A/N: Grace's first match with Andy as manager went well and looks like everything is okay with Traci .
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the wrestlers . I do own my OCs , Khaos , and the story itself . Domino is my new heel character while The Phantom is a face , so if you want to use them for anything else please ask .
Chapter 15 : Humble
Andy Jr. ' s School - Cafeteria
After all of the problems with the P.E. Coach and the gang boys had been dealt with , Andy Jr. was finally back at school in the cafeteria for lunch as Angela came over to sit next to him .
" Good to see you back in school , Fangs . " Angela said hugging him making Andy Jr. blush again .
" Hey Angela , it ' s good to be back , how are you today ? " Andy Jr. asked after taking a deep breath .
" I ' m good , I heard from my dad yesterday . " Angela said making Andy Jr. look at her remembering what his dad said in the car the other day when they left the mall .
" Did he say when he was going to be home ? " Andy Jr. asked .
" He said it maybe sometime after the summer . " Angela said .
" I see , is it difficult knowing it will be that long before you see him ? " Andy Jr. trying to understand what Angela was going through with her dad away .
" It is all the time , you never know when or if he will be home , so , while you always hope for the best , you also must be ready for what could happen which causes you to worry about him . " Angela looking a little down .
" I didn ' t mean to upset you . " Andy Jr. said seeing the sad look on Angela ' s face after answering the question he had asked .
" You didn ' t , it ' s just hard with him gone and with mom like she is and my aunt there at night not really understanding me and trying to control me . " Angela said .
" Angela would you like to go with me to a barbecue that my family does at the beginning of the summer ? " Andy Jr. asked hoping she would say yes and that it would cheer her up in the process .
" Fangs , are you asking me out ? " Angela asked surprised .
" Yes , I am , if that ' s okay with you , " Andy Jr. said .
" I guess I could always ask my mom and see what she thinks , but yes I would love to go with you . " Angela said .
Andy Jr. and Angela sat there and talked all through lunch , Fangs , happy that she had said yes to going out with him even if it was just to the get together with the Extended Family .
Gas Chamber Ink
The day after Grace ' s victory in Raleigh , she and Andy walked into Gas Chamber Ink that was owned by Shannon Moore , so , Grace could get her tattoo done .
" Look who walked in the door . " Gail Kim said surprising Grace and Andy .
Both of them knew Gail had taken some time off from Impact to spend time with Shane Helms in North Carolina .
" Aunt Gail , " Grace said hugging her .
" Sweet girl , I ' ve heard a lot of good things about you lately on the indies . " Gail said .
" I ' m preparing myself for the task of one day following in the footsteps of the great Knockouts like yourself , Jessie , and Traci who came before me , " Grace said .
" Good girl , " Gail said as Shannon Moore came over to them .
" Andy Douglas , " Shannon said shaking Andy ' s hand .
" Shannon , how is life treating you ? " Andy asked .
" Really good , I can ' t complain about anything . " Shannon said .
" So , where is your other half ? " Grace asked Gail .
" Training some new kids with Matt , " Gail said .
" Hardy ? " Andy and Grace asked .
" Yeah , " Shannon said .
" Jeez , the Franchise was right , it is wierd that the former kids in professional wrestling are training the current kids coming in now . " Grace said as Jeff Hardy walked in .
" It is at times , so , you must be Grace Harris . " Shannon said as Jeff shaked Andy ' s hand .
" I am , " Grace said .
" Wow , you have grown since the last time I saw you , " Jeff said .
" She takes after the Wildcat pretty well , " Andy said .
" Yeah , just as well as Andy Jr. takes after you , buddy . " Grace said .
" Sounds about right , " Gail said making them laugh .
" I understand you have an appointment for a tattoo kid , " Shannon said .
" I do , " Grace said .
" So , let ' s get it done , " Shannon said .
Soon , Grace was getting her tattoo done as Andy was talking to Gail and Jeff about what was happening with the Extended Family , Impact , and KHAOS after them with Kevin Nash leading the new enemy do to having issues with Jeff Jarrett and Sting .
" I can ' t imagine why anyone would have something against Jarrett or Sting , but Nash has been really unstable in recent years . He attacked Triple H right at the start of everything which is the reason Matt and I pulled out of TNA and went back to WWE to help them offset any attacks on the younger wrestlers there and to prepare the up and coming kids for the ring . " Jeff said .
" Nash trying to take on both companies sounds like a suicide mission to me , like he ' s desperate for revenge that doesn ' t make much sense . " Andy said .
" Speaking of up and coming kids , I understand that Grace here has stepped foot in the ring in the last year . " Shannon said as Grace continued to get inked .
" I did a year ago after AMW trained me . " Grace said .
" How is the ring and the indies treating you kid ? " Jeff asked .
" That ' s American Kid , before she says anything , " Andy said .
" Thanks Andy , I knew you would be a good manager , " Grace said .
" She ' s picky about her nickname like the Wildcat , too , " Gail said .
" Being managed by one of the Naturals huh , so , you are deep in this business . " Shannon said .
" I am , " Grace said .
" So , back to that question about the ring . " Jeff said .
" I love every minute of it , I love being able to learn more and see more of professional wrestling outside of seeing just what I ' ve been able to around the Impact Zone . " Grace said .
" She ' s a bit of daredevil , somewhere between Chase and you , Jeff , many of the X-Division originals wants her just as much apart of them as the ladies do in the Knockouts Division . " Andy said .
" And the tag team division wants me too , seeing as I have the blood of a tag team specialist in me . " Grace said .
" I like the confidence in you , " Shannon said .
" Just as long as you don ' t get over confident . " Jeff said .
" Never , " Grace said as Andy began to see the angel that was being tattood on her arm .
" Grace ? " Andy asked as Grace saw the questioning look in his eyes .
" I think I was about to ask the same thing as Andy as far as this tattoo , Grace . " Shannon said .
" It ' s in memory of my mom , " Grace said as Gail looked at her .
" Does your dad know ? " Gail asked .
" He knows I ' m getting a tattoo , but he doesn ' t know what I am getting yet , I wanted to wait and surprise him . " Grace answered .
" Your mom died of cancer didn ' t she ? " Jeff asked .
" She did , " Grace said .
" Was it ever said what kind ? " Shannon asked .
" Dad never said anything to me , " Grace said .
" I think Aubrey when she first found out about her having cancer , said something about her bones , so , I think it was bone cancer of some kind . " Gail said .
" How are you dealing with it ? " Jeff asked .
" Somedays are easier than others , but I deal with everything one day at a time and I know she is watching over me , I often pray for her to watch over me when I am in the ring or going through a hard time . " Grace said .
" I hear you as Matt and myself does the same , " Jeff said .
" Huh ? " Grace asked .
" Matt and I lost our mother to brain cancer when we were little , Matt was twelve and I was nine at the time . " Jeff said .
Grace looked at the Charismatic Enigma for a moment , she had meet Matt and Jeff during the days of the Aces & Eights Crisis , but she had never heard this about the two .
" So , what about you ? How do you deal with it ? Did it get any easier for you ? " Grace asked .
" It did overtime and I mean a lot of time , but I learned to deal with it by learning to help others and remembering to be humble even through wrestling . " Jeff said .
Grace thought for a moment on what Jeff said about helping people and remembered what happened to her as a child and then what happened five years ago knowing that helping people especially those she cared about was very much apart of her .
" Alright , Grace , you are done , " Shannon said .
" Wow , " Grace said when she got up and saw the tattoo in the mirror .
" We can say she has now joined the rest of us in the ink world . " Andy said .
" Yep , " Jeff said .
Shannon then gave her instructions on how to care for the tattoo and tapped it up before she paid and told him thank you .
" So , when are you going to be back , Aunt Gail ? " Grace asked .
" Soon , tell Jessie I have picked up on a few new moves I will fill her in on when I get back to Orlando . " Gail said .
" I will , " Grace said hugging her before she and Andy told them goodbye leaving for Tampa , Florida and Grace ' s next match .
Douglas House
Andy Jr. was in his room doing homework as he waited for his cell phone to ring glad he finally had it back as he was waiting for a call from Angela as far as going to the barbecue that the Extended Family had every year with him .
" Bubba , " Talia said running in to see he had gotten home while she was napping .
" Hey , Talia , " Andy Jr. said .
" What are you doing ? " Talia asked .
" Homework , " Andy Jr. said as Chase walked in .
" So , that ' s where you ran off to , " Chase said as Andy Jr. glanced at his phone as he finally got through with his homework sticking it back into his bookbag .
" Fangs , what are you thinking about ? " Talia asked .
" Nothing , " Andy Jr. said .
" Why are you staring at your phone , Little Natural ? " Chase asked .
" I ' m waiting on a phone call from a friend , " Andy Jr. said .
" What kind of friend ? " Chase asked .
" Talia , why don ' t you go and see if mom is home ? " Andy Jr. asked her .
" Okay , " Talia ran out the room to the window to see if her mom was home .
" Alright , Andy Jr. , what friend are we talking about ? " Chase asked curiously .
" She ' s a friend of mine from school , " Andy Jr. said .
" She ? " Chase asked .
" Yes , her name is Angela and I really like this girl , Uncle Chase . " Andy Jr. said .
" Does your dad know about this ? " Chase asked smiling as Andy Jr. had never said anything about liking a girl to him before .
" Yes , he met her the other day at the mall and he was the one that advised me to ask her out . So , I asked her to come to the barbecue at the end of the week when dad and Grace gets back from Tampa . " Andy Jr. said .
" Alright then , " Chase said .
" Is it true that you waited to tell Aunt Traci how you felt about her ? " Andy Jr. asked .
" I did and I nearly lost my chance to be with her , it was your dad who gave me the push to ask her out and it was also your dad who taught me to never wait around to tell someone how you feel about them . " Chase said as Talia ran back in .
" Mommy is here with Aunt Traci and Katie . " Talia said .
" Thank you , Princess . " Andy Jr. standing and picking Talia up over his shoulders making her laugh .
" When did you start heavy lifting ? " Chase asked .
" While you were on the road , Uncle Chase . " Andy Jr. said .
" Oh , " Chase said .
" Mommy , " Talia said when they were down the stairs .
" Now , little one who has you ? " Debra smiled seeing Andy Jr. carrying his sister .
" Bubba , " Talia laughed .
" Here , " Andy Jr. putting her down carefully .
" Daddy , " Katie hugged Chase .
" Sweetheart , " Chase loved getting hugs from Katie .
" So , everything okay ? " Traci asked .
" Yeah , everything has been quiet . " Chase said as Andy Jr. ' s phone rang .
" Hello , " Andy Jr. answered walking into the other room getting a look from Debra , Traci , and Katie .
" What was that about ? " Debra asked .
" Ask him later , " Chase said to Debra .
" Yes , we sure can , alright then we will pick you up at the end of the week , bye . " Andy Jr. said before hanging up and coming back into the kitchen smiling big .
" Good news ? " Chase asked .
" Definitely , " Andy Jr. smiled as his mother looked at him .
" Son ? " Debra asked .
" I have a friend coming with me to the barbecue , Saturday . " Andy Jr. said .
" What kind of friend is he ? " Debra asked suspicious .
" Not a he mom , a she , " Andy Jr. hugging his mother as Traci and Katie ' s mouths fell open .
" What ? " Debra asked looking at her son surprised .
" Her name is Angela and I like her . " Andy Jr. said .
" Does your dad know ? " Debra asked .
" Yes , he knows , dad meet her the other day when we were out and he was the one that advised me to ask her out . " Andy Jr. said .
" Aw , bubba is in love . " Talia said making Andy Jr. blush again .
" Good for you , " Traci patted the kid on the shoulder .
Not long after that Chase , Traci , and Katie went home as Debra fixed supper for the two as Andy Jr. kept Talia preoccupied for a little while .
" Alright kids , it ' s time for supper , " Debra said to the two .
" Yes ma ' am , " Andy Jr. and Talia both said getting ready to eat .
Following Night - Tampa , Florida
The next night after being on the road part of both days was Grace ' s next match as a singles wrestler , but this one was before the main event and against someone she actually knew . Sonjay Dutt , former TNA wrestler and X-Division original was in the match against her that night meaning this match would be a tough one for the American Kid , but Grace wasn ' t backing down and she quickly got some advice with Andy on how to handle this one by pacing herself , using her speed , while make sure her strength was ready to stop Sonjay if it came to that .
" Good grief , Andy Douglas is a manager now . " Sonjay said as he saw the two before they had to walk out for the match .
" Yeah , hope you can keep up with her Sonjay . " Andy said .
" I can manage , what about you , Grace ? " Sonjay asked .
" Oh , I can manage alright , some of your brothers think I can manage so well that they believe I should be in the X-Division , Dutt . " Grace said .
" Then let me be the one to test that , " Sonjay said before his music hit and he left to go out to the ring .
" Stay focused , Grace , Sonjay is a tough opponent . " Andy said .
" Sure thing , coach , " Grace said making Andy chuckle a little bit before both of them walked out to face Sonjay Dutt .
The match between Sonjay was interesting much like fighting Andy , Devine , and the Motorcity Machine Guns years ago as Dutt uses speed , daredevil moves and quickness on his feet just like the X-Division she knew used so well . Grace had to remember that she was just as quick using her speed to match Dutt ' s as the two had a match that the fans were very much in to , at the end of the match Grace was able to turn a move that Dutt was about to use into a way that she could bounce off the ropes and use the Liberator on Sonjay pinning him for the win . Grace actually had to breath before she stood up allowing the ref to raise her hand as that match took more out of her than the one in Raleigh .
" Nice job , " Andy whispered in her ear as he got in the ring with her as Grace turned and looked at Sonjay standing up now .
Grace looked at Andy for a moment and then the fans in the audience before walking over to Sonjay holding her hand out to him showing she had respect for the veteran wrestler as Dutt looked at the fans and Andy himself before shaking her hand as the fans erupted into cheers for both of them . Once the handshake broke Grace and Andy both left the ring back up the ramp as Douglas pulled her to him after they were behind the curtain .
" That was a great match and the ending made it even better . " Andy said .
" Thanks , I would like to show respect to those that came before me , " Grace said .
" American Kid , " Sonjay said .
" Yes , " Grace said .
" You definitely should compete in the X-Division someday . " Sonjay said .
" Thank you , I will definitely keep that option in my mind , " Grace said .
" So , now we head to Orlando before you go to Nashville for SAW . " Andy said .
" Who do you face in Nashville ? " Sonjay asked .
" Christopher Daniels . " Grace said making Sonjay laugh .
" You tell CD that I said that you will give him a run for his money , Grace . " Sonjay said .
" I will , " Grace said .
" Andy , " Sonjay said .
" Sonjay , " Andy said as they shook hands before Sonjay headed towards the locker room .
" Hey , Andy , " Grace said as she looked at the monitor once they had entered her own locker room .
" Yeah , " Andy said .
" First of all that was a better match and second Derrick is in the ring right now . " Grace said as they both looked at the monitor watching a better main event than the one in Raleigh .
" That was better , " Andy said .
" Oh yeah , " Grace said , not long after Derrick won his match , Grace went through clean up and getting back into normal close before getting her stuff together to be dismissed by the promoter .
" Andy , Grace , " Derrick called when he saw both of them coming out of the locker room to wait for their permission to leave .
" Hey , Derrick , what ' s the word on the streets ? " Grace asked .
" I don ' t know about the streets , but looks like everything is smooth sailing for SAW . " Derrick said .
" I heard that , what do you say , Andy ? " Grace asked .
" I say you definitely have momentum going into SAW , " Andy said .
" So , you ' ve had how many victories since the Street Fight , Grace ? " Derrick asked .
" I ' m 2 for 2 , " Grace said .
" Then you should do alright , " Derrick said .
" Yeah , but she ' s facing a tough opponent in Christopher Daniels . " Andy said .
" She ' s done well against the likes of Chase , took the beating after the Street Fight from David and Sigmon , and has gotten good momentum by winning her matches so far which one of those was just a few moments ago against Sonjay Dutt . So , I would say she maybe giving Daniels a run for his money in Nashville , Andy . " Derrick said .
" I will definitely give it my all , " Grace said .
" Alright guys and girls , good job tonight , you may leave . " The promoter shouted .
" He should really watch those windpipes , " Grace whispered to Andy and Derrick who snickered .
" Yeah , " Derrick said .
" So , where are you headed after this Derrick ? " Grace asked as they headed back to the locker room .
" To Knoxville to pick up my fellow King and then to Memphis for a show before heading to Nashville . " Derrick said .
" Shane Williams needs a chariot or something ? " Andy asked .
" Or something . " Derrick said making Grace laugh before the promoter came in to give them their payoff for the night .
After that they got ready to leave with Grace putting that paycheck in her pocket and grabbing her stuff .
" See you in Nashville , Derrick . " Grace said hugging the man .
" You too , American Kid , Andy I take it you will be with her ? " Derrick asked .
" Yeah , I will be , " Andy said .
" Then I will see you guys then , " Derrick said shaking Andy ' s hand before heading out .
" You too , bro , " Andy said .
Grace and Andy then left Tampa headed towards Orlando ready to get home after the first two matches Grace had now managed by Andy Douglas .
" How are you feeling ? " Andy asked .
" Exhausted , but good and ready to get home . " Grace said .
" Alright then , " Andy said .
They stopped and got something to eat before leaving Tampa and then went on to Orlando afterwards to check on everything with the Extended Family .