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-Eight
"Yeah?" Paul answered back immediately. Stephanie had spoken first before he even had a chance to say hello.
"Where the hell are you? You were suppose to drop our daughter off at my house hours ago. Dad called asking me why you weren't at the SmackDown tapings. I was afraid something happened to you and Aurora." Steph explained doing her best to keep her emotions in check now that she knew that she had gotten a hold of her ex.
"Fuck your father, I'm tired of being his jobbing bitch. I decided to take Aurora up to Nashua to see my parents. They haven't seen her since she was a baby." explained Levesque in a low voice while looking on at his mother and father making over their granddaughter. He was standing far enough away that they wouldn't be able to hear his conversation with his former wife.
"So you just decided to take my child out of the state without even telling me?" Steph retorted with a bit of an attitude. Her fear had quickly turned to anger as soon as she knew that her little girl was safe with her father in New Hampshire.
"First of all, she is our child, not your child. I don't have to ask your permission to spend time with her. Secondly, I figured your nanny would tell you where we were going considering I stopped by your place to get her extra clothes." He said into the phone while his hazel eyes watched his mother, Patricia, hugging and kissing Aurora.
"Well she didn't, and I have primary custody of our daughter, so yes, you do have to check with me before you take her for longer than we agreed upon." Steph voiced in somewhat of a self-righteous tone.
"Well you just hold all the cards, don't you..." Paul muttered into his cell phone with a measure of defeat in his voice.
"Paul, it's not that I have any problem with Aurora going to see your parents. I think that's great. I just wish you would have okayed it with me first. I haven't seen my child since I had to go to the hospital."
"Well now you know how I feel most of the time. By the way, Steph, you're welcome for rushing you to the hospital when you almost lost your new precious Angle baby. Oh, that's right, I should have left what I had to say to you in a voice mail or text message." He told her with fake enthusiasm.
"C-Can I just speak to my daughter, please?" asked Stephanie deciding not to even acknowledge her ex's comments about his involvement in her seeking medical care nor how she chose to thank him for it.
Paul couldn't help but beam with pride at the sight of his father, Paul Sr., hugging Aurora Rose. From where he stood, he could see tears in his father's eyes. It was clear how much his father missed out being a grandfather to his little girl. Seeing how happy his dad was made him positive that he had made the right decision to bring his daughter up to see his parents.
"She's busy spending much needed time with her grandparents. I think it would be unwise for you to talk to her right now, because then she's going to start whining for you and I don't want that to ruin her reunion with my parents. I'll tell her you called though. By-"
"When are you bringing her back to me, Paul?" Steph quickly interrupted him before he could cut the conversation short.
Levesque couldn't deny it. He loved the fact that his ex-wife was now asking him when she was going to see their daughter. It was quite a role reversal. After a full year of having to cater to Stephanie and Kurt Angle's schedule so that he could see his child, he now held all the cards in the deck.
"I don't know, I guess after she has a good visit with her grandparents. I've got to go enjoy my time with my family. I'll be in touch, bye." He finally answered back and then ended the phone call without giving his former wife time to rebuttal.
Paul slipped his cell phone into his back pocket before venturing over to his parents who were still making over their granddaughter. He was anxious to hear what they thought about her since she was now a big girl of three years old and not the little baby they had last seen.
"Oh, she's precious, son. I'm so happy you decided to bring her home to see us." Patricia told him with nothing but love in her voice as she embraced him.
"Yeah, she's my baby girl. I'm glad we came up to see you and Dad. It will be nice to be around family." Paul admitted to his mother.
"Aurora Rose, I can't believe how much you've grown. The last time your grandma and I saw you, you were a little baby in your daddy's arms. And now look at you, a beautiful little girl." Paul Sr. said with pride looking down at his youngest grandchild.
Little Aurora looked to be a bit overwhelmed by all the attention she was getting from the elderly couple that seemed like complete strangers to her despite them saying that they knew her when she was a baby. Levesque took notice of his daughter's shy demeanor and in response, took the opportunity to formally introduce her to her paternal grandparents.
"Aurora, you probably don't remember these two people, but this is Daddy's mommy and daddy. They are your grandma and grandpa. They love you so much." Paul explained to his child.
"We sure do." Patricia chimed in as she lovingly swept her grandchild's hair back away from her small face.
"Can you say hi, sweetheart?" Levesque then asked his child wanting her to interact with his parents.
"Hi..." She muttered in a shy voice that was accompanied by a smile.
It was obviously going to take a little time for the three year old to warm up to her grandparents. She had just spent over three hours in her daddy's big car and had arrived at a house she had never been to before, meeting people that she was being told were her family. Did her mommy know that these people were her family?
"You really Daddy's mommy?" Aurora then asked Patricia after a moment of her little eyes darting back and forth between her father and grandmother.
"I sure am, and I'll tell you what, sweetheart, how about I show you the family album where there are lots and lots of pictures of your daddy when he was a little boy?" Mrs. Levesque offered extending her hand toward her granddaughter.
"Okay.." The child quickly answered back before grabbing hold of Patricia's hand in order to be lead further into the home. She loved looking at pictures, and she couldn't wait to see ones of her daddy when he was a kid.
"Are you doing all right? I mean, really? It's been forever since the last time we've seen you. You okay?" Paul Sr. asked his son the moment his wife and granddaughter left them standing in the foyer.
Even though Mr. Levesque hadn't heard any of the phone conversation that his son had just had, he could tell by how he was acting during the phone call that it wasn't of a particularly pleasant nature.
"I'm hanging in..." Paul Jr. muttered back as a vague answer to his father's inquiry.
He was determined not to drag his family into the problems with his ex-wife and her family. The visit was suppose to be a happy one. Levesque had to forget about the fact that despite his best efforts to be there for Stephanie and make up for their failed marriage, she wanted to stay with Angle. This trip home to New Hampshire was his attempt to escape it all. It wasn't just about skipping work to spend more time with his child, it was about walking out on the McMahon-Angle family and their attempts to hold him down both personally and professionally.
"I'll take that as you don't want to talk about it. If you change your mind and do, you know that your mother and I are here for you." He told his son with a swift pat on the back.
"I know, thanks." Paul replied to his father before giving him a smile to show his gratitude. He then ventured further into his parents' home to see where his mother and daughter were.
"Daddy, wook! You nakey in this picture! You butt out!" Aurora exclaimed in pure delight to her father as she pointed out to him a baby picture of him where he was walking away from the camera without a diaper on.
"Yeah, look how good Daddy's booty looked even back then." chuckled Paul as he looked down at his baby picture that his daughter was showing him.
Stephanie made her usual route into her home from the garage. Dropping her purse and cell phone in the kitchen, she then traveled into the living room where she found her husband playing with their son on the carpet floor. She stood there for a moment watching them without making her presence known. Her lips pulled taunt forming a smile watching them at play.
"Daddy's got your foot! I got your foot! I"m gonna eat that foot! Give me that foot! Hom-nom-nom-nom!" Angle announced aloud playfully while he grabbed hold of his baby boy's bare right foot and brought it to his mouth.
Andrew howled with laughter while his daddy began to pretend to bite him on his toes. And then Kurt switched gears, causing his child to laugh even more when he moved in and began to blow bubbles on Andy's clothed belly to tickle him.
"I see my boys were having fun while Mommy was away." Steph finally said aloud causing both Kurt and Andrew to look in her direction.
With the return of his mother, Andrew immediately left his daddy on the floor and toddled as fast as he could toward Stephanie with his arms in the air so that he could be picked up.
"Welcome home, Mommy. Is everything okay? What was that kind of frantic phone call asking about Paul all about?" Angle asked getting to his feet after he saw his wife scoop up their son.
"He was suppose to drop Aurora home earlier today. Instead, without even checking with me, he decided to blow off the SmackDown tapings and take her with him up to Nashua to visit his parents." explained Stephanie sounding a bit ticked off when she spoke of her ex-husband's actions.
"Well how long is he going to have her up there for? That's pretty ballsy of him just to leave the state with her without asking you first. Shit, if I ever did that to Karen, she'd have my balls in a vice." Kurt commented following Stephanie to the sofa where he sat down next to her. Little Andrew rested his head on his mommy's chest looking like he was ready to take a nap.
"Well, that might happen to him yet. He copped an attitude with me on the phone and didn't give me a chance to speak to Aurora and he wouldn't tell me when he's bringing her back." She muttered back while cuddling with her youngest born.
"Did you fill him in on the fact that you're pregnant and almost miscarried yesterday? The last thing you need is stress because of him. What a selfish asshole. He's lucky I don't kick his ass again." Angle commented with a great amount of resentment in his voice.
Despite the fact that she was less than thrilled with her ex-husband's decision to take their daughter to New Hampshire without clearing it with her, Kurt bashing him really didn't sit well with her. In no way could she overlook all Paul had done for her just the day before. He had driven her to the hospital and had stayed there worrying about her welfare for over two hours; that was hardly the actions of someone who was a selfish asshole. Angle needed to know that.
"I didn't need to fill him in about anything because he was the one who had to take me to the hospital yesterday. And instead of wanting to kick his ass, you should be thanking him." Steph told her husband saying what she thought he needed to hear.
"What? I thought your mom brought you to the hospital." Kurt finally asked back after a moment or so of awkward silence where he was obviously processing what she had just said to him.
"I never said she did. Mom was first on the scene at the hospital after I got there. Paul was at the house just to pick up Aurora when I started cramping really bad and found I was bleeding. So Cathy stayed with the kids, and Paul drove me to the hospital." Stephanie explained to elaborate further on the circumstances for which Paul was involved.
"And that's it? He just drove you there?" Angle asked back almost like he was giving her a chance to add anything other important detail that she might have 'forgotten' to tell him.
"Yes, he was just there when it all happened. Right place, right time, that's all. I would have asked a ride from anyone. The last time I saw him yesterday was when I was admitted in emergency. I was by myself on the maternity floor until Mom came."
Stephanie let out a scoff before shaking her head. There he went again assuming that there was more going on between her and her ex-husband than there really was. But wait, didn't something happen between them? It wasn't like she had asked for it, but in the midst of comforting her, Levesque had kissed her. But she had broken it without kissing him back. There was no reason to bring it up, because it didn't have any meaning to her.
"Shit..." Angle mumbled back as he too began to shake his head.
"What, you don't believe me?" She asked back in somewhat of a miffed voice.
Angle shifted his muscular frame on the sofa so that he was directly facing his wife. His brilliant blue eyes pierced through hers as he gave her a look of sincerity. He lifted one of her hands that was lying on their son's back and held it in his hand. His lips parted and he then spoke:
"That's not it...I do believe you. I'm just-I'm just mad at myself. I should have been the one who was there for you and our unborn baby, not Paul, me. I would have never been able to forgive myself if you lost the baby and I wasn't there to support you." muttered Kurt. His voice sounded strained like he was fighting to keep himself from getting emotional.
Steph sighed while at the same time her mouth formed a sympathetic smile. She was relieved to hear that his frustration lied within himself instead of with her for allowing her former husband to be involved with her seeking medical attention.
With her hand still in his, she began to squeeze it back slightly before responding to his heartfelt words.
"Well, I didn't lose the baby. I also know that the reason you weren't there is because I threw you out of our house, had I not, you would have been there for me. And I know that, because of how quickly you rushed to my side at the hospital."
"Nothing could have kept me away, Steph. No MMA contract offerings, no matter how sweet of a deal they offered me. You and my kids are my life, and you guys come first before everything else." pledged Angle as he slowly began to close the distance between them on the sofa.
Stephanie smiled seeing his advances. Her response to him inching closer toward her was to move closer to him, catching his lips with hers in a lip lock. While the kiss quickly turned into an opened mouth one, it was still somewhat conservative due to the fact that their one year old child was still in Steph's arms. Like he was making sure his parents hadn't forgotten him, Andrew leaned up smacked his hand onto his father's face causing his mother and father to break their kiss.
"Hey buddy, what was that for? Don't hit Daddy." Kurt asked in a light hearted tone.
His son hadn't hit him that hard. It was like the child had simply wanted to reach up and get his attention. Andy smiled and began to babble the moment after all of his parents attention was back on him.
"No hitting Daddy, little man. Only Mommy delivers slaps in this family." She chuckled before giving her son's little hand a quick kiss.
"I know what, I'm gonna do! I'm going to eat that little hand! Give me that hand, Mommy! Hom-nom-nom-nom!" Angle exclaimed in his best monster voice while taking their child's hand away from his wife. He then stuck a few of the chubby digits between his lips so that he could pretend to be eating them. Andrew Vincent's whole body began to shake as he literally began to vibrate with laughter.
"No, Daddy, don't eat up my baby boy!" giggled Stephanie pulling her son's hand away from his daddy. She was more than willing to play along with their game. The sound of her children's laughter was her favorite sound in the whole world.
Kurt simply chuckled while watching his wife plant a few kisses on their child's cheeks. Focusing on the side of his son's face, close to where his wife was kissing him, he began to notice a faint light purple mark on the baby's skin. Was that from today during his watch? He hadn't noticed it since he had been back home.
"Hey babe, what's that on the side of his face? Is that a bruise or am I just seeing dirt or food on him?" He questioned aloud in order to get a second opinion from his spouse.
Stephanie didn't even need to look at the side of her baby's face to know what it was he was referring to. She knew full well that that bruise had been a result of Andrew falling into the glass coffee table under Paul's watch. Did he have to know that though? Knowing Levesque had anything to do with the fall would most surely cause Kurt to think that her ex hurt their son. Steph hesitated for only a few seconds before giving him a reply.
"Andy was playing in here yesterday and tripped over one of his toys. He smacked his head into the coffee table pretty hard, but he was very stoic. He barely cried at all. Andy Angle's tough like his daddy."
"Shit, really? The glass coffee table? I guess that stuff happens while he's just starting to walk. Who was watching him? You or Cathy?" Kurt then inquired with concern.
He wondered if his son was unsupervised when it happened. At the same time, also in the back of his mind, he wondered if Paul was there when the incident had taken place. Steph had already admitted that he was there at their home to pick up Aurora. He was sure Levesque had physically harmed Andrew before, even if he couldn't get his wife to believe him. And now, after he and Steph were finally back together, there was no way he was going to come right out and accuse her ex-husband of hurting their son yet again.
Stephanie looked away from her husband's gaze for a quick instant as her mind was processing his inquiry.
Jesus, he was now asking her who was with Andrew when he fell. There was no way she was going to let him know that Paul was watching both children for her while she was working in the office and Cathy was running an errand. If she lied and said Cathy was the one who was watching him, there was a chance that he would ask their nanny about the incident and quickly find out that Catherine was not there to witness it.
"I was watching him. Kurt, toddlers often fall. I put a cold compress on the bump to make the swelling go down and he was fine. The bruise will go away in a few days. To be honest, I had completely forgotten about it until you asked me."
"All right, well, I guess we'll need to be more careful leaving his toys all over. I'm just glad he's okay." He replied with a sigh of relief.
Stephanie nodded in agreement and then allowed her husband to take their son from her arms. She then sat back into the sofa and smiled while watching her husband and baby interacting happily.
She had just lied to Kurt by saying that she was the one who was watching Andrew when he fell. But that was the best card she had to play. If she would have told him the truth than he would have immediately jumped to the conclusion that Paul had maliciously done something to their baby. It was best for everyone that she just fibbed and said it happened on her watch so that there would be no issue and they could move on. Thankfully, Angle seemed to be satisfied with her story.
Spending the night at his parents' house had landed Paul and Aurora in his old room from his childhood. Everything was the same as the last time he had visited when he was still with Stephanie. His parents had kept all of his old little league trophies, baseball cards, and catcher's mitt; everything that he had once taken pride in displaying when he was a little tyke.
He remembered how much Steph loved seeing the room of his childhood. Spending time with family had always been high on his and Stephanie's list of things to do together as a couple. Ironically, it was after the birth of their child, an event that usually brought a family closer together, that signaled the last of the family vacations to Nashua.
Paul didn't have his family anymore. Perhaps that was the reason he had refrained from visiting his mother, father, and the rest of his family after the marital discord began. He didn't want them to see how much he had lost within the last year. He didn't want his elderly parents to see how miserable his life had become after Steph had left him. But enough was enough. With discovering his ex-wife's second Angle pregnancy, he could feel a wave of brooding depression beginning to wash over him. This time was different, because his mood could potentially hurt his daughter. The fact that he lost control and ranted angrily about Stephanie in front of his three year old was proof of that. Paul couldn't let that happen. He had worked so hard in helping his little girl to warm back up to him.
Taking Aurora with him on an impromptu visit back to see his family in his hometown was definitely an act of seeking sanctuary. Sanctuary from everything in his life that was turning disastrous regardless of his best efforts. And what a good idea it had been. Seeing his little girl spending time with his mother and father gave him such joy that for the day, Stephanie McMahon-Angle had escaped his thoughts. It had been a good day.
"Here we are, all tucked in and ready for a good night's rest. Did you have fun today at Grandma and Grandpa's house?" asked Paul while he lovingly tucked his baby girl into bed.
"Yeah...I wuv my pwesent that Grandma got-ed me." Aurora commented holding up the small plush doll that her grandma Patricia had surprised her with just before dinner time. It was a soft dolly that wore a pink dress and matching shoes. On its head was yellow yarn strands bunched into two pigtails.
"That was a nice gift. She and grandpa love you very much. Does that dolly have a name yet?"
"Claire!" She exclaimed with enthusiasm holding the doll out to her father for him to interact with her new toy.
"That's a good name, sweetheart. I'm going to give Aurora and Claire both a kiss because it's their bedtime. And tomorrow we'll have some more fun together, okay?" Levesque said back giving both the doll and his daughter a quick kiss before getting up to leave the room.
"Daddy?" The three year old quickly called out before her father could make it to the light switch by the door.
"Yes, sweetheart." Paul whispered in response to his child calling for him. He turned back to face her.
"We go home tomo-woah?"
"You want to go home? Back to daddy's house?" Levesque asked as he slowly began to walk back to the bed.
Aurora Rose shook her head while at the same time she slightly bit her bottom lip.
"No, I wanna go home to Mommy. I want my mommy, Daddy." The child admitted while hugging her new doll tightly to her.
There it was again. His former wife being brought up out of the blue by their daughter. Wasn't she having a terrific time with him in New Hampshire? Hadn't the day been exciting enough to keep her thoughts about mommy at bay? She was with Daddy and that should have been good enough for her. Paul had planned on visiting with his parents for at least two more days.
"Are you happy here in New Hampshire with your Daddy and his mommy and daddy? Wouldn't you like to stay just a few more days so that you could meet your aunt Lynn and your cousins, Neysa and Peter?"
"No, I miss my mommy. I wanna go home to Mommy." She quickly replied back in a whine after shaking her head adamantly.
Levesque let out a long sigh before scratching his well manicured beard with his hand. He was somewhat disappointed by the fact that his daughter was ready to go back to the Angle home after only spending one full day with him. His knee jerk reaction was to get upset by his daughter's blatant favoring of being with her mother over him and his family. But he quickly curtailed his emotions and instead gave in to his daughter's wanting.
"I'll take you to your mommy tomorrow night, okay?" Paul then asked in a sympathetic tone of voice.
His words caused a smile to form on Aurora's face. She nodded her head in approval before tucking the covers under her chin and then turning onto her side. Seeing this signaled Levesque to walk back to the door of his bedroom.
"Night-night, baby." He whispered with love before flicking the light off in the room.
Knowing about his daughter's fear of the dark and en lieu of a nightlight, Paul left the bedroom door halfway open. The moonlight from the nearby hallway window shined into the bedroom to provide natural light shining into the room for Aurora.
"Did our little darling get settled in okay?" Mrs. Levesque asked her son the moment he entered the kitchen where she was still cleaning up.
"Yeah, she was fine. You need any help with anything, Mom?"
"No son, I'm fine. I just have a few more dishes and cups to rinse out and put in the dishwasher. I know I said this earlier, but I'm so happy that you and Aurora are here to visit. It feels like forever since I've seen the both of you. I still can't believe how much she has grown." Patricia gushed.
"Yeah, she's growing like a weed. And I swear, if I didn't know any better, I would have thought that Steph just cloned herself. She's got all her mother's looks. I see Steph every time I look at her."
"Well, I think she definitely does favor her mother, but as your mother, I can say that I see you in Aurora too." She assured him with a knowing smile before going back to loading dishes into the dishwasher.
"Thanks, Mom, but she's a mommy's girl. She just told me at bedtime that she wants to go home to her mommy tomorrow. I've only had her since late yesterday and she already wants to go back to her mother. How am I suppose to feel good about that, Mom?" He complained aloud to his mother.
"Aw, she's probably not used to being away from Stephanie for too long. Poor baby, it has to be so hard for her not having you and Stephanie together. I can only imagine what she's been going through." Patricia commented letting her compassion for her youngest grandchild shine through during her mundane kitchen chores.
"We've all gone through a lot. You have no idea..." Paul muttered back diverting his eyes downward toward the kitchen floor.
Mrs. Levesque quickly picked up on the overwhelming sadness in her son's voice. She stopped what she was doing, dried her hands with the dishtowel, and then placed one of her hands on her son's shoulder. She knew that something was plaguing him. She could only hope that he would be forthcoming about it if she asked him. They had always had a great relationship since Paul was a small child.
"You know you can talk to me. Whatever you are going through, I'm here. I had a feeling something was going on with you. We've lost touch these past several months. I haven't been able to get you on the phone or to return my calls."
"I know, it's my fault, I've just been so preoccupied with life. I know that's no excuse but my world has been completely turned upside down since my divorce from Steph." He explained with a large amount of guilt in his voice. He knew his excuse wasn't a valid one to make up for the fact that he had been avoiding talking with his mother.
"Is it the custody arrangement for Aurora that is upsetting you? I always liked Stephanie and thought she would be more than fair with you when it came to Aurora and what was best for her." She inquired, searching her mind for the cause of her son's problems.
"Mom, it's-it's everything. It's Stephanie's blind love for her new replacement husband, Kurt Angle. It's knowing that Angle gets to be with my little girl more than I do. It's the fact that despite all the efforts I've made to be the man that Steph fell in love with, she doesn't see it." blurted out Paul in a single breath as he began to get his tribulations off his chest.
He could feel his chest tightening as soon as he listed off everything that had been eating away at him for the past year. This was the first time he had actually systematically voiced his list of grievances aloud. Sure he had shared some of those problems with Shawn, but he had stopped doing so months ago when he realized that all he would receive back was a Holy sermon.
Patricia's mouth gapped open slightly while she attempted to formulate in her mind the best response she should give him after he had just shared so much with her. She wet her lips and was about to speak when her son beat her to it.
"And to top it all off, she's pregnant again. Do you believe that?" He muttered in a voice that reflected his anger and frustration with his ex.
"Who? Stephanie?" Mrs. Levesque asked. She was already pretty sure that he was speaking about his former wife, but she just wanted to make sure she was still following him.
"Yeah, she's having her second kid with Angle...After all I've done to prove to her that I'm the same guy she fell in love with, she gets knocked up by him again. I mean, am I invisible to her? Do I no longer exist?"
"Son, have you tried telling Stephanie how you feel? I know that would be kind of awkward since from what you have told me, it seems like she has already moved on with her life." Patricia pointed out with a subtle shrug of her shoulders.
"Yeah, in so many words...It hasn't really changed anything. She's still with him." He muttered back in a dull voice.
"Well then, I think you have your answer. I'm sorry to say this son, but, I think if she felt the same about you then she would have left her new husband to be with you." She pointed out before closing her eyes. It really pained her to have to be so frank with her son who she loved, but it was something she felt he needed to hear.
Paul's bearded jaw trembled before he breathed in deep through his large nostrils. His emotions were starting to get the best of him and he couldn't have it. There was no way he was going to lose control in front of his own mother. Levesque let out a loud grunt, clearing his throat before he spoke.
"I'm really beat, I should be getting to bed. Night, Mom." He muttered moving away from his mother's hand that was still on his shoulder.
"Paul?" Mrs. Levesque called after her son before he had a chance to walk out of the kitchen.
His mother's voice beckoning him caused Paul to freeze in place. He let out a forced sigh, not bothering to turn and face her for the fear of losing control of his emotions would follow after he laid eyes on the woman who had given him life.
"What should matter most to you is Aurora, not your ex-wife. Your daughter needs you to be there for her like I've been there for you all of your life. That baby girl upstairs is your greatest accomplishment, not your success in body building or all the WWE championships you've won. Please never lose sight of that. You should be thankful for that beautiful gift God has bestowed upon you instead of focusing on what was taken away." Patricia told him in the most serious tone of voice that she could muster.
Paul stood there in the kitchen a moment longer. He had no words to say in response to his mother's. While her words were that of wisdom, they were not the least bit comforting to him in his time of psychological turmoil. His problem wasn't a lack of love and appreciation for Aurora Rose, it was the fact that he was still very much in love with the woman who had given him said child.
"Night..." He muttered back before shuffling forward leaving his mother alone in the kitchen.