Disclaimer Seth Rollins, is the property of the WWE and/or the actor / sports entertainer / superstar that portray him. This story is intended as tribute only and is not intended to infringe on any copyrights.

Original characters are the property of myself, and only children of my own imagination. Any resemblance to any real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

The Girl Who Lives
Part Eight

While Seth normally liked to go to the gym every day, he made an exception for the pay-per-views. Since the matches were often much more intense than regular matches, he wanted to make sure he was at full energy. He did stretch before his matches, but he would do that at the arena.

Since Kayla was there, they both decided to go to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. As they walked in, both of them saw the place was busy and it wasn't all customers. There seemed to be some media event going on. "Is everything okay?" Seth asked the hostess.

She nodded. "Some of the wrestlers are having breakfast with Preston Caldwell and his family," she said, her voice oozing with warmth and enthusiasm. "He's the little Make a Wish-" she stopped abruptly, realizing who she was talking to. "I'm sorry, of course you know who Preston is! He's such a brave, wonderful little boy! The press are here talking to them and the family. I hope they give the poor little boy a chance to eat! He needs to keep up his strength."

Plans must have changed, Seth thought, They decided to bring the Caldwells here for breakfast. He really didn't care if Preston, Andrea and Myron were there, but he was wondering if maybe he could see Payton. If she was involved with the press fuss going on. He would guess that while she was sitting with her family and everyone else, she probably wasn't exactly a part of it. Maybe someone would ask her a question about her brother and she would parrot something about how brave and wonderful he was, something that would later make the cutting room floor.

"Can we still get a table?" Kayla asked the hostess. "Or is the place closed off to the public?"

It was a rather silly question, there were other patrons in the restaurant, but it had the desired effect, which was to get the hostess to remember her job. "Oh! Yes, of course you can!" She grabbed a couple of menus. "Please, follow me."

She lead them to a booth that was near enough to the Caldwells to see what was going on, but not close enough that he worried Preston might see them and start squawking about the restaurant's right to serve "Bad guys," at least not until the excitement died down. As they were sitting down, Seth looked over at the group, seeing if Payton was obvious. His gaze first fell to Preston and he felt something lurch inside of him. It had been less than a month since he had seen the boy, but the last time he saw him, Preston looked frail, but fairly healthy. The boy was thinner now, and it looked as if his eyebrows may have fallen victim to chemotherapy. But the worst was the dark bruises all around the kid's eyes, making him look like someone had socked him in the face several times. He was sitting in Dolph's lap, and he was grinning, but he had a tired appearance to him as if life had just been taking it all out of him.

Seth suddenly felt awful for every bad thought he had ever had about the kid. If he had to make a bet, Preston wasn't going to be around much longer. He looked over at Kayla, who was looking at him with an expression that told him she had seen Preston too. "Pay said his cancer wasn't diminishing as much as they hoped," he said, keeping his voice soft. "But I'm wondering if it's actually getting worse."

"I don't know," Kayla said, biting her lower lip. "I know that chemo can be worse than the cancer in side effects. Preston just finished up another set of treatments this week, right? They might be making him pretty sick."

He was about to comment, when out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement in the direction of the Caldwells and looked. Payton was looking at him, waving. The table was thick with wrestlers, Caldwells, and members of the press. Besides Dolph, Hunter and Stephanie were there, along with Daniel and Brie, John and Nikki, AJ and Paige. They had set up the biggest table for them. Payton was sitting at the end, next to her mother, but slightly apart too. He smiled and waved back. "That's Pay," he said, motioning his head to the little girl.

"She's a cutie," Kayla said, waving herself.

Payton leaned over and said something to her mother, and Seth saw Andrea nod, but it was an absent minded nod, as if she wasn't truly hearing what was being said to her. Andrea's real attention was focused on her son and all the commotion. Stephanie was telling the press that it was time to pack it up, that Preston and everyone needed to eat and the press was rushing to comply. There was something about Stephanie that said without words that Stephanie could be a sweetheart, as long as you didn't cross her, but cross her and she could and would make your life miserable. The press sensed this and scurried to do as she requested and get out of there.

Payton slipped away from the table and ran over to Seth and Kayla's table. Seth saw her coming and turned in the booth so he was sitting sideways at the edge. She hesitated for only a second, but when Seth opened his arms, she almost threw herself into them, hugging him tightly. "Uncle Seth!" she said, softly, but enthusiastically.

"Pay!" He matched her tone in both volume and emotion. "How are you doing, sweetie?"

The drew apart. "I'm doing good," she said. She looked over at Kayla who was watching the two of them, a warm smile on her face. "Hi," Payton said, shyly.

"Payton, this is Kayla, my fiancee," Seth said. "Kayla, this is Payton, champion Nerf player, amazing photographer, and all around awesome kid."

"It's nice to meet you, Payton," Kayla said, "I've heard a lot about you."

"It-it's nice to meet you, Ms. -" Payton paused and looked helpless.

"Springer," Kayla filled in for her, "But you can call me Kayla, if you want.'

Payton shook her head. "You're an adult."

"All right, then you can call me Ms. Springer, if that would make you feel more comfortable," Kayla said, smoothly. "If, once we get to know each other better, you want to call me Aunt Kayla, that would be fine too."

Payton smiled, shyly. "All right."

There was a waitress over at the table with Payton's family. Kayla looked and then back at Payton. "Would you like to join Seth and I for breakfast?" she asked.

Payton's eyes lit up, then dimmed. "I don't know if they'll let me," she mumbled.

"Why don't I go ask your mother?" And before Seth or Payton could say a word, Kayla got up and headed over. They both watched as Kayla slid next to Andrea. The Caldwells and company were sitting at a table that had beach seating on one side, and chairs on the other. Andrea was sitting on the end of the bench seating, with plenty of room to spare. As they watched, Kayla seemed to be having a fairly animated conversation with Andrea, then Myron. They looked over in Seth and Payton's direction a couple times, looking puzzled. Finally, though, there were nods and Kayla smiled and slipped away, coming back over to them.

"It's just fine," she said, cheerfully.

"What did you say to them?" Payton asked. Seth moved further down in the booth and she sat next to him, looking happily surprised.

"I just told them that we asked you to join us for breakfast and you wanted to, as long as it was all right with them. I did remind them that you two had met before and were friends." Kayla smiled. "So, it's all set."

"Thank you," Payton said, her voice almost cracking with gratitude.

"You're welcome," Kayla said, still smiling at the young girl. "I want a chance to get to know you better, anyway. You've managed to charm the socks off my fiance, and not everyone can say that."

Payton looked at Kayla and nodded quickly. "He-he-he-" she stuttered, then stopped, shrugged and took a deep breath. "He's Uncle Seth," she said softly, but clearly. "And I love him."

Seth put his arm around the girl giving her a quick, half hug. "I love you too, Niece Payton." Could we be any slushier? he found himself thinking, but truth was, yeah, it was slushy, but he liked it.

They had omelets, all three of them, stuffed with cheese and other things. Payton wanted every type of vegetable they could find to put into hers, which included broccoli, mushrooms, green and red peppers, onions, cauliflower, tomatoes and spinach. When it arrived, it was huge, vegetables spilling out of it, as if it had exploded, but she ate every bite of it as well as the home fries and toast it came with, and she drank a huge glass of orange juice and another of milk. Seth was pretty sure Payton had one of those marvelous metabolisms that allowed her to eat like a horse, but he still wondered if there were times when meals were skipped, likely due to Preston's health issues. Andrea and Myron weren't overweight, but they weren't as reed thin as their daughter, although being adults, their metabolisms might have slowed down. They need to remember that Payton has to eat, even if they don't want to and Preston can't, he told himself. He had fallen in the habit of making this mental checklist of all the things he wanted to tell Payton's folks. The list seemed to get longer every day.

While they ate, Seth and Payton did most of the talking. Kayla wasn't rude, she laughed at the appropriate times and made the occasional comment that fit in with the conversation, but Seth knew her well enough to know she was thinking about something. She was also looking over at the Caldwells a fair bit, not obviously so, but enough that Seth had a pretty good idea what was on her mind.

His suspicions proved correct when they were just about finished. "Do you worry what will happen if your parents find out about that phone?" Kayla casually asked Payton.

For a moment, Payton looked surprised, then she looked away, down at her plate. "A little," she mumbled, then looked up. "But I'm very careful, I swear I am!"

"I know you are, sweetie," Kayla said, her voice warm and sympathetic. "But wouldn't it be easier if your folks knew about the phone?"

"But if Preston sees it, he'll want it!" Payton said, a hard, stressful edge coming to her voice. "And my folks will tell me to let him play with it, just because they don't want problems! And he'll break it! He's always breaking stuff! He won't realize this phone isn't a toy he can throw around!"

"What if we could work our way around that?" Kayla asked, still smiling, her voice still warm. "Would you feel better then if your folks knew about the phone?"

Payton hesitated, looking nervous and worried, but she finally nodded. "I guess."

"Do you have the phone with you?" When Payton nodded, Kayla smiled. "Give it to me, okay? Do it under the table." Payton was puzzled, but she did as instructed. Kayla popped the phone into her purse and took a sip of coffee. Payton watched her cautiously as did Seth. He was confident Kayla knew what she was doing, he just didn't know what exactly she was doing. A few minutes later, she pulled the phone out of her purse and handed it to Payton. Payton took it with trembling hands. "Don't put it away," Kayla said. "Don't turn it on either, just hold it, like I just gave it to you, like you're seeing it for the very first time."

"What are you doing?" Seth asked, a half smile on his face.

"You'll see." Kayla got up from the booth and went back over to the table where the Caldwells and the wrestlers were eating breakfast. She slipped in next to Andrea and said something to her. Andrea shook her head, but Kayla kept talking. Less than a minute later, Andrea whispered something to Myron, and then she and Kayla came back to the table.

"Mrs. Caldwell," Kayla began.

"Call me Andrea," Mrs. Caldwell suggested, looking from Seth, to Payton, then to Kayla.

"Andrea then," Kayla said, wearing one of her brightest smiles. "I just gave Payton that phone she's holding. It's a burner phone I happened to have. As it turns out, I don't need it. Seth and I recently switched providers to a company that gave us a fantastic plan and a couple of terrific phones. Payton here tells me she doesn't have a computer anymore-"

"She does," Andrea said, frowning at her daughter, who quickly looked away.

"Right," Kayla said, nodding, "My bad. She said that she and her brother share a computer, but she doesn't like going into his room when he's resting for fear of waking him up. She knows he needs his rest and so she hates going to use the computer when he might be sleeping."

Andrea's expression softened and she nodded. "Payton's a good girl," she finally said, giving her daughter a smile. Payton smiled back, but Seth didn't really have that feeling he was witnessing a warm mother-daughter moment. It came across more like Andrea was speaking of an old family pet, a good dog, who had never caused much trouble, but instead spent his days sleeping on the back porch and staying out of everyone's way.

Is that Payton? Seth wondered, Is she a good girl who stays out of everyone's way?

"Well, anyway, with the plan and the phone I got from it, I find I don't need this phone at all. It gets internet, email, all those things. Plus, she can text on it and all such. It's just wasting space in my purse, so I thought I'd give it to Payton."

"Are you sure?" Andrea asked. "I mean, we can't afford-"

"It's prepaid," Kayla interrupted to remind her again. "I wasn't thinking when it was bought and everything is paid for on it for quite awhile and I just don't need it. Payton says she could use it, so I'd like to give it to her. Is that all right?"

"Well, if you really don't need it," Andrea said, a bit hesitantly. "I guess it's all right."

"Wonderful!" Kayla beamed ignoring the look of disappointment on Payton's face as she no doubt was thinking of what Preston would do to this phone once he got his hands on it. "But, the only thing is, Andrea, that I really want you and your husband to understand, I'm giving this phone to Payton. I understand that Preston is at that age where he wants to do whatever his big sister does, but I really think he's too young to properly handle a phone like this. Payton, on the other hand, is older and I think she knows to be careful."

"Oh!" Andrea said, "Well, you see-"

"-Yes," Kayla interrupted. Seth was watching her with amazement, she really had this figured out, he was sure of it. "I see perfectly well. Preston will want the phone if he sees it and it's very hard to convince a child he can't have something when he sees his sister has it. So, what Payton and I agreed would be best, is if she promises not to use the phone when Preston is around. That way, Preston won't see it and he won't ask to use it!" Kayla leaned back and beamed, looking both innocent and smug at the same time.

Seth wanted to clap for her. Kayla had seen the problem and found the solution. No, Payton wouldn't be able to whip out the phone and use it any time she wanted, but she no longer had to worry about her parents catching her with it. And he knew her parents wouldn't bother to check the phone and see she had owned it longer than just today. Kayla figured that out, too. She hadn't lied either, she just gave Andrea the wrong impression of how the phone came to be a gift to Payton.

"So, we have this all figured out, right?" Kayla was still smiling, that warm, sweet smile of hers. "I'll give Payton the phone and it's hers and hers alone. And, just so Preston won't feel jealous, Payton will make sure never to use it around Preston. Does that work for you, Payton?"

Payton said nothing, but nodded eagerly. She was still holding the phone, curled in her hand as if it were an anchor in her life.

Kayla looked at Andrea and smiled. "Thank you so much. I feel better knowing someone will get use out of it. Otherwise, it would just be sitting in my purse."

Andrea nodded, looking slightly dazed as if she wasn't quite sure what had happened. Finally, she looked at Payton. "What do you say, Payton?"

Payton looked at Kayla with a look of admiration and gratitude. "Thank you, Ms. Springer, thank you so much!"

Seth wasn't sure if it was that he had his girlfriend with him, or if things just worked out, but the next thing he knew it, the Caldwells and that entire table were getting ready to leave, to go to St. Jude to visit some of the kids there that would not be healthy enough to leave the hospital to attend the PPV. The WWE network had arranged for the PPV to be shown at the hospital, free of charge for anyone there who wanted to see it. And all of Preston's favorite wrestlers would go over with Preston to visit with the kids. That wasn't unexpected. What was unexpected was that when the Caldwells came over to collect Payton, he saw the look of resigned disappointment on her face and the next thing he knew it, he was asking if it might be all right for Payton to stay with him and Kayla, that they would make sure she got to the event in plenty of time to join up with her family again. And amazingly enough, the Caldwells seemed to think this was a wonderful plan. Perhaps it was Kayla, a man and his fiancee probably seemed more on the up and up than a single guy taking an interest in a young girl.

While the Caldwells and company headed for St. Jude's, Seth, Kayla, and Payton headed for the arena together. When they got there, they discovered that Kayla wasn't the only fiancee/spouse who had decided to come, Jessica and Cinnamon were there too, along with Neil and Leah. It was like a family-by-choice reunion in the backstage area with a lot of hugging. Seth had the feeling that Dean and Roman had told Jessica and Cinnamon about Payton, because they didn't seem surprised she was with them, and they treated her as if she were a beloved family member of Seth's, a niece or baby sister they were meeting for the first time. Introductions were made, hugs were exchanged. The children were all introduced and in the way that children have when lumped together, they soon started talking and playing as if they had known each other all their lives. They had met up in the catering area backstage, which had a fair amount of room. Other young children were there, offspring or other relations to the wrestlers and soon enough it seemed like a mob of children were running around playing. Seth watched, a lump in his throat as he saw Payton looking so happy, running around with the others, talking, laughing, and having fun.

He would have liked to have stayed longer and watched, but soon enough, he and the other superstars that would be in the PPV were called to meetings. It was time to earn that paycheck.

End of Part Eight

Special Thanks To:

Zipper: (I hope you don't mind that I shortened your handle) I was wondering at first who you were and if maybe you weren't trolling me a bit with the "suck" remark. But, when you mentioned "C," I think I know who you are. I'm glad you liked the story so far. I hope you keep reading it.

Emilee: Thanks. I figure Seth would need someone who's fun to be around, playful, but who can think quick on her feet. With a touch of bossiness to her as well. (Something that came in rather handy with this chapter) And yes, clever Dean. I figure Dean would understand the most how it feels to be left out of a group, and would find it the most important to remind Seth if he's not a brother in the ring, he's a brother outside of it.

Bianca: You're welcome. Thank you for your review, I really do appreciate it and hope you keep loving this story.

Holly: Well, it looks like you got your wish with this chapter. Payton not only got to meet Kayla, but met Leah, Neil, Cinnamon and Jessica, too. I hope you liked it, that it lived up to your expectations.

Author's Notes: Again, just a reminder that I'm trying to keep on top of this story, but it is the busy season at work and thus, I have more hours and longer hours. But I will do my best to keep up with this.

134 reviews, 34 favorites, 54 follows, I'm amazed. Thank you so much for supporting this story, it means a lot to me. Again, broken record time, but all these comments on the story really do keep me going when the temptation to "put it on hold" creeps into my brain. So, yeah, keep the encouragement coming, I really do appreciate it.

Until next time

Peace Out

Willow.