Dean was more than ready to go home and had half a mind to march into Vince's office and see if the offer for the extended leave was still on the table because things were getting a little weird for his tastes, and that was seriously saying something. The Authority was actually being nice to him and he couldn't figure out why. They had been expressing their hate for him ever since Seth turned; putting him in matches with the odds stacked against him, letting Seth and the other goons jump all over him whenever they wanted, sending him on stupid press tours so he'd miss the live show, and telling him to his face the kind of scum he was. The fact that they've seemingly done a complete one-eighty worried him, since that could mean that something big was coming. In his past experiences, the calm before the storm always led to a huge shitstorm and that didn't turn him on in the slightest.

But despite all the weird going on and scrambling his mind, he pulled himself out of the hotel bed and got ready for his day. It would be relatively easy, having just a meal and gym session before going to the arena. No radio, no news show, no phone interview, just him getting some unusual relaxation before putting his body on the line for thousands of people in the live crowd and the millions that would watch at home on Friday because wrestling was what he loved.

Roman had long since been out of bed, since he was the guy everybody wanted to talk to these days, which left Dean by his lonesome in the hotel gym for some empty stomach cardio. Dean didn't mind not being in the world title picture just yet, since he didn't want to deal with all of the publicity involved with the world title picture just yet. Maybe someday, but not any time soon. He had plenty of time and he knew it was in his future.

He hoped CJ and Olivia were doing alright without him, but he knew that they missed him just as much as he missed them. CJ sounded ready to cry last night when he had suggested that they go to bed, which worried him because she'd never done that in the past. He'd read about postpartum depression and wouldn't be surprised if it started affecting her with her history of mental issues that were kind of like depression, but he knew that they'd have to be careful about that if it were the case.

He ate breakfast by himself at a small table in the corner of the hotel restaurant. It was a spot where he could see everything without really being seen and CJ would've loved being there. It was a moment where he wished she was there to join him and ask him questions about his day or how well he slept. He didn't mind being alone while he ate, it gave him time to mentally prepare himself for whatever could get thrown at him during the shows. It was a moment of precious solitude where not even the negativity in his head came out to haunt him and he was grateful to have those moments.

However his solitude was broken by his phone vibrating from its spot on the table. It was Adam, something that immediately sent Dean into a panic because his unofficial father-in-law wouldn't call unless it was urgent.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dean. We need to have a chat?" Adam sounded unsure, and that certainly made Dean nervous. Adam was almost always certain of everything he wanted to say, so it had to be really bad.

"Is she okay? What about the baby? Are-"

"They're fine. Physically, everything is fine."

"Physically?"

"Yeah. Chrissie, she- well, she's..." Adam trailed off, only further sending Dean into his panic as he began drumming his fingers against the table. "Scared, I guess would be the word to use and-"

"Scared of what? Where is she?"

"She's out and about with Beth and my mom, which is why I can call you right now. They left us with the babies and yours is sleeping soundly while mine is...somewhere in the house with Jay. Maybe Tundra carried her off? I dunno."

"You don't even know where Lyric is?"

"She could only be on the bottom floor, Ambrose." Adam stated in a matter-of-fact tone and Dean gave a curt nod, knowing that Adam was a trained parent and had a reason not to worry about it. "Anyways, we've got to talk about the love of your life."

"What about her? What's she scared of?"

"I really didn't want to just drop this on you before a show but she's scared of how dependent she is on you and how attached she is."

"Why?" Dean knew that wasn't really a smart question, but he didn't know what else to say.

"With how her hormones have changed and affected her emotions she's afraid that you'll leave and she'll break." Adam explained, and Dean nodded although he couldn't be seen. "It might just be postpartum fucking with her and she'll be fine in a few weeks, but when you get home tell her how much you love her."

"I already planned to. She's doing alright with Liv, though, right? I read that sometimes-"

"She's doing fine with the baby. If she wasn't I would've started this conversation with that fact and gotten you out of tonight's show."

"You can do that?"

"I'm a fucking Hall of Famer. I can do whatever I damn well please."

"Should've known." Dean muttered to himself, grimacing when he noticed Stephanie and Hunter spot him in the restaurant. "Shit."

"What?"

"Two people I really don't want to see right now." Dean muttered as they approached

"Who?"

"Dean! How good to see you." Stephanie greeted and Dean heard Adam chuckle into the phone.

"I'll see you when you get home, baby boo." Adam laughed before hanging up, leaving Dean to the vultures sitting across from him. He didn't bother with plastering on an obviously fake smile like they did, he just looked between them as he pocketed his phone and took a drink of his coffee.

"Were we interrupting something?" Hunter asked and Dean shrugged.

"Would you have cared if you did?" He answered the question with another question, noticing the way Stephanie's eyes widened slightly.

"We may be a bit ruthless, but we're not rude, Dean." She spoke softly yet firmly, her blue eyes locked firmly on Dean's until he looked away and directed his attention to the window.

"Do you guys have a reason for disrupting my breakfast or do you do this to all the people you torment for months without any sort of reprieve?" Dean asked, stirring around his oatmeal. Periodically his eyes cast downward to the fork on the table, knowing that he had a weapon if this turned out to be an ambush. He hoped that wasn't the case because getting arrested for assault with a not-so-deadly weapon despite it being self defense wasn't exactly on his agenda for the day.

"We wanted to congratulate you on the baby, silly." Stephanie spoke with a teasing tone, smiling as she gently pat Dean's arm. He instinctively pulled his arm back, which made Hunter chuckle.

"We're not going to hurt you, Dean. I don't know how many times it needs to be said."

"Was it a boy or a girl?" Stephanie asked, seemingly interested and Dean knew that he had to answer their questions. He just wished CJ was there to make it less awkward for him.

"Girl. Olivia Addison."

"Ambrose? Or did she take-"

"Ambrose." Dean cut off Hunter, not really wanting to go deeper into conversation about his baby. He didn't want her to get used against him at work. "If you don't mind, I've got things that I've got to do and-"

"We'll chat more at the arena." Stephanie assured, watching Dean stand and make his way out of the restaurant. "I can't believe he and Chris had a baby. It just doesn't fit the timeline."

"Unless she was with Ambrose before she got with Rollins and then went back to Ambrose after she dumped Rollins." Hunter suggested, leaning back in his seat. Stephanie only glanced over at him, unsure of his statement.

"Chris doesn't seem like the type of girl to-"

"I'm not saying that she was two-timing them. Maybe she didn't even know until she and Seth became a thing? Vince said that the baby was born premature and not expected until around Christmas, therefore she probably got pregnant in the spring sometime, maybe?"

"She and Seth didn't become an official thing until around the European tour." Stephanie murmured, sighing at the headache she was getting. "This isn't even our business, Hunter."

"You're right. We just need to get Chris back in the ring. Which means that we need to ease up on Ambrose a bit more so he's not apprehensive about how she'll be treated."

"She just had the baby, though. There's no way they'll put her in the ring so soon."

"We'll convince them, Steph. All of them, even Adam. Just relax."

Dean couldn't get out of the arena and to the airport fast enough. Everyone was being nice to him and it was driving him crazy. He had Roman by his side and Christmas gifts from Seth and The Authority for him, CJ, and Olivia in his suitcase as he sat on his flight home. He just wanted to go home, kiss his daughter, and hold onto CJ while he slept before they discussed the nonexistent possibilities of him leaving her. He was tired of worrying about everything.

He still couldn't believe that she was seriously afraid that he'd leave her. He had told her a countless number of times that she and their baby were his everything, yet she was concerned he'd leave. It didn't make sense. He hoped it was just postpartum and not some deep down inner demon of hers that they had to address, because he wasn't sure if either of them were truly up to that battle. He figured that a physical representation of his love for her would be enough, but he didn't know how. He wasn't ready to get married and didn't think she was either, so a ring might just upset her.

"What are you thinking about?" Roman asked as they waited by the baggage claim. "You've been quiet since we got on the plane."

"CJ. She's going through the same leaving fears that I do from time to time." Dean explained simply, fighting back a yawn. "I want to get her something to show her how much I love her, but not like an engagement ring."

"Get her a promise ring. Make it clear that you're not proposing marriage, but that you're promising your heart to her and you should be golden." Roman suggested as he grabbed his suitcase and Dean nodded as he grabbed his.

"Would you-"

"I have no problems with going promise ring shopping with you."

"Thanks, man. Maybe when we're on the road or something this weekend, because we're taking pictures of the baby and dog for Christmas cards on Thursday morning and I'm sure that she expects you and I to spend tomorrow relaxing."

"We can relax while buying her Christmas present. I'll work it out."

"Alright. Now let's find a cab so you can meet your niece."

"Isn't she sleeping?"

"She likes to wake up at four in the morning. Hopefully we catch her before she wakes CJ up." Dean stated, hailing a cab before throwing his suitcase in the trunk. Roman followed suit before piling into the backseat with Dean while the blonde rattled off his address.

"It's still so weird to me that you and CJ live in a house together."

"Get used to it, big man. Did I tell you that I got her a dog?"

"No, but I saw pictures on twitter of the small bear cub running around your house."

"No, that's Bear. He's a Newfoundland puppy that I got out of a box on the street and brought home to keep her company while I was gone."

"When was this?"

"Octoberish." Dean stated, noticing the incredulous look on Roman's face. "Is it so hard to believe that I can be a family man?"

"Yes. You've never thought about things like that or put things into the big picture perspective. It's always 'what's happening now' with you, so I've got to say that I'm impressed with how well you've adjusted to suburban life." The Samoan explained, lightly nudging Dean with his elbow. The blonde only grumbled something about doing just fine and pouted for the rest of the drive, something that Roman had no problems laughing about.

Despite entering the house quietly, the two superstars were greeted by every animal in the house and had to weave their way through to get to the staircase. They went up the stairs and Dean opened the door that hid the small staircase to the attic and Roman went up, Dean following suit because he'd never been in the attic before. He knew it was carpeted, but he didn't know that the original owners had left the furniture in there still. It was a decent setup, looking almost like a small apartment. There was the queen sized bed that was in the far corner, a recliner that sat in front of an old TV that probably still worked, a microwave and a mini-fridge that were on a small shelf. Both men were impressed and Roman watched as Dean walked over to the window that overlooked the neighborhood.

"I've never been in here before." Dean commented, looking back to watch Roman fall onto the bed. "Is that comfy?"

"It's perfect, Ambrose. I'll see you in the morning, yeah?"

"Definitely. Get some rest, big man." Dean called as he made his way down the stairs, grabbing his suitcase and pulling it into his bedroom. He then stepped into the nursery, peeking into the crib to see Olivia fast asleep. He then went back to his bedroom and could see the bundle of blanket that made up his girlfriend sleeping on his side of the bed. He couldn't help the smile on his face as he stripped down to his briefs and slid into bed behind her, pulling her tight to his chest and kissing her shoulder.

"You're my everything, Christina Copeland." He whispered, despite thinking that she was asleep. Little did he know that CJ was wide awake and trying her hardest to go to sleep, despite sleep evading her recently. She was so glad that he was home and couldn't control the urge to turn over and bury her face into his bare chest. "Did I wake you up?"

"No, I wasn't sleeping." She admitted quietly, not bothering to look up at him. "I couldn't."

"You weren't waiting up for me, were you?"

"No, I haven't been able to sleep. I'm so tired, yet I can't sleep. It's stupid."

"Let's try then, baby." Dean suggested, turning onto his back and bringing her with him so her head rest on his chest. Her hand came to rest over his heartbeat hand he gently covered her hand with his larger one. "That beats for you, y'know."

"Adam called, didn't he?"

"Yeah. You know you can talk to me about these things."

"I didn't start thinking about it until after you left and I didn't want you to start worrying about me while you were working."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I never stop worrying about you?"

"A billion." She muttered, making him chuckle tiredly.

"If something is bugging you, just call me. If I don't answer then leave a message and I'll call you back. I don't care if we're on different sides of the world, I want to know so we can talk it out together." He stated, tightening his hold on her. She felt his thumb caressing the side of her hand and smiled into his chest, feeling that familiar sense of security that cuddling with Dean gave her. "We'll talk more about this in the morning, alright?"

"Mhm."

"Go to bed, Copeland."

"I'm working on it, Ambrose. I love you."

"I love you, too." He mumbled, gently patting her hip in lieu of leaning down for a kiss. She got the gist and he felt her kiss his chest while she draped her leg across his stomach. He hoped that she realized that he wouldn't give this up for the world, but he did plan on driving that point home to her when they spoke in the morning.

The return of baby boo! Haha I couldn't resist.

Thank you to Sammie94, TajiaK, angelsdee327, UntilNeverDawns, ChelleLew, justisgirl, Sarcastic Nightmare, Deanambrosesmile, and NikkiMoxey for reviewing! It really means a lot to me!