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 Fifty-Six
Paul felt like his entire world was ending. His hazel eyes remained fixated on Mr. and Mrs. Angle through the window. They carried on their romantic kiss, completely oblivious to the fact that he was observing them. While every muscle in his arm flexed in response to his overwhelming hatred for Kurt Angle, his bottom lip trembled accompanying the sadness he felt seeing the woman he loved loving another.
It was like he had been standing at that door forever; like time stood still and it was just tunnel vision peering in at the two lovers reuniting. As much as he hated the sight, he was sucked into it, like a moth to a deadly flame. He had to force himself to look away. Levesque took a sharp breath and then took a step back from the hospital door. Paul then rested his creased forehead against the wall opposite his ex-wife's room.
He was taking a moment to regroup and keep himself in check. The last thing he wanted to do was make a scene. It was so hard for him not to get emotional. Up until now, things had seemed to be going well with him and Steph. They were finally starting to co-exist as parents and they were actually able to spend time with their daughter together. He now feared that with Angle coming back into the picture, he was going to lose all progress they had made. What would happen with his baby girl? Would he lose time with his child because of Kurt?
Shit, he was already making a spectacle of himself standing there in the hallway. Levesque needed to leave. He obviously wasn't wanted there. Without saying a word to anyone, Paul left the maternity ward and then the hospital building. There was only one thing he could think to do now, and he was going to do it.
Kurt was lying on the edge of his wife's hospital bed while snuggling to her. Even though it was a mere two weeks since they had been together, for him, it felt like a lifetime apart.
"I can't wait until we can feel him kick." whispered Angle with sentiment as he lovingly massaged his hand across his wife's abdomen.
"Him?" Steph replied raising a single thin eyebrow in response to his confidence that she was pregnant with yet another boy.
"It could be a baby girl, you know." She then added with a chuckle while placing her hand on top of his.
"Well, it's possible, but ah, I'm willing to bet my Olympic Gold medal that it's a boy." answered back Kurt with a childish smirk.
"Oh my God, Kurt, you and your gold medal. If this baby turns out to be a girl, then you can't talk about that damn medal or the Olympics for an entire year. Do we have a deal?" joked Stephanie right after she burst out into laughter.
"You're on, babe. That's how confident I am!" Angle accepted with enthusiasm before he began to tickle his wife causing her to laugh even more.
Steph moved quickly and grabbed hold of Kurt's hands to stop him from tickling her which compelled him to lean in and give her a quick kiss on the lips.
"In all seriousness though, I don't care if the baby is a boy or a girl, I just want the baby to be healthy. I want to be here for you through this whole pregnancy, like I should have been for Andrew." Angle professed in a low voice.
His words of conviction caused Stephanie to smile wide. She brought her hands to his bearded face before she spoke her reply.
"That's what I want too." She whispered back before pulling him toward her for a passionate kiss.
The sound of the hospital room door opening caused the couple to abruptly break their kiss and look to see who was entering. It was Linda coming in to check on her daughter. She looked to be a little surprised to see Kurt and her daughter kissing. It was obvious that they had worked out their problems and had reconciled.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you two. I just wanted to ask Stephanie if she was hungry and wanted me to go out and get her something to eat." Mrs. McMahon explained looking a little awkward and embarrassed for walking in on her daughter and son-in-law.
"Thank you, Mom, but no. The nurse came in a few moments ago and told me that I'm being discharged. The doctor said that I could go home tonight but he wants me to take it easy for the next few days, no stress whatsoever." stated Steph repeating back what the nurse had told her.
"I can't wait to go home and see the kids. I missed them like crazy." Kurt immediately said before narrowing his eyes and looking at first his wife and then his mother-in-law before speaking again.
"Steph, if both you and your mother are here, who's watching the kids?"
With all the excitement the day had brought with the fear of his wife losing their new baby, to the two of them getting back together, Angle hadn't once thought about where Aurora and Andrew were with their mother in the hospital. Usually, it was Linda who would take the children in the event of such a crisis. Who was looking after them now?
"They're with the nanny." Steph answered back plainly with a small smile that grew when the look on Kurt's face changed to a look of complete confusion. He was so adorable when he was clueless.
"What nanny? Since when do we have a nanny?" Angle then asked with a smile as he waited for his wife to elaborate.
"While you were gone, I took the initiative and hired a full time nanny to watch the children while I'm at the office. Her name is Catherine Scot and she's great. She's been a really big help." Stephanie added giving more information about their new employee.
"I'm sure she's great. She'd have to be to meet your standards of a caretaker for the kids." He chuckled before getting to his feet. Angle then turned back around to look at his wife before continuing.
"I'm going to go get my rental car and pull it up to the front entrance of the hospital for after you get discharged. Sound good, babe?"
"Yeah, sounds like a plan. Thank you, honey."
Angle smiled and nodded before he began to walk out of the hospital room. When he went to walk past Linda, he took the time to thank her again. It was when Kurt thanked Linda for taking Stephanie to the hospital, that Linda's eyes darted over to her daughter. In return, Mrs. McMahon accepted the appreciation graciously and waited for him to leave the room before speaking to her daughter.
"You didn't tell him that Paul took you to the hospital?" Linda asked her daughter. She was surprised that Angle didn't know that Paul had been instrumental in getting Steph to the hospital, especially when he waited to see her for over two hours.
"No, why would I bring up that detail? We just got back together. I don't want to cause any unnecessary drama between those two." Steph explained putting her hand up toward her mother. to show how serious she was about not causing problems between her current and ex-husband.
Her daughter's comment caused Linda to look even more confused by what her daughter had told her. She sat down gently on the edge of the hospital bed before she spoke again.
"Oh, I just thought Kurt would have found out when Paul came in here to check on you. He was very adamant to make sure you were doing all right. I figured that fighting with Kurt would be the last thing on his mind." Mrs. McMahon stated giving her reasoning for being a bit confused.
Stephanie straightened her posture after hearing her mother say that Paul had made an effort to come and see her in the hospital. She had assumed that he had left right after he had dropped her off since he wasn't her husband and didn't accompany her to the maturity floor.
"Are you sure, Mom? I didn't see Paul at all since he drove me here."
"I'm certain. Even I was surprised to find out that he waited over two hours before tracking me down to your hospital room and asked that I'd give him a moment to speak with you. It was right after I went to get some coffee. I haven't seen him since." Linda told her daughter.
Steph's eyes darted away from her mother's gaze. She thought back to the timeline of events that had transpired in the last hour. Her mother had left for coffee not long before Kurt had shown up at her hospital room. If Paul came over then...
Her blue eyes tracked over to the hospital room door where they focused on the wide window. Was it possible that Paul had shown up to check on her and saw her and her husband? There had been a lot of affection exchanged between her and Kurt. Perhaps Levesque didn't feel comfortable interrupting. That had to be awkward as hell for him after waiting so long in the lounge.
"Well, I didn't see him at all. Perhaps he found out that Kurt was already there to take care of me so he left before it got too late into the evening." Steph finally offered. It was the nicest way she could say what she thought really did happen.
"You're probably right. Do you need help getting changed back into your clothing? It's folded on the counter top over there." Mrs. McMahon asked, ready to graciously help her daughter in any way she could.
"No, thanks, Mom. I think I can dress myself." Steph chuckled before she swung her legs over the side of the hospital bed.
She was more than ready to go home. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought she had spent the entire day in Greenwich Hospital. Her three year old daughter was probably wondering where her mommy was. In her rush to seek medical attention, she hadn't given her little girl an adequate explanation of where she was going and how long she would be gone. And poor Cathy was stuck with watching both Andrew and Aurora the rest of the day. It was definitely overtime for her hours as a nanny. Steph couldn't wait to get home and relieve her.
Kurt was waiting with the rental car at the hospital's main entrance just like he had promised her he would be. Linda had been the doting parent and had stayed by her daughter's side during the hospital discharge process and then the walk outside to meet up with Angle. Steph was quite insistent that she was fine to get herself into the passenger seat of the rental car without either her mother or husband helping her. Despite what they must have thought, the threatened miscarriage had done nothing to effect her use of her arms and legs.
"Try to get some rest, sweetheart. It will be good for you and the baby." Mrs. McMahon advised her daughter before closing the passenger door once Steph was inside the automobile.
"She will, Mom. I'm going to wait on her hand and foot for the next few days. Thanks again for everything." Angle told his mother-in-law giving her a quick hug and peck on the cheek before making his way over to the driver side door of the rental.
"Drive carefully!" Linda called out the moment after she heard the engine turn over. She then gave her daughter a wave as the car slowly pulled away.
"It's so good to be home..." Angle commented aloud through an exhale.
Pressing down on the break, he put the car into park and then got out in his driveway. Steph's eyes followed her husband. She watched him walk over to the keypad on the side of their garage door. Being that he was in a rental car, he had no remote access to open the garage door. The headlights of the car illuminated him against the darkness of the night. Steph blinked her eyes a few times noticing a few droplets of rain fall onto the car's windshield signaling the possible start of a nighttime summer shower.
Stephanie had to agree. She loved the idea of having her husband back home with her and the children. They could go back to being a family again; that was so much easier and better for her and the children than her struggling with the stress of a single mother. Besides, she missed her man. She had missed waking up next to him every morning. She missed laughing at him just being his goofball self. The man could make her laugh even when he wasn't trying to. He was her best friend and the best lover she ever had; an untamed beast in not just the wrestling ring but the bedroom as well. Was he without flaws? Hell no, but the important thing was that he was willing to acknowledge his short comings and try and work on them. How many other men were willing to do that?
"Looks like we got home just in time, babe." Kurt commented the moment he returned to his driver seat and closed the door.
The sound of the car door slamming shut marked the moment that the rain started to pick up almost like it had done so on cue. Steph let out a chuckle looking around the interior of the car as she took a minute to marvel how quickly it began to storm.
"Jeez, you timed that perfectly."
"I know, right?" Angle chuckled.
"I don't really like this car, honey, it's a two door with hardly any backseat for the kids. When are you getting your Escalade back?"
"Tomorrow, I'm going to drive the hour to Bradley International. It's been sitting in long term parking for over two weeks now." Angle replied as he drove the car into his side of the garage where his Cadillac was usually stored.
"Wait until you see what they're going to charge you for parking it there for that long." Stephanie commented back unbuckling her seatbelt before he even shut the car off.
Seeing that his wife was already getting ready to go inside the house, Kurt quickly shut off the engine, undid his safety belt, and got out of the car. Steph gave him a confused look when he ran to her side of the automobile and opened her door before she was able to do it herself.
"And they said chivalry was dead..." Stephanie chuckled when she allowed her husband to then take her by the hand and help her get out of the car.
Once his wife was standing next to him in the garage, he closed the passenger door and then ran up the few steps to the door that connected the garage to the rest of their home.
"Are you going to be doing this a lot? I mean, not that I'm complaining, but you're just overdoing it a little." She then said with a smile as she met him at the open door. "Doing everyday tasks is not going to make me miscarry. I just have to avoid any kind of stress."
"That's what I'm trying to do for you, Steph. I'm treating my Billion Dollar Princess like she's my Olympic Queen. Expect me to take care of the kids, with the help of the new nanny of course, and serve you meals in bed." He told her with a sweet smile that could give her a toothache.
Steph rolled her eyes and let out a strong burst of laughter. He really knew how to turn on the charm. She couldn't help but wonder if all this sucking up he was doing was really because of his fear that she might lose their baby, or because he was just so happy to be back in her good graces and their home.
"I hope you aren't expecting make up sex tonight, Kurt, because that's one thing that's off limits for the next week." Stephanie whispered back to him in her best low seductive voice while leaning in close to him.
Her sultry advances caused the left corner of Angle's mouth to pull taunt forming a smirk. He raised his eyebrows once and gave her a wink before replying.
"There's a lot we can do that doesn't involve intercourse." He told her in a whisper before biting his bottom lip. He brought his hand to her stomach, and letting it slide down to her lower half, right between her legs.
Steph let out a soft moan before she reached down and grabbed his large hand with hers, peeling it away from her body. She smiled as he then placed his hand on his own hard chest before opening her mouth to speak.
"Kurt, darling, that's the last thing on my mind after the day I've had." She chuckled in a still somewhat sexy tone of voice.
"Oh my God, you're such a tease. If your new nanny wasn't here with the kids, and you weren't in your delicate state, you'd be getting bent over that kitchen counter again." He replied in a laugh after letting out a long exhale to show his sexual frustration.
"You wish..." She replied with a naughty smile over her shoulder as she walked further into the house.
No lights were on in the kitchen nor the hallways leading from it into the rest of the home. Without even having to think about it, Steph sat her purse down in the usual place before her and Kurt ventured farther into their house. It was the distant sound of the television in the living room that they followed to find Catherine.
"Hi, so sorry that I kept you here so late." Stephanie said aloud the minute she entered the living room and saw the nanny sitting on the sofa.
"Hi, oh don't worry about it, I'm just relieved that you're okay." said Cathy with a smile before she noticed Kurt standing next to his wife. "Is this the man of the house?"
"Oh, yes, this is Kurt, my husband. Kurt, this is Catherine Scot, our new nanny." Stephanie said quickly, forgetting that she had not introduced her children's caretaker to her spouse.
"Hey, how you doing, Ms. Scot." Angle asked extending his hand for a handshake.
"Please, call me Cathy. I knew you were Mr. Angle the moment I saw you. Your little son is the spitting image of you. It's truly uncanny." She told him accepting his handshake.
"Yeah, I hear that a lot. Thank you."
"Are both of the kids asleep?" Stephanie asked after scanning the room for either of her two children.
"Andrew is asleep in his nursery, and Aurora left almost an hour ago. Her father dropped by and picked her up"
"Oh really? He came by and took her home with him?" Steph asked making sure that she had indeed heard correctly. She folded her arms and waited for the nanny to explain.
"Well yes, I figured you were fine with it since he was suppose to take her earlier today. He asked me to put some clothing in an overnight bag for her and away they went. Why, is there a problem?"
Was there a problem? Steph had to take a few seconds to ask herself that. She was a bit surprised that he had decided to take Aurora overnight anyway after she had been admitted to the hospital. But why not? He was, after all, Aurora Rose's father and had every right to spend time with his child. Still, there was a part of Stephanie that was expecting her little girl home waiting for her, even if she was fast asleep in her bed, safe and sound.
"Oh, no, there's no problem." She finally answered back. "I know that it's getting late. You can go ahead and take off. It's starting to really pour out there, so be careful driving home."
"Do you need an umbrella?" Angle then offered chiming in right after his wife.
"No, thank you, I have a small one in my purse. Have a good night. I'll see you at normal time tomorrow morning?"
"Oh, you can come a little later in the morning if you'd like. Now that Kurt's home, there's no rush for you to get here that early. How does ten sound?"
"That sounds fine. I'll see you then." replied Cathy with a nod before leaving.
"I should call Paul and see how Aurora is doing." Steph immediately told Kurt after the nanny had left.
"Go ahead if you think you need to." Angle replied with a shrug of his shoulders before he started to walk out of the living room.
"Where are you going? You aren't going to bed already, are you?" Stephanie asked noticing his departure out of the corner of her eye.
"I'm going to sneak into the nursery and see my son. I missed the little guy." He admitted.
"You better not wake him up or it will be your responsibility to get him back to sleep." Stephanie warned him before picking up her cordless phone from its cradle on the coffee table.
Without even taking the time to find Paul's cell number under the programmed phone directory, she dialed in the numbers manually and brought the phone to her ear. Patiently she began to wait as the phone rang and rang.
"Answer your phone, Paul..." She muttered aloud while waiting for him to pick up.
"Hi this is Paul, I'm not available right now. Leave your name, number, and a brief message, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can." The recording played before a obnoxious beep.
"Uh, hi Paul, it's Steph. I just got home from the hospital and found out that you came and got Aurora. I was just calling to check on her. Please tell her that Mommy is okay and that I love her." Steph said into the phone with her voice trembling a little because of the awkwardness of saying what she had to say via voicemail.
"Um, I also wanted to thank you for all you did for me today. Mom told me that you stayed in the waiting room for a long while after you got me there because you were worried. And I-I really appreciate that. I'm sorry that I didn't get to see you there, but I was pretty overwhelmed. Uh okay, this is not a brief message at all, sorry. I guess I'll just see you tomorrow when you drop Aurora off before you go to SmackDown. Have a good night, bye."
"Was that your celly phone, Daddy?" Aurora asked several seconds after her father's cell phone finished playing it's ringtone.
"Yeah, it was."
She had been so engrossed in her playtime with all her toys at her daddy's house that she hadn't really reacted to the sound of the phone going off the minute it happened. Paul had had his cell phone sitting right next to him where he sat on his daughter's bed. He had leaned over with his face in his hands while listening to the sound of his three year old daughter playing. The ringtone only made him briefly glance at his call screen long enough to see that it was his ex-wife calling. He made no effort to move from his position.
"You not say hi to who call you?" She then asked looking up at her father with her head cocked slightly to the side. She was studying him.
"No, they'll leave a message." He told his daughter giving his well trimmed beard a scratch with his hand.
"Oh, okay, you come pway wif me now?" She then asked holding up the two small stuffed animals that she had been playing with.
Paul let a heavy breath out causing his hard chest to contract. His hazel eyes fixated on his cell phone call screen as it began to flash green and displayed the icon to show that he had a new voice message.
"Daddy?" Aurora asked again thinking that her father hadn't heard her the first time. He looked like he wasn't listening to her at all. She batted her little eyes a few times before getting to her feet.
"Daddy..." She said again moving across her bedroom to close the distance between her and her father.
Levesque couldn't bring himself to reply to his child. His daughter's voice sounded so angelic when she called to him. Ever since he had picked her up, he had been stuffing his emotions down within himself. He didn't want his little girl to see how much he was hurting inside. He had even evaded her questions about her mother's welfare when she asked.
Paul closed his eyes when his daughter approached him. He feared just looking at his beautiful child would make all his sadness about Stephanie come to the surface since she looked so much like her mother. And then he felt her. The soft touch of his little girl's hand grabbed his. At that moment, he couldn't help it. The tears began to flow freely from his eyes.
Paul breathed in deep and tried his best to suck it up. He kept telling himself that he wasn't going to do this with Aurora Rose standing right there. Leaning forward, he wiped away the remaining tears on his face with his hand.
"Daddy, what wong?" Aurora asked beginning to sound a bit upset herself both because she was seeing her daddy cry right in front of her and because he wasn't answering her inquiry.
How could he even begin to answer his three year old daughter's question. What wasn't wrong? He had been so close to exposing to his ex-wife how much he still loved her, only to be completely shut out with the return of Kurt Angle back into her life. How could he explain to his daughter the agony he felt in his heart when he thought of Stephanie having yet another child by Angle?
"Daddy?" He heard her say again and this time felt her small palm cup his cheek.
Levesque finally opened his eyes to see his little girl's angel eyes shimmering back at him. They were wide with fear and uncertainty. Her little pink bottom lip poked outward from her mouth and she began to bite down on it slightly. Instead of bringing himself to say a word, Levesque leaned forward and scooped his child up into his arms for an embrace.
With his three year old in his arms, Paul heard himself let out a small whimper. He slowly began to rock back forth, relishing having her there. She was the only solace he had. Tears began to stream down his face yet again. Right now, as it stood, Aurora Rose was the last part of Stephanie Marie McMahon that he had to hold onto; and he didn't want to let go.