Disclaimer Seth Rollins, and the various other superstars mentioned in this story are the property of the WWE and/or the actors / sports entertainers / superstars that portray them. 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 Eighteen

Friday, the day of the funeral, was one of those beautiful spring days, that contained a faint trace of winter and a hint of Summer to come. Seth didn't know if he liked this, or if he would have felt better if it were raining. He supposed that the sun was nice for one thing, that when the graveside ceremony happened, they wouldn't all get soaking wet. But it seemed a little off that such a beautiful day would be one to put a child into the ground forever.

As they were heading out to the car to go to the funeral home, where the funeral would take place, Payton stopped, looked at the brilliant blue sky, sniffed the air and smiled. "Preston loved this kind of weather," she said. "He hated being too cold or too hot. Today is like a Goldilocks day, it's just right."

"Then it's a good day to say good bye, isn't it?" Kayla asked.

Payton nodded and walked over to the car. She looked pleased as if she felt this day had been a gift from Preston.

Seth suddenly felt that maybe the weather wasn't so bad after all. He made sure Payton was bucked in properly before he got into the driver's seat and started the car.

He wasn't always sure how Payton was doing with this or not. Since the breakdown at the wake, she had seemed to be fine one minute, then very emotional the next. Yesterday they both took her to see the grief counselor, but Payton went into the session alone. When she came out, she seemed quiet, but her eyes weren't tear stained. Seth had gotten on the internet last night, when Payton was sleeping, to do some research about how children mourn, but it wasn't as much help as he thought it would be. He was hoping for a chart or something he could use to go, "Okay, that means this," instead he found that a child in mourning was much like an adult in mourning, they handled it in different ways. From the best he could tell, Payton was handling it well, that children often went through times when they acted very okay with this, then there would be times when the tears fell, for reasons other than mourning. He had seen an example of that earlier, when they were about to eat dinner, and he asked her what she wanted to drink.

"Can I have some grape juice?" she asked.

Seth looked in the refrigerator and shook his head. "Sorry, Pay, no grape, I think you finished the last bottle yesterday. We have peach, apple, and cherry." He waited calmly to hear her second choice.

Payton, this normally calm and accepting child, surprised Seth and Kayla, by bursting into tears. "I wanted grape juice!" she wailed.

Seth stood there, door of the refrigerator still opened, not knowing what to do. He had seen Payton cry before, of course, but there had always been a legitimate reason for her tears. He had never seen her cry over something trivial as juice. Kayla wrapped her arm around the girl, in a half hug. "I'm sorry, Payton," she said. "I know you're sad, but we don't have any grape juice."

"I could go get some," Seth offered, figuring if grape juice was this important, it was worth dinner getting cold to get her some, but Kayla shook her head.

"This isn't about grape juice," she said, still hugging Payton.

"It's not?"

"No." She turned her attention back to Payton. "The next time we pick up groceries, we'll buy you more grape juice, but for right now, we just don't have any."

"But I wanted grape juice with my d-d-dinner!" Payton sobbed into Kayla's shoulder. "It's not fair!"

"If this isn't about grape juice," Seth found himself asking, "Then why are we talking about grape juice?"

"Because grape juice is just an excuse her mind is giving her to get upset," Kayla explained, while Payton sobbed as if her heart was breaking over a world full of injustice, such as not having grape juice when she craved it. "She wants to cry, but she doesn't want to cry for her brother now, because that's too big for her to handle. So, instead she's going to cry about not having grape juice."

And Seth stood there, helpless, then finally walked over and rubbed Payton's back. She moved away from Kayla and threw her arms around Seth, sobbing into his shirt, occasionally wailing, "Grape juice!"

Yet, five minutes later, the tears were gone and Payton was happily digging into her dinner, drinking apple juice instead and talking about general things as if the meltdown had never happened. It was weird and amazing at the same time and while Seth's research told him things like this could happen, it had been entirely different to see it in action. It was like one of those violent thunder burst storms that came out of nowhere, instantly drenching everything it touched, then just as fast, it was gone and the sun was out and the only sign it had ever been there were diamond like drops of water clinging to the grass.

Now, on the day of the funeral, she seemed to be doing well. She was quiet, but she wasn't withdrawn. She looked pretty in her red dress and her "cute shoes" her hair clean and shining and arranged in the simple way she seemed to like best, when the front was braided and drawn around and fastened in the back. As they drove, she looked around as if she was very interested in the scenery. Not once though, since the wake had she mentioned her parents. Seth had the feeling she was pretending they didn't exist, at least not for now. He wasn't sure if this was good for her to be doing or not.

When they were pulling into the funeral home, Payton started getting excited. "They're here, they're here!" she shouted and as Seth pulled into a space, she was unbuckling her seat belt.

"Who's here?" Seth asked, but Payton was free of her seat belt and out of the car before she heard him. "Payton!" he half screamed as he watched her race across the parking lot. "Jesus!" exploded from his mouth as visions of a car not seeing her and running right into her danced in his head, and he frantically scrambled to undo his seat belt, cursing himself for not having remembered to put on the child locks that would prevent the back doors from opening.

When he and Kayla got out of the car, they saw Payton throwing her arms around a woman that looked like an older version of Andrea. "I'll bet that's her grandmother," Kayla said, sounding relatively calm now that she had seen Payton was all right.

"I'll bet you're right," Seth said, not ready to be pacified, "but she shouldn't have run out like that! What if someone coming in the lot hadn't seen her and plowed right into her?" As if to prove his point, a car pulled into the parking lot and drove by them, looking for a space further back in the lot. They weren't going fast, but Payton was such a little girl and it was such a big car.

"We'll talk about it with her later," Kayla suggested. "I don't think now is the time. She's fine."

When they were closer, Payton ran over and grabbed Seth's hand, almost dragging him over to the woman and a gentleman who had the same brown eyes as Andrea. "Grandma, Grandpa, this is Aunt Seth an' Uncle Kayla, who I to- I mean, Uncle Seth, and Aunt Kayla! This is them! I told you about them. And I told them about you!"

She said it so proudly, so happily, that Seth found himself deciding to follow Kayla's advice and wait until later to give Payton the lecture about why she shouldn't speed across parking lots. Instead, he extended his right hand, that Payton had let go of. "Hi, I'm Seth Rollins, and this is my fiancee, Kayla Springer."

"It's nice to meet you," the woman said. "I'm Beth Johnson, and this is my husband, Evan."

Seth knew Evan suffered from the beginning stages of Alzheimer's, but he seemed all right. Seth had to admit to himself he didn't know a lot about it, but he did remember hearing that in the early stages, there were good days, when everything seemed normal and bad days, when the memories of loved ones were lost to the victims, and every other type of day in between. Despite the sorrow Evan must have been feeling at the loss of his grandson, he did seem to understand exactly what was happening. He shook Seth's hand firmly, and gave Kayla a hug and a kiss on the cheek, as though they were both members of the family.

"How can we ever thank you for taking care of Payton," Beth said, looking at the both of them as if she might cry. "We wanted to take her ourselves, so my daughter and her husband could deal with Preston, but-" she looked at her husband then sighed. "We just can't."

She knows, Seth thought. She knows her daughter neglects her granddaughter, but she feels powerless. I'm betting she's run interference before, but she can't anymore. I don't think she realizes how bad it is, but I think she knows it happens. She might be closing one eye to it, but not both of them. "It's no bother at all," he said, putting a hand on Payton's shoulder as she leaned into him. "We love having Payton around."

"I'm so glad," she said, and smiled at all of them. "The three of you look good together," she said, then added, "Hopefully, when Payton has to go home, you'll still be able to be part of her life?"

"That's what we're hoping," Kayla said, smiling.

"We'd better be," Seth blurted out at the same time, before he could stop himself. He thought for a moment, that everyone would get upset and he would need to apologize, but Payton tipped her head back and looked up at him, wearing a grin. Beth put her hand on his arm and patted it gently.

"I think you will," she said, her voice warm. "The whole family is Protestant, but in all truth? The way my granddaughter talks about you, and the way I see you are with her, We think of you and your fiance as her godparents. And a godsend as well."

They ended up sitting in the front row of the church as if they were close family. Seth wasn't sure if Myron or Andrea approved, but Payton was the one who lead them there. She sat with her mother on one side, Seth on the other. It felt weird, almost like some modern day family, where parents divorced and married other people. True, Seth was not Payton's biological father, but obviously, he had place in her life bigger than most people might have thought. Payton did have two families, and Myron and Andrea would have to accept that. If they don't like it, they can stuff it, Seth found himself thinking, almost meanly. It's their own damned fault for not loving their daughter as much as they did, Preston.

A lot of WWE superstars were there, Preston had made a lot of friends. While Seth wished Dean and Roman could have been there, they had been allowed to come to the wake, so they couldn't make the funeral.

Dolph and Daniel and John Cena were there, and the three of them would be Pallbearers as well, along with Nikki and Brie, and Naomi. Seth wondered if all six of them would even be able to carry the coffin, or if some of them would have to walk before and behind instead.

Dolph gave a wonderful eulogy that almost made Seth wish he had gotten to know the side of Preston that he saw. The cute little boy with the never give up attitude. For a moment, he wondered what would have happened if he and Preston had gotten along, like everyone had wanted them to at the beginning. Then, he looked over at Payton and realized that had he and Preston become buddies, Payton might still be that dejected, sad looking girl who always tried to stay out of everyone's way. And, unable to stop himself, he felt a shiver as if someone had run an ice cube up his spine.

After the graveside service (how many different services did you need to say good bye? Two wakes, one funeral, and a graveside service, it seemed a little excessive for anyone) everyone was invited to go to a local restaurant, which surprised Kayla a little. "The funerals I've gone to, there's usually food served in the church," she commented, when Payton was talking with her grandparents by the grave, for a moment.

"That's because your family are good church going folks," Seth said, unable to resist a small grin. "For people who don't have churches? Restaurants. And remember, the Caldwells don't really have a church anymore." Yes, a few members from their former church were in attendance and the part of himself he nicknamed "Cynical Seth" wondered if they came for the free food. But most of the crowd seemed to be people that knew the Caldwells through Preston. Doctors and nurses who had helped care for him, hospital staff. A few people from their old neighborhood where there too, but it seemed odd that the Caldwells didn't seem to have any friends. It was like from the moment Preston got sick, they had shut themselves off from anyone that wasn't involved directly with Preston.

Seth would discover later, that while the Caldwells had prepaid for Preston's funeral, his coffin, his cemetery plot, it was the WWE who paid for the funeral luncheon. And Dolph himself had bought the suit Preston was buried in.

While at the luncheon, Seth was told by Hunter and Stephanie that they expected him to be on Raw Monday, but that he had until then to stay with Kayla and Payton. Considering that he had been away from house shows just before Wrestlemania, then had taken time off again until Preston could be laid to rest, Seth knew he couldn't complain. He promised he would be at the Raw taping, Monday.

He had another two days with Kayla and Payton, and he concluded that Payton seemed to be doing pretty good. She had her moments of sadness, but for the most part, she seemed to be Payton. They didn't do much on Saturday, just hung around, being together. But Sunday, Kayla insisted they all go bike riding just to get in the fresh air. At first Payton seemed reluctant, but after they borrowed the bike she had used the last time and helmet, and loaded up the car, she seemed to get into the spirit of things and the three of them enjoyed themselves.

Monday, he flew out for Raw and things started back to what Seth was starting to think of as normal. He was on the road, Kayla and Payton were at home. He messaged them every day and most days would Skype with the both of them too. They were planning on joining him for Extreme Rules PPV, and he was looking forward to that.

He had been on the road less than a week when one morning, his cell phone rang with the ring tone he had assigned to Kayla. Still mostly asleep, he fumbled for the phone. Due to a mix up in the hotel reservations, he was sharing a room with Roman and Dean, which made it feel like old home week, especially when Dean, who was sleeping on a cot that had been brought in the room, yelled out, "Answer your damned phone, Seth!" in a croaking voice.

Seth finally managed to get his hands on his phone and put it to his ear as he flicked the button, "Yeah, babe."

"Go talk in the hall!" Dean ordered.

"Stop yelling, Dean!" Roman called out. "You could wake the 'effin' dead!"

"Seth?"

He heard something in Kayla's voice he wasn't used to hearing, panic. He was instantly awake. "What's wrong?" He sat up, trying to hold the phone with one hand and find his pants with the other to try to put them on so he could go out in the hall.

Dean was sitting up now and staring at him, obviously concerned after hearing Seth ask what was wrong. Roman followed suit as if the two men were meerkats, rising to look around.

"Seth... we have a situation," Kayla said, and he could hear the strain in her voice.

"Are you and Payton all right?" he asked, feeling panic rising in his throat. Kayla was a rock. For Kayla to be like this, something had to have happened and he didn't know what.

"We're all right," Kayla assured him, even though that strain in her voice hadn't diminished, "I mean, we're as fine as we can be."

"Then what's wrong?" Seth asked yet again. Roman and Dean were looking at him, eyes fully open. Realizing that they were not going to go back to sleep until they knew what was going on, he stopped looking for his clothes and sat down on the bed.

"Seth, I-I got a call from the police a bit ago," she said. "There's been an accident... or something, they're still looking into it."

"Looking into what?" Seth asked, his voice sharp. He didn't mean to sound so rough, but this dance around the issue was driving him crazy and it was completely unlike his fiancee. "What's going on, Kayla?"

"Myron and Andrea," Kayla said, and she allowed herself a small sob. "They're gone, Seth. They're dead."

End of Chapter Eighteen.

Author's Notes:

I know that usually I put the author's notes under the responses to the guest reviewers, but I want to put them on top right now, because I want to make sure people read them and putting them after the reponses might make people overlook them.

First, I'm sorry about the cliffhanger ending. Okay, scratch that, no, I'm not. I'm sorry if the cliffhanger ending bothered you. I just tried several times to add to it, but nothing worked. The chapter kept telling me, "This is where it ends." Hopefully, fate will let me get some writing done and I'll be able to update with the next chapter soon.

Next...

FFnet has a reputation as "The Pit of Voles." I'm sure we've all heard it. People talk all the time about the horrible quality of writing that is found here. And, they're right. There are a lot of horrible stories on this site. Now, I would say that the wrestling section is actually far less horrid than many other places, but I do find myself hearing this lament of, "How come I can't find decent writers!" or, "I wade through so much glass to get to the diamonds!" I hear your pain. Been there myself.

I also can't help but notice that some really good writers on this site get overlooked. People that write some stuff that I really love and enjoy and is just... quality stuff. Yet, they never get the attention they deserve.

So, since I do seem to have a lot of readers of this story (god bless every single one of you) I thought I might take a moment and plug a couple of these writers. If my readers like good stories, written by people who understand how fanfiction, wrestling, and sheer storytelling work, you will love these folks.

The first is Hyrde. She has a gift for action that I envy. Her stories are exciting and hard hitting. She also has stories for just about any taste you have. She has one called Break Free which is a Shield as High School students, but it is not like any story you read on this site with a similar theme. It doesn't have OC's, it's not about slash, it's about friendship and school bullying and how friends always stick up for friends.

She also has one called Still Alive that I'm dumbstruck every time I see the lack of people reviewing it. The story is about Dean being a modern day Robin Hood. And it's so good. It's action packed, she weaves many different wrestlers into this world and when you read it, you'll be blown away about how well she makes it all work.

Those are two of her stories, but she hasn't written anything I would not recommend. She's got cute stories, she's got serious stories, she's got action packed stories. She's got a story where we find out Luke Harper loves red pandas, what more do you want?

The second is A Wrestling God. He's a guy, which is a rare treat in the world of fanfiction. And boy, can the man write. Seriously, he is another diamond hiding among the glass and it's a shame.

I highly recommend There's A First Time For Everything. First, because it has Ronda Rousey in it. Yeah, that's right, Ronda. And, it's got interaction with the Shield boys that is outstanding. I think it's because he's a guy, he really gives the Shield friendship a twist that we ladies forget. He doesn't make them into morons or idiots, they are still intelligent, thoughtful men, but there is something that rings true. I haven't put my finger on it, but I read his interactions between Seth, Roman, and Dean and say, "He found something I can't find. And I don't know if I ever will." It's the right blend of humor, sex, and guy. He writes the boys truer than I think most of us do. Plus, it has romance and all sorts of good stuff. But for you Shield fans? I think you'll find this one a real treat.

The next one is Pitched Battle and this one is for the AU lovers out there. Well, the AU lovers, the Triple H lovers, the Nikki Bella lovers. The story is about Hunter being a manager for a football team in England (what we statesiders call Soccer) and about how the bosses daughter takes over and, well, I don't want to ruin it, but it's explosive. His portrayal of Hunter is spot on perfect. I think his portrayal of Nikki is pretty good too. Some might disagree, but I'd argue that Nikki Bella herself (the actress, not the character) would think that A Wrestling God nailed the character down pretty good.

Those are just two of his stories, but he's got others there too. I haven't gotten a chance to R/R all of them, time is not my friend these days and I haven't known about him for long, but I can say that if you enjoy good, solid writing, I don't think you can go wrong on any story he's written.

So, yeah, the next time you bemoan the fate of this site and curse the lack of good writers, remember those two names. Hyrde and A Wrestling God. Because if you want to read really good stuff, that's where you should be going. Those are two names you should follow and favorite.

There are others too, I can recommend, and I hope to actually do that in further chapters, but for right now, we'll start with those two. Because honestly? I think they are two of them most under-appreciated authors on this site and I'd like to see that change. So, read their stuff. F/F their stuff. And review their stuff. I know both of them, and like me, while they love long, elaborate reviews, they also appreciate a quick, "Good story" and "Please update soon!" as much as I do, too. So, make it work. Read some great stories, give the writers a little love.

Special Thanks To:

Holly: Thank you. You saved me the bother of having to whack that troll a new one. That was the perfect response and you are wonderful. I wish I could make you cookies!

PISSED OFF: Read Holly's response about the name thing. Kayla is not a made up name. I didn't steal it from anyone. And please tell me where I ever said I was the best writer on this site.

Jesus, it must be troll breeding season and I'm getting tired of folks like you. Please come back when you have something worth while to say. If you want to tear apart my story, that's fine, but at least make it a real reason, not some trumped up fantasy you pulled out of your ass.

Torrie: Yes, you got it, that's exactly what I was going for, the whole idea that mourning is like a see-saw, you're down, you're up, you're everything in between.

Yeah, I just figure Seth would notice something like a tiny, perfect coffin and realize how wrong it is, how they just shouldn't exist.

Don't worry about the other thing, I just felt it was time to drop the subject. Although, I would like to extend an invitation for you to send me a PM under your site name. I promise I will never ever tell anyone who you are. But I do have a couple questions I would love to ask you that I don't feel this is the forum for. I can't make you, of course, and I understand if you are uncomfortable and unable to do it, but I extend the offer and again assure you I will never tell anyone who you are.

Guest: Sorry this update took so long, fate's just been conspiring to make sure I just never had a chance to write. It's still doing that, to be honest. I haven't even gotten the next chapter completed, yet I'm posting this one. And usually with this story, I am one chapter ahead in my writing.

Thank you for your kind words about my kitty. I still miss him very badly.

Zipper: Two burgers, eh, buddy? Thank you! I shall cherrish them forever, or until I finish eating them whatever comes first. And yes, you're right, the Caldwells are terrible people and Payton is to be commended for sticking up for herself. I think Seth and Kayla have shown that girl that she is worthy of love and respect.

Dima: Thank you. I'm still in this state of semi-shock over my boy and our other cat is still in mourning and withdraws from us and looks around the house, sadly, as if he can't believe his buddy is gone. We have two other cats, but they're no comfort for him, in fact he hates them. So, yeah, I'm kind of at a loss. But again, thank you for your condolences, they are appreciated.

I'm glad you like the story, too.

Emilee: Yes, a roller coaster ride is a good way to describe it. And that's exactly what I was going for, this whole up and down on emotions. And thank you for your kind words about my cat, that's very sweet of you.

Angela: Heh, we seem to have this conversation going here, don't we?

Thank you for your compliments to the funeral scene. I didn't want to go for drama for dramas sake, but after burying my parents, I know that it's impossible to not have drama at a funeral. Seriously, death makes people strange. People say and do things that are so out of character, that it's just.. crazy. I wanted to show some of that, and also that Payton's head is screwed on right. She's lost her brother, but she sees things the way they are. She has the right to remember her brother as the kid who never laid still, but flopped around and had a snotty nose when he slept.

Yeah, the legal system has a tendency to believe "Blood trumps all" which is ridiculous in some cases. I also think the world isn't too smart either. I've noticed that now that I'm 30, I'm getting a lot of pressure to have kids. I don't want them. I like kids just fine (I mean, I write stories about them, obviously I don't hate them!) but I don't think I am parent material. Instead of respecting that, my friends are insistant that I'll make a fine mother. And I think to myself, I love my cats. But if someone told me they would make a lousy cat owner, I'm going to tell them not to get a cat. Because I love cats, and I don't want to see a cat in a bad home. Now, my friends who are parents love to tell me too, how much they adore children, how I can't possibly love a cat as much as they love their babies. And that's great...but I wonder, if you love babies so much, then why do you want someone who says they don't want children, to have children? It seems to me that if children are precious, then we should only want them to go to homes that both people are ready to be parents and want that gift. Instead of constantly trying to convince me that everything about me that would make a bad parent is something to overlook.

So, in relation to the Caldwells with Payton, I think if the world wasn't so , "You MUST love her, she is your daughter and if you don't love her, you are evil and an outcast!" the Caldwells might realize that the best thing they could have done for their daughter was given her to two people who adore her and want her and will treat her right. Of course, with the ending of this chapter, we realize that it may not matter, but yeah, I wish the world would be a little less judgmental at times and a little more understanding.

I think the friendship is real. It seems real. And at least it's real in my world. :D

I'm really hoping they find another place for Bryan, because I'm just afraid that this is going to keep happening. He gets a belt, he disappears. I like Bryan, I understand why the fans love him, but it's getting to the point where I believe this love he gets is killing him. Let him do something that keeps him in the public eye without having to worry that one day he's going to jump off the top rope and never get up again under his own power.

Yes, that was kind of my point with the Seth show. I'm not fond of it, but I like the "Seth Rollins and those other guys" show that RAW and Smackdown have turned into a lot more than I liked having the absent champion who stayed home with his belt, and ever few weeks down came Paul Heyman to scream that he was the defending champion. Really? I mean, we might as well have let Bryan keep it.

I am so stoked though, that Dean is going to be in the four way. I don't think he'll win, I'm 99.999% sure he won't, but at least it shows that they don't consider him a midcard jobber as much anymore. I'm hoping this will lead into a good storyline for him.

Thank you for your condolences about my cat. I've said it a lot... but god I miss him. Every time I think I'm getting over him, it hits me again.

Until next time,
Peace Out
Willow.