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

Chapter Forty-Seven

"You should be at home with your wife and son, not sitting here talking to me." Vince stated pointing his finger in the direction of his son-in-law. He and Angle were in his home gym having a father-son-in-law chat while McMahon worked out.

Vince had called Kurt earlier in the day while Angle was en route to a hotel. Of course, Kurt confided in his father-in-law about the fight he and Stephanie had had. McMahon insisted that Angle come over to the house and wait for him to get home from work.

"Steph doesn't want me there. She says she needs space. I think she might want to separate." Kurt divulged looking at the gym floor with shame.

"That's bullshit! Why, because of the arrest? She's your wife, she should be there to support you! We're a family, damn it! You guys are having another baby, for Christ sakes!" Vince hollered, getting himself all worked up letting the weights slam back into place.

"My ex-wife, Karen, came over to pick up my kids while I was gone. She filled Steph's head with all this ugly shit from what happened in our marriage. She's got Stephanie thinking that not only am I an addict but that I'm a cheater too. I just can't believe Steph would even entertain a word that Karen says."

"That's not like my daughter to jump to conclusions from biased sources. Did you give her any reason for her to think that you were unfaithful?" McMahon asked cocking his head slightly sitting forward on the bench of his machine.

"Hell no, she's making a big deal out of the fact that Candice Michelle is all flirtatious with me and I let her watch Andrew on more than one occasion when she wasn't there to do so. But it's okay for Steph to let her ex-husband, Paul, watch our son after I specifically asked her not to. Do I accuse her of screwing him? Even after I found him at my house having breakfast with my wife and baby the morning I got home from RAW!"

"What, he was there? Did she let him stay over? When you weren't there? What the hell is she thinking?" Vince asked completely puzzled by his daughter's actions.

"According to her, she's trying to work on Aurora and her father's relationship. Steph wants to be friendly with him, for their daughter. I guess I can't fault her for that, but for her to accuse me of being unfaithful..."

"I'm sure that she's paranoid about cheating thanks to her marriage to Levesque. You remember what that bastard put my daughter through. You know damn well he's going to try and weasel his way in with you gone. That's why you should go home right now and make things right between the two of you!" Vince commanded getting to his feet from his work out bench.

McMahon made it sound so easy. If only it were. What Kurt had omitted from his account of their fight was him throwing his wedding band on her bedside table out of anger and frustration. He felt ashamed to confess to Vince that Stephanie's wedding ring was in his duffle bag.

"I can't...She won't take me back tonight, if ever. I did something that I wish I hadn't. I was angry and hurt so I threw my wedding band on her night stand. She saw it while I was spending time with the kids, and her retaliation was to give me back her wedding ring...It's in my duffle bag. She wants time away from me, time without being my wife." Kurt heard himself slowly spill his guts as tears began to flow. His watery eyes were fixated on his wedding band on his hand.

Vince swallowed hard and slowly made his way over to his son-in-law who was dissolving into tears right before his eyes. He knew that what Angle did was not only stupid but very hurtful. McMahon's gut reaction after seeing Kurt break down in tears was to tell him to suck it up and be a man, but the fact that he was obviously so upset and regretful spoke volumes. Because of how hard Kurt was taking this, McMahon knew there was still hope for his daughter's marriage. Despite his flaws, she had a loyal husband that wanted it to work out. That was a hell of a lot more than she had the first time, Vince thought.

"It's going to be okay, son. Just give her a day or so to cool down. She loves you and she's having your baby. I bet Aurora is so excited about having a new brother or sister, huh?" Vince asked in his best optimistic voice while patting Kurt on the back.

"I don't think Steph is going to tell Aurora or anyone else just yet. Since she's miscarried before, I think she wants to get through the first few months. God, I want to be there. I missed most of her pregnancy with Andrew. I want to be there for her this time." Angle confessed bringing his hands to his face as he continued to cry.

"You will be, don't worry. I know my daughter. She loves you. You're a good husband and father. You can stay here with me and Linda as long as you need until this blows over. You should try and get some sleep. You look like shit." Vince told his son-in-law, taking him into a hug for several seconds.

"Thanks, Dad..."

Angle felt a bit of relief knowing that Vince was standing by him and wanting things to work out between him and Steph. Getting assurance from Stephanie's father that this was all just a temporary marital spat allowed him to somewhat breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe things weren't as bad as he thought. Tomorrow was a new day. If he wasn't ready to give up on their family, surely Stephanie wasn't either.

"My Mickey Mousey pannycakes ready, Mommy?" Aurora questioned from where she sat at the breakfast table in her boaster seat.

"Almost, sweetheart. What would you like to drink?" Steph asked back as she skillfully flipped over the Mickey Mouse shaped pancake with her spatula.

"Chocky milky, pweeze!" The three year old exclaimed without even a moment's thought.

Morning had come, and with it came a brand new day. Stephanie couldn't help but smile. Despite all she had endured the past few days, she was thankful to be feeling well enough to be taking care of her two children, following their normal morning routine. If there was one thing that she loved more than her professional job, it was being a mother.

"I wanna put the see-yup on." Aurora announced the moment her mom sat her plate and drink down in front of her. Her favorite thing about eating pancakes was always putting the sticky sweet syrup on them.

"I know, that's why I put the bottle right here on the table, here you go." Steph said with a chuckle, handing it to her daughter.

"Mama-mama-ma!" Andrew called out from his highchair, holding a cheerio up in his hand in Steph's direction.

"Is that a cheerio for me? Oh, yum, yum, yum!" Stephanie exclaimed making her way over to her son. Baby Andy laughed as his mother bent down and allowed him to feed her the cheerio.

"Muah, I love you, my sweet baby boy." Steph gushed after giving her son a kiss on his chubby cheek.

"What about me?" Aurora Rose whined sticking out her bottom lip at the sight of her mother showing the baby affection.

"I love you too, sweetheart, muah!"

Stephanie then gave an identical kiss to her daughter before she went into the kitchen to start cooking her own stack of pancakes. The sound of the home phone ringing diverted her attention.

"Aurora, don't put too much syrup on those pancakes." Steph warned her daughter as she went to answer the phone.

"Hello?" She said into the receiver, immediately after bringing the cordless phone to her ear.

"Hi Steph, good morning, are you feeling any better today?"

Stephanie smiled hearing her mother's voice on the other end of the phone. With the hectic schedule that Linda had been keeping the past few weeks, it was nice of her to call to check in on her.

"Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better, the nausea is gone, thank God. I hope it stays that way. How are things at the office? I feel so out of the loop from being sick." Steph asked pouring the pancake batter into the heated pan as she balanced the phone between her shoulder and the side of her head.

"It's been pretty hectic, as always. How are things with Kurt? Have you guys talked about the whole arrest situation and the pregnancy?" Mrs. McMahon inquired completely changing the subject from business to personal in a blink of an eye.

"To be completely honest with you, Mom, I really don't want to talk about it. I'm enjoying the morning with my kids and I'm feeling good. I'm sorry, but I just can't go there right now."

There was a small pause on the line before Linda replied to her daughter's refusal to talk about the most intimate and personal topics.

"Okay, honey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you or ruin your morning. I just want you to know that your father and I are always here for you and Kurt. If you need anything, don't hesitate to come to us."

"Thanks, Mom, it means a lot knowing that I have your support. Hey, I'm getting a call on my cell phone, do you mind if I let you go?" Stephanie asked after she took notice of her cell phone vibrating on the nearby counter top where it was charging.

"Oh, not at all. I'm sure I'll see you when you come over for your father's birthday this week, love you."

"Love you too, give Dad my love, and yes, I wouldn't miss his birthday. Bye."

Steph quickly ended the call and then went over to her cell phone. "Paul calling" was displayed on her cell phone screen. She picked it up, hit the green call button and brought it to her ear.

"Hi Paul."

"Hey Steph, how are you and our little princess doing this morning?"

"We're doing well, just sitting down for breakfast." Steph reported while returning back to her stove top to flip her cooking pancake.

"Listen, there's an aquarium in Norwalk. I was thinking I could swing by in an hour or so, pick up you and the kids, and we could spend the day there." Paul suggested.

Stephanie's eyes narrowed after hearing her ex-husband offer to drive her and the children up to the aquarium. While it was a nice thoughtful activity that both of her children would surely enjoy, it would be a little strange for her to be riding there with her former husband. God, how would that look? A day after she kicked Kurt out of the house, she and her one year old son were riding around town in her ex-husband's Hummer.

"That sounds very nice, but text me the address and we will meet you there. It will have to be later in the morning because I have some things to do around the house." Stephanie replied, accepting his offer with her own conditions.

"Will do, does eleven o'clock sound like a good time to shoot for?"

"Sounds perfect, just send me the address and we will see you there."

"Okay, I'll send it to you, but it's really easy to get to. It's right off of exit 14 northbound on 95. Aurora is going to love it. I can't wait to see her today...and you."

Steph sucked in air and held it for a second or two. She felt a bit uncomfortable by his comment being directed toward her as well. She didn't know what the appropriate response was, so she chose to ignore it entirely.

"Well, we'll see you soon. Bye."

"Later tater."

"Who that, Mommy?" Aurora asked the moment she saw her mother end the phone call.

"That was your daddy. He invited all of us to meet him at the aquarium. Wasn't that nice of him?"

"What's an awarium?" The three year old then questioned before shoving a piece of pancake in her mouth.

"It's a place where they keep lots of different fish, sharks, and all the other creatures of the sea." Steph explained going back to cooking on the stove.

"Sharks are there? Will we get eated? I don't wanna be wif the sharks, Mommy." Aurora told her mother while shaking her head to show her insistence.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, you can't be eaten by sharks. All of them are behind glass in a big tank. We are just going to look at them. It will be lots of fun, you'll see."

Levesque had made good on his word by texting Stephanie the address which she was easily able to plug into the built-in GPS in her Porsche Cayenee. It was only a twenty minute drive up I-95 to get to the Maritime Aquarium. Just like Paul had told her, it was very easy to get to. Luckily for her, little Andrew fell asleep as soon as they got on the interstate, and his older sister was content with playing with her Leapfrog Leapster handheld toy she had gotten last month for her birthday.

"You have reached your destination." The female voice of the GPS stated the moment Stephanie pulled into the large parking lot of the aquarium.

"I see Daddy, Aurora." Stephanie announced to her daughter as she drove the Porsche in the direction of what she knew to be her ex-husband's red Hummer. Sure enough, as soon as she pulled into the open space right next to the large SUV, Paul walked up to them.

"Hey, you made it." He said stating the obvious as he opened Stephanie's car door for her like a true gentleman.

"Yes we did, and we're very excited. The baby was so excited he fell asleep. I'm glad I brought his stroller." Steph replied with a smile as she stepped out of her automobile where her ex was standing.

"Let me see my baby girl, where is my princess?" Levesque commented aloud as he traveled around to the other side of the luxury cross over where Aurora was still buckled into her boaster seat.

He gave his daughter a hug before unbuckling her from her seat and lifting her up out of the Porsche. Stephanie was on the other side carefully lifting her younger child from his car seat without disturbing his nap.

"Do you need me to grab his stroller?" Paul offered after sticking his daughter up on his shoulders.

"Yeah thanks, that would be a big help. I don't know what I was thinking when I got him out of his seat before getting the stroller set up. It's in the back." She replied letting her son's floppy head rest against her chest as she carried him to the back of her vehicle.

Levesque removed the folded up stroller from the back of the automobile and a quick pull with one of his muscular arms, he was able to get it to snap up right and in place so that his former wife could place her sleeping baby inside of it.

"Mommy, I big now!" Aurora exclaimed holding her arms outstretched from her perch onto of her father's shoulders. She was getting her mommy's attention as soon as Steph put the baby down.

"Wow, you are really tall now! You've got the best view to see all the sea animals." Stephanie said back with a smile before going back to the front of her car to grab her purse and the diaper bag from the passenger seat.

"Ready to go in, Mommy?" Paul asked watching Steph place the two bags in the basket below the stroller.

"Yup, lead the way, Daddy."

Stephanie didn't mind using the titles "Mommy" and "Daddy" with Paul. It was all done for their little girl. She wanted to make today nice for her three year old since the little girl had no memories of spending time with both her parents together as a family.

Levesque began to walk on but did so casually so that Stephanie would be walking right next to him while pushing the stroller.

"The fishies in there, Daddy?" Aurora asked pointing to the large brick building that was unique because of its architecture. She was already getting excited and she wasn't even inside yet.

"They sure are, honey."

As soon as they crossed the threshold into the Maritime Aquarium, Steph started to go for her purse to pay for her and her children's admission.

"Don't worry about it, I already ordered the three tickets online. I took care of it." Paul told Steph, putting his hand on the small of her back as he spoke.

"You really shouldn't have done that. I can pay you back." She immediately replied snapping back to her neutral position upright.

"No, don't be silly. It was only twenty-six bucks for you and me, and ten for Aurora. The little bambino there is getting in for free, which is good because he might be sleeping through the whole thing." Paul commented with a chuckle as he pointed down at the sleeping one year old.

His comment caused Stephanie to laugh before she gently brought her hand to his muscular arm. Paul involuntarily flexed his muscles feeling her touch on his skin. God he missed being with her; being a family.

"Thank you." She breathed with a voice that was full of sincerity.

"Anytime." He answered back with a smile as he handed the guy behind the will call desk his driver's license so that he could retrieve the tickets.

"The Levesque family?" The guy said aloud handing over an envelope that contained their tickets and had the same thing written on the front of it. Both Paul and Stephanie laughed.

"I swear, I had nothing to do with that." Levesque told her with a big smile plastered across his bearded face as he took the tickets.

"Oh, I'm sure you didn't." Steph chuckled, and then gave an eye roll, before she pushed the baby stroller forward passed the check in and to the actual admission area.

"What this?" Aurora asked, her voice full of curiosity as she watched an aquarium employee put a lime green plastic bracelet on her hand while her daddy was bending down a bit for the guy.

"It's your bracelet to go in to see the fish, Aurora. See, Mommy and Daddy each have one too." Stephanie explained holding up her hand so that her child could see the green plastic on her arm.

From the moment that they entered the actual aquarium, Aurora was in charge of deciding on which exhibit they went to first. She loved pointing the way from on top of her daddy's big broad shoulders like she was a princess sitting on top of her royal thrown with all the other children visitors below being mere peasants.

"Wow! We under water wif the fishies!" The three year old exclaimed with excitement as they entered an aquarium tunnel. She was truly amazed by the fact that so many fish were swimming all around them in each and every direction she looked.

"Shh, yes, isn't that awesome, just remember to use your inside voice. You don't want to scare them." Stephanie told her as she bent down in front of the stroller to check on Andrew who was beginning to make little whimpers like he was waking up.

"What do you think of those fish, honey?" Paul asked his daughter as he brought her closer to one side of the tank so she could actually put her little hands on the glass.

"I wanna take one home." She replied raising her eyebrows to show her enthusiasm.

"You can't do that, sweetie, they like a big tank like this." Steph told her daughter while she lifted her son up from the stroller.

"Dat?" Andy quickly said aloud as his little finger pointed out toward a school of fish. He was immediately fully alert because of all the marine life happening around him.

"We keep it in our bathy tub, Mommy." Aurora suggested pointing to an individual colorful fish that she had decided she wanted to take home.

"I don't think so, sweetheart. Maybe Santa can bring you a little goldfish this Christmas." Stephanie told the three year old as she too moved close to the same side of the tank to let her son take a closer look.

"Yeah, I think that's the closest to this you are going to get, Aurora." Paul added with a chuckle before giving his little girl a kiss on the cheek.

"Dat!" Andrew exclaimed raising both hands up toward a large hammer head shark that was swimming right.

"Woah, look at the size of that shark, Aurora." Levesque commented to his little girl.

"No, make it go away! I don't like it!" She whined putting her face down on top of her father's head of dirty blonde hair that was neatly pulled back in a ponytail. The three year old was hiding her eyes so that she didn't have to see the big shark.

"Maybe we should move on to the next exhibit." Steph suggested placing her son back into his stroller. The baby began to pitch a fit until his mother sat the seat up so that it was no longer reclining back from when he was napping.

The next section they went to was the river otters tank. Both children were enthralled by the furry little animals who were constantly doing underwater flips and turns. Once again, Aurora expressed her wish to adopt one and take it home.

"Daddy will buy you one from the gift shop before we go home." Levesque promised with a smile.

Seeing the harbor seals being fed kept the three year old's attention for a few minutes before she was ready to move onto the touch tank that housed sting rays inside of it. Steph sat back with Andrew while Paul took his little girl off his shoulders and led her over to the tank. Having a moment of downtime, Steph removed her cell phone from her purse in the underneath compartment of the stroller. She had a text message, and she was not at all surprised to find out that it was from Kurt.

"Where r u? I tried calling the house. We need 2 talk. I love u." She read the message to herself.

Stephanie slowly exhaled as she continued to stare at the short text message. Was it terrible that she didn't feel like even replying to it? Today was going so well and she and the children were having such a good time, that she didn't want to spoil it with drama. It wasn't that she didn't love her husband, because she did. But up until the text message, she was doing a good job forgetting that she was dealing with strong marital discord at home. Angle's text message made all the stress come flooding back into her body, causing her to feel tense.

"Mommy! Look! I petting a stingy ray!" Aurora called out demanding her mother's attention.

Stephanie's eyes immediately darted up and over at her child. Paul was holding her up high enough so that she could lean into the shallow tank and touch the smooth rays with her hand. The sight of her daughter's enjoyment brightened Steph's mood. She cracked a smile and then quickly made her phone go into camera mode. She got up from the bench and approached them to get a nice clear picture to preserve the moment in time.

Levesque, Stephanie, and the kids hit a few more exhibits before deciding to get something to eat and do one final stop at the gift shop.

"Hey Steph, do you think she'll want to take a picture in there?" Paul asked with a chuckle pointing over to a photo op set up of a shark behind a metal scuba diver cage that was open for people to go inside to have a picture taken.

"Don't even suggest it." Steph muttered with a light chuckle as they passed by on their way to the cafe for a light lunch.

"What did you like the best?" Paul asked his daughter as they sat next to each other in the cafe.

"I liked the fishies, the stingy rays, and river otters, and the horsey crabs." Aurora listed swinging her legs while they dangled from her boaster chair.

"You liked the jelly fish too." Steph mentioned with a smile as she fed baby Andrew some of his baby food from home that she had brought.

"Yeah, can we get my otter now? Daddy said I could have one." She asked with a voice of impatience.

"Let's finish up our lunch and then we will stop in the gift shop." Stephanie replied taking a bite of her own food before going back to feeding her one year old.

When their late lunch was finished, they made their way over to the gift shop that was right by the exit. Aurora was eager to go inside but Steph stopped the stroller just outside the store.

"Aurora, you and Daddy go ahead inside the gift shop. Mommy needs to use the bathroom and the baby needs a diaper change. We'll be right back."

Before Aurora could even protest the idea of her mother leaving with Andrew, she was gone. Paul did a great job keeping his daughter occupied when the two of them entered the store. Aurora didn't waste any time finding her stuffed river otter that Daddy had promised her earlier. And just because he loved his little princess, Levesque bought his daughter a colorful book about all the different sea creatures that reside in the Atlantic Ocean.

"Sorry we took so long, there was a line in the bathroom." Steph explained when she finally met up with them as they were finishing up making their purchase.

"Look what I got!" Aurora exclaimed holding up her two new presents for her mom to see.

"Oh wow, your daddy must love you!" Stephanie answered back with a smile as they left the shop and then the aquarium itself.

As they walked back through the parking lot to where their automobiles were parked, Stephanie held onto one of Aurora's hands while wheeling the stroller with the other. Paul held onto Aurora's other hand. He loved the fact that in all outward appearances, they looked like a happy family. Hell, anyone who saw them probably even assumed that Andrew was his son. And would that really be so bad? If he and Steph did ever get back together then Andrew Vincent would be is step-son.

"All right, here we are. Let's get you kids loaded up." Levesque commented as soon as they reached Stephanie's Porsche Cayenne and his Hummer.

Stephanie first started her car and rolled down the windows before she put Andrew in his car seat. Paul was nice enough to stick both the diaper bag and her designer handbag in the front passenger seat before he helped his little girl into her big girl chair.

"I love you, sweetie. I hope you like your new book and your otter." He told her before giving her a few kisses and hugs.

"I do like him, his name is Flipsy cus he flips underwater like this." Aurora told him while making the stuffed animal move through the air like she had seen the real thing do at the aquarium.

"That's a good name, honey. You be good for Mommy and I'll see you soon." Paul added before giving her one last kiss on her forehead before he closed the car door.

By that time Steph had already gotten the stroller folded up and into the back of her Porsche. There was really nothing left for them to do but say their own goodbyes and leave.

"This was a great idea you had. The kids really had a great time...I did too. It was nice doing this as a family without any drama." Steph admitted with a warm smile as she looked deep into his hazel eyes.

":I had a great time too. We should do more things as a family more often...Because we still are a family, Steph...We always will be." Levesque said back in a softer voice that was kind and gentle.

There was a moment of awkward silence between them. It was like neither one of them were wanting to make the first move and say goodbye. It was Steph who took the initiative.

"Goodbye." She whispered giving him a quick hug and a little peck on the cheek.

"Oh, yeah, goodbye, have a safe trip back." He told her in almost a stutter. Paul was a bit thrown off guard by the quick hug and kiss on the cheek that he never saw coming. It happened before he even had time to react to it.

"Thanks, you too." Steph said back before she walked to the driver side door and got inside.

Levesque moved out from behind her car. He propped his left elbow up against the back of his Hummer and watched as his former wife slowly pulled her Porsche Cayenne out from the parking space. And then, before Stephanie put her car in drive, her eyes met his and she gave him a smile one final time. Paul did the same, and even gave her a slight wave with his right hand. As the vehicle was put into drive and started going forward, Levesque saw Aurora give him a quick wave goodbye from her window. He quickly blew her a kiss and then looked on as the automobile traveled to the other end of the parking lot, and then finally turned onto the road.

"There goes my family..."