Disclaimer: All the events and character description taken place in this story is COMPLETELY FICTION. No copyright infringement intended. All characters are copyrighted to their respective owners. No profit is being made from this story. It should be viewed only as entertainment.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Sleep and Paul had finally found each other well after two in the morning. He had retired to his assigned guest room over an hour after Stephanie had left him on the back deck. No matter how comfortable he was in the bed, his mind had been relentlessly racing. Levesque kept playing his encounter with his ex-wife, over and over again in his head. Thoughts of what he could have done different, if he should have gave her a kiss of his own, if there was still hope for them. Those thoughts were all plaguing him. Levesque didn't even remember falling asleep, but he must have because he awoke to daylight in his room and the sound of the bedroom door opening.

"Hey, I'm sorry to wake you."

Paul let a grunt escape him before giving his head a slight shake as if he was literally trying to shake away his sleepiness. He then used his elbows to prop up his upper body, lifting his head off his pillow so that he could see his morning greeter.

Of course he didn't need to look to see it was Stephanie. He knew her voice from anywhere. It was the voice he wanted to wake up to every morning. And she looked absolutely beautiful in the morning light casting from the bedroom windows. Perhaps she was feeling a bit better because she was greeting him with a warm smile.

"It's fine, it's nice to have a wake-up call, much nicer than an alarm clock. You look like you're feeling better." Levesque answered back with a smile of his own.

"I'm okay for right now; it comes and goes in waves. I came in here to let you know that Kurt and I are leaving to go back to Connecticut in less than an hour. I thought you might want to spend some time with Aurora before we take off."

"Thanks for the heads up. Let me just throw on some clothes and I'll be down stairs." Paul told her swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

The only article of clothing he had on was his briefs but that didn't stop him from leaving the covers. He was hoping that Steph was checking out both his muscular frame as well as his semi raised package. She was definitely the cause of that.

"Okay, great." Steph said with a smile before she turned to walk out of the guest room.

"You know you don't have to leave the room for me to get changed. It's not like you haven't seen me naked before." Chuckled Paul before he gave a wink and flashed a naughty smile the moment Steph stopped and turned back around to face him.

Stephanie couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh. Levesque was famous for inserting humor into a conversation when she least expected it. She loved humor, especially when it could lift her spirits on days she wasn't feeling well.

"Excuse me, I'm a married woman." Steph replied with a bit of attitude that was reminiscent of her days of portraying Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley.

She even held up her left hand to display her wedding ring as she spoke. On her face was her signature evil smile that she had perfected while playing the bad girl in her twenties on television.

Paul hated looking at that wedding ring. It was bad enough whenever he accidentally caught a glance of it on his love's finger, but to have her hold it up to him, flaunting it in his face, that was much worse. He couldn't help envisioning taking that big diamond ring and chucking it as hard and as far as he could into the Florida waters.

"We'll see you down stairs." Steph added the moment she let her left hand fall back to her side. A smile was flashed again and then she walked out.

"Is he coming down to say goodbye to his daughter or what?" Kurt asked the moment his wife rejoined him downstairs where he was getting his two older children ready to leave.

"Yeah, he'll be down in a few minutes. I woke him up."

"Daddy, can Kody and I go look at the ocean one more time before we leave?" Asked Kyra, interjecting in the adults' conversation.

"You can go as far as the bottom step of the deck. The sand is off limits. I don't want you guys near the water unsupervised." He told his only daughter.

Kyra nodded with a smile to let her father know that she understood the limitations he had placed on her and her brother. Holding Kody's hand, she ran sliding door, opened it, and ventured outside. As soon as the sliding door slammed shut and the Angles were alone in the kitchen, Angle resumed the conversation with his wife:

"Figures that he'd still be asleep, he'd rather pretend that he was staying in a bed and breakfast than here to spend time with his daughter."

Her husband's comment caused Steph to let out a strong exhale as she braced herself over the kitchen counter. She closed her eyes only for a moment before shooting a look of disappointment at him. She was feeling one of the first waves of nausea of the day and really didn't need smart ass comments.

"You okay?" Angle asked narrowing his brow before placing a hand on Stephanie's back to show his support for her.

"I'm fighting to hold down what little I ate this morning, I really don't need your sophomoric comments about Paul. Keep them to yourself." Steph muttered in retort while moving away from his touch.

"Mommy, I got dressed all by myself! Look at me!" Aurora announced aloud to her mother the moment she ran into the kitchen.

Stephanie's eyes instinctively shifted to her three year old. It took her only seconds to notice that the light blue sun dress that Aurora had put on all by herself was on her backwards. Still, the little girl looked to be as pleased as punch with her independence.

"Wow, you're such a big girl. Let Mommy help you just a little bit." Steph told her daughter moving forward to help her turn her dress around without having to take it off. She had Aurora pull each arm back into her dress and then she twisted it over her body so that it was finally on right.

"Uh oh, did someone have a wardrobe malfunction?" Paul joked with a smile to let everyone know that he had just arrived downstairs.

"Aurora's dress was just a little turned around, Daddy. I'm sure she would love for you to help her put her sandals on." Steph suggested giving her ex a smile that was inviting him to spend some one on one time with their child.

"I want my seekers, Mommy, not sandals." Said Aurora, correcting her mother.

"Sweetie, it's hot outside, I think you would be more comfortable in your sandals." Steph suggested to her little girl with a smile.

"No! I want my seekers!"

"Let her wear her sneakers if she wants to. Go get your sneakers and a pair of socks and Daddy will help you put them on."

A great big smile formed on Aurora's face after hearing her father's words in her favor. As quick as she could, the little girl ran to fetch a pair of socks and her beloved sneakers that she was so set on wearing.

"Here we are, Mommy, all nice and clean!" Linda announced carrying her grandson, Andrew, in her arms. Andy, like his granny, was all smiles and wrapped in a white towel.

"Did you like having Granny give you a bath? Were you a good boy for her?" Steph asked in a sweet voice as her mother approached with her baby.

"He's always such a joy, Stephanie, such a happy little guy. I brought him downstairs because I didn't know if you wanted to get him dressed. If you're still feeling poorly, Kurt or I could do it." Linda offered with a kind smile.

"No, I'm okay. I'll take care of him." Steph replied holding her arms out to accept baby Andrew.

While the queasy feeling never left her, Stephanie was adamant about stepping up as a parent and taking care of her son. Her mother was nice enough to give the one year old a bath, now it was her turn to take over. Sure she could let her husband have baby duty, but he had his two other children to look after.

"Where you going?" Aurora Rose asked her mother as she passed her and her half brother on the way back with her shoes.

"I'm taking Andy upstairs to get dressed. Go with your daddy, he'll help you get your sneakers on."

Reluctantly, Aurora did as her mother instructed. It wasn't that she was apprehensive about spending time with her father; she was warming up to him and the idea that he was her very own daddy. She was unhappy with the idea of the baby getting all of Mommy's attention while she had to be left behind in the care of her dad. Maybe Daddy was right, maybe Mommy really did favor baby Andrew more than her.

"There we are, almost done, just have to tie both shoes." Reported Paul after he had gotten both socks and shoes on Aurora, all that was left was to tie the pink shoe laces.

"No, take them off! It's not comfy cozy! It's not right!" The princess whined kicking her feet sharply out of her father's grasp.

"What do you mean that it isn't right? There's only one way to put shoes on." Levesque replied sounding a tad exasperated with his daughter's bratty outburst.

"Andy's daddy knows how to put my seekers on! I want him to do it!" Aurora commanded crossing her arms in a huff.

Paul felt his stomach instinctively twist and turn into a knot. Hearing his little girl's sweet little voice dismissing him and wanting Angle felt just as bad if not worse than all the times she had called Kurt her father in the past. What possible method could he have to put her sneakers on her that was so different? This was bullshit.

"She is really particular about her feet feeling good in her shoes. All right, little girl, let's get these sneakers feeling comfy cozy." Kurt said with a smirk as he walked over to where Aurora was sitting.

Without saying a word, Paul scooted over from where he was knelt in from of his daughter and Angle took his place where he had been. Now crouching in front of her, Kurt removed both sneakers from her feet.

Levesque just watched Angle interacting with his daughter. How would he object to Kurt stepping in? His own little girl had beckoned him. She preferred him for this task over her own father. And why? It was because Angle knew more about the three year old than he did. It didn't matter that she wasn't calling Kurt her daddy anymore; she still preferred Angle to play the role of Daddy. That killed Paul.

Aurora Rose was smiling at Kurt, seemingly satisfied with his shoe applying technique. When the three year old's foot began to slide inside of the shoe, Angle rocked the sneaker back and forth with one hand, while the other hand pulled on the tongue of the shoe. Then, when the shoe was fully on her foot, Kurt adjusted her sock pulling it taut to removal any possible sock creases inside the sneaker.

"Comfy cozy, Princess?" Kurt asked, pausing before he was set to tie the sneaker.

"Yeah it is, thank you." Aurora answered back in her best polite voice.

A muffed ringtone was heard from Angle's back pocket while he was tying the sneaker. The moment he finished tying, he reached behind him and grabbed his cell phone.

"Think you're qualified to finish up? I've got to take this." Kurt asked Paul with a chuckle after he took a second to look at his cell phone's caller id.

Paul rolled his eyes. He was glad that Angle was going to leave him and Aurora alone. Thank God for the phone call, it was the alert Kurt needed to get his focus back on his own matters instead of Levesque's.

"All right, Aurora, let's see if Daddy can master the art of comfy cozy footwear."

Angle waited to answer his ringing cell phone after he had stepped onto the back deck and closed the sliding glass door behind him. He took in a sharp breath before answering the call.

"I was wondering when you were going to call." He said in a somewhat dull tone of voice with no sign of enthusiasm.

"Well you can stop wondering, because here I am calling, how are my babies?"

"Kyra and Kody are fine, Karen. Thank God they got here safely after a flight down here by themselves. I guess going on a cruise with Jeff Jarrett was more important than making sure our two children got to Florida safely." Angle answered back. His conversation on the back deck caused Kyra and Kody to come up the steps toward him.

"Oh please, it's a weekend TNA Wrestling coastal cruise. It's a fan interaction event for Jeff's wrestling company. And the kids were fine. Children fly by themselves every day that's why there are stewards and stewardesses. Can you put my children on the phone now please?"

"Yeah, hang on." Kurt muttered into the cell phone before he approached his kids.

"It's your mom." He told his daughter as he handed her the phone. He gave his little girl a weak smile, not wanting her to pick up on how unhappy he was with her mother.

"Hi Mom." Kyra said into the phone with a smile.

"Are you having fun with Daddy, Aurora?" Asked Stephanie the moment she came back downstairs with Andrew perched on her right hip.

"Oh yeah, we're having lots of fun. I had a crash course in the comfy cozy test. How long have you and Kurt been playing that game?" Paul questioned shaking his head with a hint of a smile on his face.

"Oh, Kurt started that with her months ago. He is always spoiling her." Steph explained as sat little Andrew on his feet in the living room so that she could start collecting the baby toys that were scattered around close by.

"That wasn't something constructive to teach her. You wait until you're in a hurry to get somewhere and her shoes aren't 'comfy cozy' on her feet. That's ridiculous. If I were spending more time with her, she wouldn't be pulling that crap." Levesque said with a sneer while his eyes followed Andy who toddled to the sofa to brace himself.

"Well if you want to spend more time with her, why don't you take her home to Connecticut with you? I'm still feeling under the weather and Kurt and I have three other kids to look after. You could spend today and tomorrow with her and then bring her home Tuesday before you leave for the SmackDown tapings." Steph suggested packing the toys into a duffle bag.

"That sounds great to me. What do you think, Aurora, want to come home with Daddy?" Levesque asked his daughter.

"Can Mommy come too?" She was quickly asked back without hesitation.

Paul wanted to answer truthfully to his daughter. He wanted Stephanie to come with them just as much, if not more, than Aurora did. He would love for his family to be complete again. As he caught himself day dreaming about the idea of Steph coming home with him, Stephanie answered Aurora's question:

"No sweetie, Mommy is going to stay home with the baby, Kurt, and his kids who are visiting us. It's just going to be you and Daddy, okay?"

The three year old's little face quickly contorted into a look of dismay and she quickly began to shake her head back and forth. She wasn't happy with the idea of not being able to have her mommy with her.

"I wanna be with you." Aurora whimpered as the little droplets of tears began to fall from her eyes. Her arms stretched out toward Stephanie, as if there was any doubt to which parent she was referring to.

"Oh sweetie, come here," whispered Steph in a soft soothing voice before she took Aurora into her arms for a big hug. "Listen, you're going to have so much fun with your very own daddy. You get to play with lots of exciting toys that you won't have to share with any one at Daddy's house. And you'll have your daddy all to yourself."

Stephanie knew her daughter. She knew that the prospect of having an abundance of toys without having to share any of them would be right up Aurora's alley. And now that her little girl knew that she had her very own Daddy to spend time with, Steph was sure that she would have fun with him. It was all about getting over the fact that her mother couldn't come with her.

"Okay…" Aurora muttered through her tears as she hugged her mommy tightly. She still didn't understand why her mother couldn't come with her to stay with her daddy since she always stayed with baby Andy's daddy.

It didn't take the Angles long to get everyone's luggage together. When the company car arrived, Steph quickly took charge getting the three children buckled up in the car while Kurt and the driver worked on loading the many bags and suitcases into the trunk of the limo as if they were playing a skillful game of Tetris.

"Okay sweetie, it's time for all of us to go home to Connecticut. I'll call you as soon as we get home, okay? You're going to have so much fun with your dad. I love you!" Steph told her three year old with enthusiasm and a great big smile before she hugged her.

Aurora gave her mommy one last long hug and a kiss before she watched her climb into the limo with Kurt and the other children. When the driver closed the door, Steph made a point to quickly roll down the tinted window to wave goodbye.

"Have a safe trip!" Linda called out waving to her daughter as the limousine began to slowly pull away.

Despite the fact that Aurora knew she was still with her granny and daddy, she couldn't help but feel like she was being left behind. Why was she the only kid who her mommy left behind? Why couldn't she come home with them?

When the black limo disappeared around the street corner, Aurora's composure followed suit and the tears began to flow.

"Why couldn't I go home with my mommy? I wanna go home too!" Aurora cried out as the tears ran down her face again. This time, her mommy wasn't there to wipe them away.

Linda's heart completely broke in two at the sight of her one and only little granddaughter weeping her heart out for her mother. Before Paul could even attempt to comfort his child, Mrs. McMahon swooped in and scooped up her grandchild.

"This wasn't how I wanted us to start our time together." Paul confessed to his former mother-in-law before he reached over to rub his little girl's back while Linda rocked her in her arms.

"It's okay, she'll be fine. Why don't you go ahead and get Aurora and your things loaded into your rental car while I take care of her."

Levesque gave Linda a nod and slowly walked back to the beach house to get ready for his and Aurora's departure. If Paul would have been thinking ahead, he would have suggested to Steph that he and Aurora leave first before she did. The idea of little Aurora leaving for a fun two days with Daddy with Mommy waving goodbye in the drive way would have been a much more pleasant goodbye for Aurora than her having to watch her mommy leave.

There was no reason to dwell on it. It was done and Steph was gone, leaving their daughter in his care. Paul could only focus on the rest of his time with his little girl. He knew that he was going to need to make the most of his time with her. After all, when the visit was over, Aurora was going to be reporting back to her mommy. Surely nothing would make Stephanie happier to find out that Aurora had a great time with him, her real Daddy.