that Kady and Lily were now talking and another wall seemed to have been broken.

"Chris, what's happened?" Kady stood up, turning at the same time, just as he walked up to her and gave her a quick hug to reassure her. The look on his face told Lily that something was up.

"I'm taking care of it," he said. "Don't worry yourselves over it."

"Are they gonna be putting me in one of those gross foster homes?" Kady queried, crinkling her nose at the thought of being put into one of those places.

"No!" he told her firmly. "You're not going anywhere. Trust me, I got it under control."

None of them saw Matthew Cardwell observing them through the small opening in the doorway. Mary had left seconds earlier to go make a phone call to Matthew's supervisor to give him an update on the case so far. Through the crack of the door opening, he couldn't hear what was being said but the way they were acting towards each other was speaking enough for him. When he had spoken with Mary, she had made it seem like this child was going through hell on earth, but it certainly wasn't looking like it.

Chris had his arms around his daughter in a protective embrace and they were both talking with Lily, all were calm and they looked like a family. Matthew had been in his business for many years and his gut often told him the severity of situations and most of the time he was right. From what he sensed, this was nowhere close to being a situation which would demand Kady's removal. Satisfied that he had seen enough, Matthew walked off and made some notes in his file.

"Family structure satisfactory," He muttered, verbally reiterating the last point he had written. But Mary, he knew, would not be happy about this. As he came in to the entranceway of the hospital, he saw Mary talking on her cellphone. Knowing that she was on the phone to his boss, Matthew walked over and took the phone from her hand.

"Tom, it's Matthew. I've decided that we should step back on this case. They seem to be coming together and working out whatever problems they had so I see no reason to remove the child." Matthew told his boss calmly. Mary looked at him in shock.

"Monitoring the situation for the next... six months will let us know if I made the right decision. If the child ends up in hospital again for similar reasons, then I would suggest removal. Until then, I think she'll be okay." Matthew continued, explaining his decision to his boss and Mary at the same time. He ended the call with Tom and handed Mary's phone back to her.

"I can't believe you just did that." Mary stated. Matthew smirked.

"And I can't believe you were trying to go over my head. Excuse me while I go and explain the change of situation to the family." He told her before walking back down the hall. When he reached Lily's room, he knocked quietly on the door. Chris pulled the door open and glared at the man menacingly.

"I thought I told you to come back later. Neither of them are in any shape to answer questions." Chris reiterated his earlier sentiments.

"Just thought you might like to know that things have changed. From what I've seen, I'd say that Kadence is not in any extreme danger. There's no reason for her to be removed from the care of her parents." Matthew told him honestly.

"You're serious?" Chris asked, amazed by what he'd just been told.

"Very. The three of you will be monitored for six months, however. If my instincts tell me that Kadence is in any kind of danger due to you and Lily, I will not hesitate to have her removed – I won't waste time talking it over. Sound fair?" Matthew wondered with a hint of a smile.

"Yeah, that's fair. Thank you. You have no idea how much this means." Chris returned the smile, his whole demeanor changing.

"Go and enjoy time with your daughter." Matthew told him before shaking his hand and walking away. Chris walked back into Lily's room and smiled at the sight of Kady curled up beside Lily on the bed. Lily had one arm around her daughter protectively, not wanting to let her go for fear of her being taken away.

"What are you smiling about?" Kady wondered, seeing the look on her father's face. She was worried that maybe he was happy about the fact that she could be taken away, even if he had said he wouldn't let it happen.

"Some good news, for a change." Chris replied with a wink. The confusion on his daughter's face was priceless. He felt like holding off on telling her the news but caught the serious look on Lily's face.

"What news would that be?" Lily asked, prompting Chris to tell them.

"Kady's not going anywhere. The social worker says we'll be monitored for six months and, if things are okay, that's it. If Kady seems to be in any danger, though, they'll remove her, no questions asked." Chris relayed the message he'd received outside.

"Are you serious? Oh my god! That's so great!" Kady screamed, removing herself from Lily's embrace and jumping off the bed in order to hug her father.

Lily watched the easy interaction between father and daughter with mixed feelings. On one hand, she was happy that Kady wasn't going to be taken away from her. On the other, it now meant that the situation between Lily and Chris would have to be sorted out completely for their daughter's sake. Lily just wasn't sure how they were going to figure it out. She'd be damned if she'd let Chris spend any time alone with Kady, for fear that he might upset her and make her cut herself again.

"Right, well... now that that's sorted, can I borrow your cellphone, Chris? I think I should call Danny and talk things over with him." Kady decided as she pulled herself out of her father's arms.

"Sure, baby. Here." Chris agreed, pulling his phone from his pocket and handing it to Kady.

"Thanks. I'm gonna go back to my room for privacy's sake. You two have a lot to talk about and I don't want to see either one of you again until you come to some sort of agreement about Chris being part of my life, got it?" Kady warned seriously, waving a finger between her parents. Chris looked at Lily who raised an eyebrow in response.

"Yes, boss." He told Kady, reaching out to mess up her hair a little.

"Dude! Not the hair!" Kady protested, pushing his hand away before walking out of the room – smoothing her hair down as she went.

Chris turned his attention back to Lily who was visibly paling by the second. He figured that she hadn't been expecting this situation to arise as soon as it had. Pulling a chair over towards the bed before sitting in it, Chris took a deep breath.

"Guess the kid has a point. We need to work this out, Lil." He told her calmly.

"I know we do. I just don't know how to go about it. I'm... I'm worried, Chris. I really am." Lily admitted.

"Worried? About what?" Chris wondered, confused.

"About Kady getting hurt, or hurting herself again. All it would take would be you brushing her off without meaning to. She's not used to your mood swings, barely manages to deal with her own... I just don't want her to end up killing herself next time." Lily told him.

"There won't be a next time. I'm serious about wanting to be part of her life. I know I've got a lot to learn about how to deal with her but I want to do it. I won't brush her off again... I've learned from that mistake, believe me. I know now that the best thing for Kady is for me to be totally honest with her. If I'm pissed off about something and she wants to know, then I'll tell her. I guess the same deal should apply to you and I as well. Total honesty, Lil. It's the only way we'll get through this thing without wanting to kill each other." Chris figured.

"Even if the honest truth is that I don't want you to be alone with Kady – for the sake of her safety?" Lily questioned.

"Even then. I know where you're coming from with that... I can understand it. I know I have to earn your trust when it comes to spending time with Kady. I'm not expecting you to just hand her over to me with no thought to her safety... that wouldn't be right. You're her mother and, ultimately, it's your decision whether I will have any place in her life other than fleeting moments with you watching our every move. I don't have the right to ask for more than that, yet." Chris replied honestly.

Lily was a little amazed by this side of Chris. He was being completely calm and understanding, almost like the person she knew him to be throughout their relationship. She had to remind herself of what was on the line here, however – Kady's future, her happiness... her life. Could Lily put up with Chris in any sort of capacity in order to let their daughter get to know him? She sighed as she thought it over and Chris caught the uncertainty in her eyes.

"I don't deserve to be given another chance, I know that. All I'm asking is that we consider what would be best for Kady. She said herself that she wanted us to work out an agreement for me to be part of her life – that means she clearly wants me around. I'm determined to be there for her for as long as it is that she wants me there. But I can't do that without your permission, Lil. It's all up to you." Chris shrugged, knowing he wouldn't give up being in Kady's life, no matter what Lily said now.

If he had to, he'd go to a lawyer and get permanent access visits put in place. Right now, he was hoping that wouldn't be needed and that Lily would give him the chance he'd been longing for since he walked out on them all those years ago. He watched several different emotions flow over her face and could almost see what she was thinking – he'd always known how to read her.

"I... I guess we need to work some stuff out then. I can't say no to this and you know it. Kady would never forgive me if I did. I just... I don't know how we're going to make it work. Kady and I live in Florida now, you don't. That's going to make things hard in terms of any kind of visitation. Kady's going to be starting school again soon... I won't have that messed with. This is huge, Chris... so much to consider." Lily figured.

"I agree that her schooling shouldn't be messed with at all so at least we're on the same page with that. If you want me to move to Florida to make things easier, I'll do it. I'll do whatever it takes." Chris decided. Lily looked at him in shock.

"You'd really move to Florida?" She asked skeptically.

"For Kady... yeah. I'd do anything." Chris nodded seriously. He meant it with all his heart, too, and Lily could see that.

"I don't think that's needed just yet. I mean, we're going to have to take it slowly. Until I know I can trust you with her completely, I think you should only see her when she comes to work with me – if we both still have jobs with TNA, that is." Lily offered, wondering if he'd accept that.

"It's a start. I appreciate that. I'm pretty sure you'll still have your job. It's not like you planned to get hit by a car or anything. Me, on the other hand... my future is in Andy Douglas' hands. That makes me very worried." Chris smiled slightly, even though he was nervous about the prospect of not having a job to go back to.

"I'm sure Andy will make the right decision, no matter what it may be. Do you think we should talk to Kady about what we've come up with?" Lily wondered.

"Of course. I'll go get her." Chris offered, getting to his feet.

"Chris... I know you care about her. I'm sorry it's taken this long for me to see it." Lily spoke quietly. Chris smiled to himself upon hearing this and turned back to face her.

"I never stopped caring. I guess it just took me a while to realize what I needed to do for her... and for myself." Chris admitted. Lily nodded and Chris continued out of the room to go and get Kady. When he got to her room, he stood outside the slightly open door and listened to the end of Kady's conversation with Danny over the phone.

"You'll always be my freak boy. I'll talk to you later, okay? I think I should go check if mom's killed Chris yet." Kady said before saying goodbye and ending the call. Chris knocked on the door and Kady's turned to face him.

"Hey. So... what happened?" She asked him hesitantly. Chris smiled.

"I'm still alive, doesn't that kind of answer your question?" He teased.

"It tells me that mom wasn't able to reach you from her bed in order to strangle you. Seriously, what happened?" Kady pressed, wanting more information from him.

"We talked some stuff through, came up with an idea. Let's go back to Lily's room and we'll tell you about it." Chris told her, holding out a hand to Kady. She dropped his cellphone into it and then led the way from the room.

"You're not going to give me a head's up on this?" Kady wondered as they walked.

"Like I said, I'm still alive. That should tell you more than enough." Chris smiled.

"You're really annoying, ya know that?"

"Yes, I'm well aware of that fact. It's something I seem to have passed on to you."

"Jerk." Kady muttered.

"Brat." Chris countered.

Kady shoved him slightly and Chris put his arm around her shoulders, bringing her in for a one-armed hug. Kady allowed him to keep his arm around her as they walked into Lily's room. Chris motioned for Kady to sit in the chair he'd been sitting in earlier and she complied quickly, wanting to know what they'd come up with. She looked between Chris and Lily, wondering who was going to say something first. When it appeared that they were trying to figure out the same thing, she finally burst.

"Someone tell me what's going on. I don't care which one of you does it, just put me out of my misery already." She told them.

Chris motioned for Lily to go ahead, figuring that she was the major parental figure in Kady's life so she should be the one to bring up any changes to that life. Lily took a deep breath and tried to work out where to start. Chris could sense her problem and sat on the bed gently, catching Lily's attention.

"Total honesty, remember." He told her. Lily nodded and finally figured out what to say.

"We've decided that, to start with, you and Chris should only spend time together when you're with me at TNA events. I'm not comfortable with the idea of you spending time alone with him just yet." She told Kady honestly, wondering how her daughter would react to it.

Kady thought it over for a few moments before looking down at the bandage on her arm. She knew that her cutting herself was the reason her mother wasn't happy with the idea of her being alone with Chris. It was a precautionary measure, considering the social worker had said they'd be monitored. Kady looked up again, directing her eyes towards Chris. He seemed happy with the idea that had been presented, as did Lily – although Kady could sense her mother's apprehension. She was probably just waiting for Kady to flip out or whatever. She was about to be pleasantly surprised.

"I can handle that. It makes sense." Kady told them. Lily visibly relaxed, letting out a breath she'd been holding.

TWO MONTHS LATER

Lily and Kady arrived at Orlando Studios around 4 hours before the Sacrifice PPV was to begin. Already the backstage area was chaotic with wrestlers and crew members all rushing around to get things done before the show kicked off. Kady followed her mother to her office, dumping her backpack before turning to leave again.

"Hold it! Where do you think you're going?" Lily wondered.

"To find Chris. You guys did say I could hang out with him while I was here." Kady pointed out.

"I also said I didn't want your schoolwork to suffer. How much homework have you got?"

"Not much. I'll do it tomorrow, I swear." Kady told her, a touch of pleading showing through in her voice. She hadn't seen Chris since Lily had been released from the hospital and she was dying to know how things had been resolved with Andy. She knew, from the card for the show tonight, that AMW had their return match against The Naturals for the titles. Lily watched as her daughter dropped to her knees, hands clenched in front of her in a sign of begging. She couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, alright, go. Just stay out of trouble, you hear me?" Lily warned. Kady nodded and practically ran from the room.

Deciding that her father was probably carbo-loading, she made her way towards the catering area. As she was headed through an intersection in hallways, a voice called out from behind her.

"Hey, ya little freak! Where's my hello?"

Kady spun around and rolled her eyes upon seeing who it was. There, standing with two other guys, was Sterling. Kady walked over to them and shrugged.

"Guess it got lost in the post." She told him. Sterling laughed and shook his head before turning to the people he was with.

"Austin, Rod... this is Kadence Myers. Kady, this is Austin Aries and Roderick Strong." He introduced. Kady nodded at both guys in greeting.

"So this is the little run away that made you miss that show, huh?" Austin smirked.

"Yup, the one and only." Sterling nodded before turning back to Kady.

"How are things going?" He asked her, remembering the scene the last time he'd seen her.

"Dude, you have no idea. Things got really bad for a while there, but they're getting better now."

"How's your mom?" Sterling queried with a wink, reminding Kady of the motel story without saying anything about it.

"Gross dude... just don't go there. I don't need those images again!" She fumed, smacking him on the arm gently.

"Seriously, how is she? Her and Chris working things out?" He pushed.

"They're starting to. All it took was mom getting hit by a car and me trying to kill myself. Brilliant, no?" Kady replied, rolling her eyes again.

"I'll... talk to you guys later." Sterling told Roderick and Austin before grabbing Kady's arm and pulling her away from them.

"What the hell? You tried to kill yourself?" He asked, barely able to hide his disbelief. Sure, he was aware that she was a screwed up kid but... he never thought she'd get that far. Kady rolled up the sleeve of her shirt and showed Sterling her scar. It was healing quite nicely.

"Like I said, things got really bad. But mom, Chris and I have worked things out. I'm allowed to see Chris when I come here with mom." Kady explained. Sterling felt way out of the loop. The last time he'd seen Kady, she'd been telling both her parents to go to hell. Now, she was talking as if they were a happy family.

"I've missed way too much. You guys worked things out, though? That's good." He figured.

"Yeah. Wait... are you signed here now?" Kady wondered, finally realizing their surroundings.

"No, I'm not. Just came to visit a few people – Austin being one of them." Sterling told her.

"Liar. You were hoping to run into my mom again, weren't you?" Kady joked. Sterling looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding.

"You got me. I've been dreaming about her since the motel thing... I can't get her out of my head." He agreed, laying it on thick. Kady laughed and reached out to shove him. Sterling caught her hand and shook his head.

"You already got a free shot on me – hitting me in front of Austin and Rod. The next one will cost you." He warned, his dark demeanor returning.

"Fine, fine. I'll remember that." She told him, pulling her hand free and looked down the hallway, spotting Raven heading towards them.

"Uh oh. I have to go talk to Raven, okay? I'll see ya later." She told him before heading for Raven. Sterling watched in puzzlement, wondering what business she could possibly have with Raven, of all people.

"Hey, Scott." Kady greeted him. Scott looked up in surprise and smirked slightly when he saw her.

"You know, if you were my personal assistant, you'd be fired now." He told her.

"My heart breaks, it really does." Kady retorted.

Scott laughed slightly and motioned for Kady to step into his locker room with him. She hadn't noticed that that's where they were standing. Taking the invitation, Kady stepped through the door and looked around. Scott's bag wasn't visible and Kady wondered if he'd learned from their past experience to lock it up. Turning back to face him, Kady took a deep breath.

"Look, I just wanted to clear the air between us. I shouldn't have stolen money from you so... I'm sorry." She told him, wasting no time in getting to the point. Scott looked at her in major shock. Who was this kid? Surely it wasn't the same one that he'd had past dealings with. She seemed completely different... more at peace.

"I appreciate that. Thanks. What brought it on, though?" He wondered. Kady shrugged.

"I've done a whole lot of growing up just recently. Seen the light, I guess." She admitted without going into detail.

"That's good, kid. If you ever need anything, let me know. It helps to have friends in this place." Scott offered. Kady smiled genuinely and thanked him before making an excuse to leave. She still wanted to find her father.

Turning the corner at the end of the hall, she finally came to the catering area. Looking around it, she sighed dejectedly. Chris wasn't there. Surveying the room again, she spotted someone that might be able to tell her where he was. Walking over to the table the person was at, she cleared her throat to get his attention. The guy jumped in surprise, looking up from his plate of food with wide eyes.

"Kady! Girl, don't do that!" James Storm muttered, holding a hand to his heart and feeling it racing.

"Sorry. Do you know where Chris is?" She asked quickly, not wanting to spend more time with James than she had to.

"Locker room, going over a script with Jarrett." James answered, grabbing the beer bottle from the table in front of him. As he raised it to his lips, Kady took it away. She walked over to the trashcan and dropped the bottle into it with a satisfying thunk.

"Hey! What the hell did you do that for?" James protested, now standing over the trashcan, looking down into it.

"You don't always want to be thought of as a drunken, hick cowboy, do you? Besides, I just did you a favor. You've got a big match tonight, you'll need a clear head." Kady shrugged before leaving the catering area to continue her search for her father.

Once she'd managed to locate his locker room, Kady wondered if she should interrupt Chris and Jeff Jarrett while they were going over the script. Deciding to wait until Jarrett had left, Kady stood across the hall from the door, leaning against the wall. She didn't have to wait long before the door was opened and Jarrett stepped out, followed by Chris.

"Thanks, Jeff. I really appreciate this, man." Chris told the blond man as they exited the room.

"I know you do. Just remember what I said and keep your head in the match this time, okay? Douglas doesn't need another hospital stay." Jarrett warned.

"I know, I know. I don't think there'll be any problem there tonight. Although I completely expect him to bust me open." Chris laughed, knowing he wouldn't blame Andy for doing it.

"I'll make sure to have EMT's standing by." Jarrett chuckled. Chris finally caught sight of Kady and opened his arms to her.

"Come here, baby girl." He told her. Kady didn't hesitate in moving in for a hug. Jarrett looked down at her and smirked.

"The little troublemaker, herself." He teased.

"Something like that. Kady, this is Jeff Jarrett. Jeff, my daughter, Kady." Chris introduced. Kady held her hand out to shake Jeff's and he complied politely.

"I'm not a troublemaker. Just a product of my environment." She assured him.

"Or your genes," Jarrett commented, smirking at Chris. "Seems to run in the family."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, man."

"Well you still got a lot to prove yet, Chris. More specifically your sanity. Remember, if anything happens out there tonight it's gonna be my neck they'll have for this, too," Jarrett turned slightly serious.

"Don't worry about it, I get it!"

"That's what you said last time..."

"I think he gets the point," Kady defended Chris. "He's got no reason to snap now. I haven't done anything yet to make him wanna put anyone in the hospital again."

"I guess I should be thanking my lucky stars then," Jarrett nodded. "Fans have been wondering about you Chris; the Internet wrestling community was in an uproar. Don't blow this last chance."

After exchanging farewells, Jarrett excused himself to go find a few of the other wrestlers to discuss that night's show, and left Chris and Kady to finally get a chance to catch up. It had been a couple of weeks since they last saw each other and therefore they were going to make the best of each visit they got. Lily had stressed the importance of all of them adhering to the agreed upon conditions. After Jarrett was out of sight and they were alone, Chris turned to his daughter to get a proper look at her. She was still dressed in her usual goth attire, though looked entirely different from when he first saw her over a month earlier. No longer was she darkened by sullenness or pain, and it showed. He pulled her to him for another hug.

"It's good to see ya, kid," he told her, honestly, and looked down at her. Kady rolled her eyes and tried to remain passive and indifferent, but couldn't stop a smile spreading across her face. Chris noticed her attempts to try hide her happiness to see him, and teased, "Oh come on, you're gonna have to do better than that. Goths are supposed to hate everything."

She responded by hitting him on his arm. "Dude, that's not funny!"

"I think it's hilarious," he taunted back and jumped out of the way before her fist could connect with his arm again.

"You're such a pain in the ass." Kady commented and they began walking down the hall, not attempting to push him away when he put his arm around her shoulder.

"And you're a pain in the everything. But I still love ya!"

"Oh gee, thats so sweet, it almost makes me wanna hurl."

"What a charming daughter I have." Chris grinned.

"You're deliberately baiting me, aren't you?" Kady guessed, scowling.

"Hell yes."

They proceded to walk further until the long, winding hallway led to a larger area at the end, which was the backstage area that would lead out onto the stage. The place was crowded, bustling with wrestlers who had either just completed their match or who were just about to go out, as well as loads of TNA personnel doing their thing. It was easy to get lost, so Chris quietly told her to stay close. And they did get quite a few odd stares and people whispering to each other. What had happened with Chris Harris and this girl was no longer a secret; it had exploded into fueling backstage gossip, but both paid no attention to it.

"Harris!"

Chris looked back just as Kady did, and saw Andy Douglas, as well as Chase Stevens approaching them. There was still another match to come.

"Hey," he greeted them, remaining courteous yet still somewhat tense. "You guys ready to get your asses kicked again?"

"Treading on thin ice there, ain't ya Chris?" Andy smiled. "If anyone is going to get busted open tonight, it's you."

Chase directed his attention to Kady, who was looking around, apparently disinterested but he could see she was intentionally trying to distract herself. She was the central reason why all of the shit had gone down a month ago.

"So things are working out?" he asked, cautiously.

"What's it to you?" Kady challenged, lightly.

"Well, considering my partner here got his head cracked open because your dad went nuts, I'd kinda like to have a heads up if it's gonna happen again..." Chase replied, though was equally as friendly. "Ya know, just so I can make sure I'm out of state when Chris wants to go on another crazy trip like that."

"Fair enough," she countered. "God knows that no one wants to see any violence out there."

Kady then looked at Andy. "Speaking of which... you're gonna take it easy on Chris out there, right?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know what I mean. Try not to kill him. Anything short of depriving him of oxygen would be good, because I still need to have my time to torture him for back birthday and Christmas presents," she explained with amazing self-assurance. Chris burst out laughing at that, and Chase too had to stifle a laugh, though Andy met her look of indifference.

"Kid, you're dad gave me the worst fucking headache of my life. I think it's only fair that I return the favour."

"Hey, don't I get a say in this?" Chris protested.

"No." Kady and Andy replied simulataneously, and then went back to focusing on each other.

"Seriously though," Kady continued. "Can you sorta not kill him yet? I still would sorta like to have my time with him before you do."

"Aww you do care!" Chris joked, pretending to be so touched, and his daughter replied with a half-hearted smile. Andy scoffed and reached out for his bottle of water that was on the table next to them, while still looking at her with an air of cockiness about him.

"Kid, bite me."

Without even thinking, Kady's hand shot out and grabbed Andy's wrist and before he could retract his hand, she quickly leant down and bit his hand!

"AHHH FUCK!" Andy jumped back and protectively held his hand to his chest, while Chase and Chris almost doubled over, laughing hysterically. Kady stood her ground and put her hands on her hips, smiling proudly at her acheivement and the ultimate – and kind of ironic – payback on Andy Douglas. Andy was quick to catch on and her let out a frustrated groan, realising that she just got one up on him. "DAMN IT!"

"Payback isn't a bitch," Kady told him. "I am."

Chris managed to regain some control of himself, though was still having trouble stopping the laughter. Andy had been beat by a fourteen-year-old kid!

"That's my girl!" he praised Kady and hugged her.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up!" Andy muttered and slapped Chase upside his head, feeling somewhat betrayed.

"What was that for?"

"For being an asshole!"

"Come on that was friggen hilarious, vampire."

Andy turned and walked off, his ego having taken enough of a beating from all three of them.

"At least we've found a way to piss Andy Douglas off even further," Kady commented and was very pleased with her efforts. "Serves him right for messing with me."

"You should come with a warning label, kid," Chase agreed. "Dangerous hazard."

"Only when I'm ticked off," Kady smiled.

"Whatever you say," he replied and looked at Chris. "Anyway, seeya out there man. Be prepared to bleed."

"Chase, not in front of my kid," Chris warned, fearing Kady's reaction if he was to be wheeled out of the arena on a gurney, bleeding. She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hey, it don't matter to me. I like blood. Just don't die. You still owe me."

"Charming."

"As always."

Chase left them alone again and barely one second since his departure did it take for Lily to approach them from behind, tapping Chris on the shoulder.


A/N: Review? Please? Umm... and I'll sit here and wait for Phoenix to post the next chapter, I guess. She pulled an all-nighter again last night, so who the hell knows where she is now. Anyway, much love to you all!