Ever since CJ and Dean's Instagram postings, social media ignited over the possibility of her return. She was trending worldwide for a day, and then stuck to trending nationwide for the rest of the week. The fact that the fans were so excited about her making a return in the near future made her happy that she was actually going to be returning. The familiar feeling of dread that came along with knowing she'd have to work with her father was present, but not enough to dampen her excitement over returning for one reason.
She wanted her WrestleMania return match against him.
There was nothing she wanted more than to beat him in the center of the ring 1-2-3 by hitting the Code Breaker. Or, even better, making him tap to the Walls of Jericho. There would just be something so bittersweet and finally kicking her father's ass and she just couldn't wait for that day to come. Arrangements had already been made for such a match, albeit she hadn't told Dean just yet, but Hunter knew and she made it clear that she wasn't returning if she didn't get the match and then a title match soon after.
Paul Heyman was quite pleased with the knowledge of her set in-ring return date, and the idea of the Jericho vs. Jericho match at WrestleMania was brilliant in his opinion. He and CJ had already started planning their mind games with Chris starting after the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view and leading up to WrestleMania. The first week, of course, CJ wouldn't be there because she and Dean would be at home. But the bus they had demanded would be waiting for them at the arena the night of Dean's return and since CJ would be on the road, she'd be on television with Paul toying with Chris.
It was a beautiful plan, but she just had to get Dean onboard with all of it. Everyone else, including Adam, thought it was a great idea. But she knew that Dean would have his reservations because of her knee and the fact that her father was a dick who would probably stop at nothing to end her career during the match. But she'd counter all of his arguments with the fact that Paul and Brock would be at ringside. Nothing too bad could happen to her when the beast incarnate was nearby and ready to bail her out of any predicaments.
But, as much as CJ adored this trait of his, Dean's over protectiveness made him more stubborn than a mule. She could understand a bit, since he had been looking out for her long before she even acknowledged his presence. Sure, it was a wild goose chars assembled by her father and William Regal, but Dean really went to great lengths in order to protect her and she'd never forget that. But there would come a time where he'd be unable to protect her. It had happened once and she had come out of it almost okay, but this time around she'd have complete control. Dean would just have to trust her.
Trust was her backup argument if having Heyman and Lesnar ringside wasn't enough for him. He wanted her to trust that he could handle this secret of his and Adam's, then he should acknowledge that trust was a two way street in a relationship and he could trust in her planning skills and in-ring ability to come out of WrestleMania 31 with nothing more than a couple bruises and a bit of an ego after tapping her father out. That was sure to get him to at least falter in his plan to get her to back down so he actually thought about more than just not wanting to see her hurt.
It was a good plan, but CJ needed Dean home so they could talk about it face-to-face. It was much too important for a phone call.
"Up and at 'em, Chrissie!" Adam shouted at four in the morning, jumping on the side of the bed where Dean usually slept.
"Ugh, what?"
"I've got a list of things to put you through, courtesy of your personal trainer boyfriend." He informed with a smirk, watching as she sat up and ruffled her hair. There were a couple grumbles about bullshit and firing Dean as she made her way to the bathroom. Adam used that time to pull out clothes for her and tossed them into the bathroom while she brushed her teeth. A muffled shriek left her when everything hit her head, to which Adam chuckled and left her to her own devices in favor of going downstairs to see what Beth was making for breakfast.
"That looks so-"
"Your breakfast is already made and your plate is on the table so you can save whatever lie you were about to feed me." The blonde informed with a smile, stuffing things into the Nutribullet that was Dean's best friend. "This is for the lovely one upstairs."
"What is it?"
"You know that protein stuff Dean sent here?"
"For her?"
"As per his request. We're starting her on this today, since he's home starting tomorrow." Beth explained, pressing down on the machine and watching as the ingredients of Dean's "super protein health smoothie thing", as he called it in the text, mixed up. "The powder makes it a prettier shade of gross."
"I was just about to say."
"What's that?" CJ asked as she entered the kitchen, pointing at the Nutribullet.
"This is your breakfast, made to order by your boyfriend."
"He's making me want to kill him." CJ laughed, taking the concoction and sniffing it first. "It smells like greens, berries, and vanilla of some sort."
"That's what's in it, so I would hope so." Beth commented, watching CJ as she chugged it down. "You're going to give yourself a stomach ache."
"She'll be fine." Adam and Judith assured in unison, both focused more on their breakfast and the newspaper than the young mother.
"That wasn't too bad." CJ praised, wiping at her mouth with the paper towel Beth handed her. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"So what's Drill Sergeant Ambrose have in store for me?"
"You'll see." Adam responded with a smirk, and it was in that moment that CJ knew she wouldn't want to do it.
Three and a half hours later, CJ laid out on the grass of their front yard and shut her eyes, planning her boyfriend's funeral. She liked cardio, so running fifteen laps around their huge neighborhood wasn't a big deal. It was the rest she hated. Crunches, push ups, sit-ups, more push ups, lunges, and more crunches. She hated crunches.
Adam watched as she laid out there, waving to a neighbor who was leaving for work. Dean and CJ found themselves in a nice little community and he was proud of their decision. But what was better was the sprinkler system for moments like this.
"Are you gonna get up and shower?" He called, to which his daughter flipped him the bird. He only chuckled, going inside and heading for the garage where the sprinkler controls were. Her shriek of surprise could be heard moments later, making him laugh as he went to sit on the couch with his granddaughter. "Your mommy is a mess."
"I hate you." CJ grit out as she entered the house, soaking wet. Olivia perked up at the sight of her mother and CJ leaned over Adam's shoulder to kiss the infant's forehead.
"Is that water cold?"
"Eff you."
"Go shower, Chrissie." Beth stated, gesturing up the stairs. CJ nodded and high fived the Glamazon on her way by, definitely feeling the burn from her workout. She liked that Dean wanted to start pushing her, but she didn't want him to feel obligated to helping her get in shape. He had other things to do, she was sure, so she wasn't expecting her return to come first on his priorities list. Especially when it wasn't first on hers.
Taking care of Dean and Olive would always come before preparing for her return. Family first was something she had picked up from Adam, when he said that he wasn't wrestling a championship match because she had conferences that night. Judith could've gone in his place, but he wanted to be a hands-on parent to the best of his ability even if it meant sacrificing such an important career moment. This was why she would never put her career before her family. Chris' family, that was only her family by blood, she'd gladly put wrestling in front of. But she'd never do that to her true family.
Before getting into the shower, CJ thought she'd give Dean a call to let him know that she survived his death sentence, but he didn't answer so she left a voicemail. In her voicemail she decided to torture him, using that seductive tone that got her everything she wanted from John Laurinaitis back when he ran the shows and making sure that he knew she was about to be in the shower all by herself so he had the visual. If he wanted to make her work, she was going to make him hard. It was only fair, right?
She got out of the shower with a new voicemail on her phone and smiled to herself as she wrapped a towel around her body. She put her phone on speaker as she walked out into her bedroom, ready to hear the voicemail but was surprised to not hear Dean's voice on the recording.
"I want to meet up with you and apologize for how I've treated you throughout your lifetime. It wasn't fair to you and I recognize my wrongdoings. We could become an unstoppable force in the ring, you an' me. Just give it some thought and call me back, okay?"
The message ended and CJ took a couple deep breaths to calm herself before throwing her phone down on the floor. Feeling a bit better and not exactly caring about the state of her phone, she dried off and got dressed in a white long sleeved v-neck and leggings before picking up her phone and pulling on her riding boots. She had phone calls to make, but she needed her phone fixed before she could do anything.
"What was the thud?" Adam asked, looking at his daughter with worry etched on his features. "Is everything-"
"That asshole had the nerve to call me and leave a voicemail offering to meet up and apologize."
"No way."
"It gets better." CJ laughed, picking up Olivia and kissing her cheek. "He wants us to become a tag team."
"With Chris, there's always a seventy five percent chance of him being full of shit." Adam started, watching CJ walk around the living room with her daughter. "But, do you know how much sweeter 'Mania will be if you turn on him beforehand? Or better, you turn on him in a tag match at 'Mania and have your match at Extreme Rules. Inter gender matches are pretty extreme."
"That all sounds good, but there's no way Dean will go for it."
"If he says no to you, I'll handle him. Go get your phone fixed and take Olive with you. You have to get used to having her out in public without Dean."
"Alright. I'm going to get her dressed in 'out and about clothes', can you call the store for me and let them know that I'm coming in to get my screen fixed?"
"I sure can."
"And let Dean know that I have to get my screen fixed so he doesn't worry when I don't text him back?"
"I'll do that one first."
"Thank you." CJ called as she made her way up the stairs, stopping Lyric from crawling to the edge and staying in her way until Beth could grab her.
"Where are you going?" Beth asked, holding her baby while CJ continued to the nursery.
"I dropped my phone so I have to go get my screen fixed. Adam told me to take Olive with me."
"You've never dropped your phone before."
"It was more of a frustrated throw to the ground. Adam can give you the full story." CJ chuckled nervously and Beth sighed before heading down the stairs, leaving CJ to lay Olivia on the changing table in the nursery. "Mommy sometimes has little tantrums, which is why I hope you get my temper and not either of your father's."
Little babbles came from the infant, and that made CJ smile as she continued to talk through everything she was doing. From the diaper change to dressing her, CJ explained everything in detail as if she was conversing with the infant. She knew this was crucial to brain development and would happily converse with her infant daughter even if it seemed weird to others.
With a couple hours to kill before getting her phone back, CJ and Oliva walked around the little stores near the store she took her phone to. A baby boutique had caught the Canadian's eye and she looked around while Olivia held tightly onto her monkey, whose hand was in her mouth like always.
While she one handedly looked through a clothing rack, a surprised gasp could be heard from nearby and CJ looked over to see an obviously pregnant teenaged girl pointing at her excitedly. Her mother looked uninterested until actually looking up at the second generation star and tilting her head in confusion. CJ only went back to her browsing, already decided on talking to the girl if she gathered the courage to come up and say hello.
"Olive, don't drop him again." CJ warned her daughter, kissing her forehead before catching the monkey in her free hand for the third time. The excited smile on the infant's face was as if it was her first time seeing the toy and it made her mother smile. The babbling started up again and CJ nodded, going back to sorting through the clothes on the rack. "I know. Daddy would like to see you in a romper like this."
"Uhm, excuse me?" A quiet voice asked and CJ turned to see the pregnant girl. "You're CJ Jericho, right?"
"That'd be me." She confirmed with a smile, taking the monkey from Olivia before she dropped it again. "What's your name?"
"Charlie. Is this your daughter?"
"She is. How far along are you?"
"Seven months. I just found out that I'm having a boy."
"Congratulations. We were actually hoping for a boy, but she's our Princess."
"And to you, as well. She's beautiful. How old is she?"
"Thank you. She's about four weeks old."
"But you're going to be returning to soon? How is that possible when you have a daughter?"
"My return has been planned. She may have been a surprise, but Dean and I have figured out how to work around our little surprise so I can still be an attentive mother and return the ring."
"Do you think I could do something like that with school?"
"Well, they do online stuff now for school right? If I was in your shoes I'd just do online school because it's just like sitting in class, only you can be with your little bundle, too." CJ suggested, to which Charlie nodded as she absorbed the information. "If you want something bad enough, you'll make whatever situation work so you can chase that dream."
"That's probably the best advice I've gotten. Thank you so much."
"I'm glad I could be of help. Now you can help me out. Do you think she'd look better in the baby blue or the soft pink?"
"Your phone screen broke?" Dean asked, to which CJ nodded as she continued feeding Olivia while video chatting with her boyfriend. "How did that happen?"
"I had a tantrum over my dad calling we can talk about that after the holiday, though. I met an expecting teen mom today during my adventure with Olivia."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. She asked how I was making a return possible and then asked if I thought she could be a mom and finish school."
"So you're pulling a Bo Dallas, now?"
"Bolieve, Dean. Bolieve." CJ laughed, adjusting her top as Olivia unlatched and moving her to lay on her shoulder for burping. "But seriously, she looked about to cry when I told her that I believed she could do it."
"Look at you. Inspiring young souls to get their education."
"I try." She spoke with a smile, eyes widening when Olivia burped. "That was a big one."
"Can you sit her up? I wanna see if she'll talk to me."
"She might. She's been talking to me all day." CJ mumbled as she did as Dean asked, watching with a smile as Olivia's face lit up when she saw Dean on the screen. Sure enough, the dam broke and she started babbling to Dean and the blonde acted as though she was telling him about her day with CJ.
"So you and mommy spent a lot of money today?"
"I may or may not have ordered a couple furniture pieces for the nursery. But the little horse was so cute I couldn't say no."
"It's fine, darlin'. You didn't spend too much, right?"
"Low hundreds."
"Low meaning?"
"Less than five." She commented after thinking about it for a minute. She knew that money was no issue for them, but it still made her happy that Dean didn't like it when they spent money frivolously. "We should start putting money aside for her college fund."
"Are we forcing her into college?"
"Of course not. If she decides that college isn't her thing, she could use the money to fund whatever dream she wants to chase. I just want it to be set aside and protected for her to have when she's ready."
"I can understand that. Adam said he turned the sprinklers on while you were laying in the grass."
"That water is ice cold." CJ complained, making her boyfriend laugh. "And you, Satan, making me get up and work out at four in the morning. You're on my list."
"Was the smoothie good though? It's a recipe Seth has been getting to try but I never did."
"I liked it. I don't think it's sweet enough for you, though."
"I don't like my nutritional stuff too sweet. Just my coffee."
"Good to know." CJ yawned, looking to see that Olivia was reaching for Dean. "No, Olive, daddy comes home tomorrow."
"Tonight, actually."
"What?"
"I was going to surprise you, but your sad faces are killing me. I'm actually at the airport, in the VIP section, waiting for the company jet to be ready."
"They put you on a company jet?" She asked in surprise, since Dean was the only man in the company living in the Vegas area.
"Hunter and Stephanie are going to need their lips surgically removed from my ass at this rate. I'm not even kidding, babe."
"This is perfect for my plan."
"You have a plan?"
"Heyman, Adam, and I have a plan. I was waiting until you got home to fill you in."
"When you wait for me to get home that means that you think I'm going to say no." Dean commented, chuckling when she bit her lip. "But if Heyman and Adam are on board and confident, then you've got nothing to worry about with me."
"Only the plan just changed today with more information that I need to be with you to tell you that we haven't run passed Heyman just yet."
"I don't think I'll like the new information. But that's my flight so I gotta go. Love you baby."
"I'll see you tonight."
"Do you wanna pick me up from the airport? I can grab a cab, but-"
"When do you land? I'll be there." CJ cut him off with a smile. He looked visibly relieved with this information and
"Two and a halfish hours."
"Alright. Go. I'll see you tonight."
"Daddy loves you, Olive." Dean spoke softly, kissing two fingers and pressing them to the screen. CJ smiled and did the same, stopping Olivia from falling forward.
"We love you, too, daddy."
"CJ, darling, it's an brilliant plan. My hat goes off to Mr. Copeland for that one." Paul Heyman spoke enthusiastically on the other line and CJ nodded. "But I wouldn't go into a meeting with your father alone."
"Well no shit, Paul." CJ laughed, kicking at the asphalt of the section of the private strip that Dean told her to be at. "I still have to tell Dean about it."
"He's not going to like it at first, but remind him of the bigger picture in place and have him go to lunch with you." Paul suggested, to which CJ nodded as she watched the door to the plane open and the stairs get pushed into place.
"I will definitely do that. I've got to go, Paul."
"Thank you for keeping me in the loop on recent happenings. Brock and I will be in touch."
"Have a good night." She bid her farewell just as Dean became visible in his baseball hat and leather jacket. Paul wished her the same before hanging up and she leaned against the car as Dean got his bags. She waited until he got closer to run at him and, thankfully, he caught her in a tight embrace and spun them in a circle.
"I missed you so much, your highness." Dean whispered once he stilled and she pushed his hat off of his head so she could rest her forehead on his.
"I missed you, too, Sir Ambrose." CJ spoke softly, cupping his cheek and guiding him into a chaste kiss. "Two months of just us."
"No work, and only about a week until I can get it in."
"Do you only think about sex?" She asked with a laugh and he shrugged as he set her back on her feet.
"I'm a man, darlin'. Every six seconds. But I think about other things?"
"Do you now?"
"Yeah." He sated simply, taking her hand in his free one while they walked to the trunk. "Why do you always drive my car?"
"I honestly just grab keys. Did you want me to stop?"
"Of course not. We're in this for the long haul together and have already joined our bank accounts. What's mine is yours, Christina. Remember that."
"I'll never forget it." She whispered, lifting his duffel bag into the trunk for him. He responded by pulling her into a tight hug and she inhaled his natural scent with a smile.
This was where she belonged, in the arms of Dean Ambrose. His loving embraces always made her feel so safe, and only two other men gave her that sort of comfort and they were Adam and Jay. Not even Seth really measured up to how safe and comfortable Dean made her feel. It was like he was put on earth especially for her, and she imagined that heaven on earth had to be Dean's loving embraces.
"Love you, Ambrose." She murmured into his neck and he smiled, giving a slow nod to acknowledge that he had heard her.
"Love you, too, Copeland." He said softly, rubbing her back as he pulled back and cupped her cheek. "I got something for you."
"It's too early for Christmas gifts."
"It's Christmas Eve, sweetheart. Isn't it a Christmas rule that you open one present on Christmas Eve?"
CJ could only shrug and watched as he dug through his suitcase pockets for a moment before looking back and telling her to close her eyes. When she complied, he pulled the box from his suitcase and zipped it up, shutting the trunk shortly after. He took out the bracelet he had put together and almost had a panic attack from all the decisions he had to make and the fear of her not liking his gift, shoving all concerns aside when he gently brought her arm up so he could clasp it around her wrist.
She felt the cool metal and Dean's warm hands on her skin as he worked to clasp it around her wrist. She could hear him grumbling about a tiny clasp and stifled a giggle at how cute he was until he finally told her to open her eyes. It took her eyes a moment to adjust and focus on the metal around her wrist, the Cincinnati Reds logo grabbing her attention first.
"Dean, is this-?"
"Everyone in the store was calling it a pandora bracelet. I tried my best to think of what you'd like, but-"
"I love it, Dean." CJ assured, lightly running her finger over the house charm with a smile on her face. "It's perfect."
"Really?"
"Yes." She laughed, throwing her arms around his neck before pressing her lips to his. "You've gotta have more confidence, Sir Ambrose."
"Just you wait until I can get inside you again. I'll show you some confidence."
"Six days."
"Trust me, I've been counting." He murmured with a smirk before pulling her in for another kiss. "Let's get home, I've got a baby to kiss."
The drive home was uneventful in the beginning, CJ tweeting a picture of their joined hands with her new bracelet in the mix. Her eyes stayed focused on the passing scenery after that, watching the buildings and cars pass by as Dean drove. He was obviously thinking hard about something, absently squeezing her hand every few seconds. She wondered what could be on his mind, but didn't ask because she knew he'd tell her if it was important. He didn't look upset so it couldn't be too bad, so she elected to ignore it.
"Hey, Copeland?" Dean asked quietly, looking over at her while they were stopped at a red light. She looked over and smiled, ready for whatever he had to say. "I think it's time we talked about my past. Y'know, like, my childhood and stuff."
"Dean, I can hear it in your voice that you're not ready for that." She spoke softly, gently squeezing his hand. "You don't have to tell me anything, anyways. I know the basics and that it was like mine in the essence of drug abusing mothers, absent fathers, constant boyfriends, and a whole shit ton of bullshit encounters until we were saved by something at sixteen."
"But-"
"Dean, I don't want you feeling that you have to tell me about your past. I was under the impression that we we're looking to the future and not dwelling on the past."
"Christina, are you not ready to tell me your full story and is that why you don't want me to tell you mine?" He asked as he turned into their neighborhood, noting the way she pulled her hand away from his. "Because I'm ready, it's just difficult for me to talk about. It's always going to be difficult."
"I don't like that you flipped it on me like that." She mumbled, looking away from him as he pulled into the driveway.
"Like you just said, your past doesn't matter to me because our future is what matters. I just felt like you should know what I came from and how I grew up now that we have a child together." He reasoned, gently gripping her chin so she'd look at him. "You're my best friend and I feel that you deserve to know these things so you have a better understanding of how I do things."
"I'm not saying that I don't want to hear about it, I just didn't want you feeling obligated to tell me." She explained, pulling his hand from her chin and holding it tightly in both of hers. She saw the expectant look in his eyes and sighed, knowing that he got the nail on the head when it came to her past. "Life before Adam is extremely difficult for me to talk about, which is why I try to act like it never happened."
"That's not healthy, honey."
"I've been made well aware of that fact by Adam, Beth, Jay, Nana, and my old therapist."
"You don't have to tell me about it, but if you decide that you're ready I'll be ready to listen, alright?"
"Alright." CJ mumbled, smiling when Dean kissed her forehead. "Let's get to bed, babe."
She just hoped that he wasn't expecting her to open up any time soon, because she wasn't anywhere close to being ready to talk about it and she didn't think she'd ever be totally ready to completely reopen and relive that chapter of her life.
Hooray for PTO! I wasn't planning on taking a personal day, but my little Bean(my dog) started acting weird so we had to go to the vet for his diagnostic checkup a couple weeks early. He's fine, though, and I used this time to write and gym some much needed gym time in.
Anyways, thank you to nattiebroskette, Claire Moxley, UntilNeverDawns, CarolReigns, Sarcastic Nightmare, Sammie94, ChelleLew, TajiaK, Deanambrosesmile, and ItReignsJustice-619 for reviewing! I really appreciate it!