A/N: I realized that I don't like the beginning of this chapter much. Lol
Actually, I don't the whole thing too much. But I realized that I seem to
update this thing once a month and I didn't want to break that rhythm that
I had goin. So this is the new chapter, AREN'T YOU PROUD OF ME?!! lol
And ya'll probably thought you'd never see a new one for this story. lol
Well, I just wanted to say that I hope everyone got everything they wanted
for Christmas. I did, well mostly. I was missing the big one..Shane
Helms. lol Ah well, maybe next year! Lol
**************
"Hello?" Hope questioned, juggling the phone, her sketches, and some fabric in her arms.
"I'M GETTING MARRIED!!! I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!" the person replied with such excitement she had caused Hope to drop all the things, phone included, on the floor.
"CRYSTAL?!" Hope exclaimed grabbing the phone quickly.
"I'M GETTING MARRIED!!! I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!" she had screamed once again. Hope started squealing in excitement as she jumped around her apartment, before realizing she was the only one there and probably sounded like an idiot to her neighbors.
"Shannon proposed?!"
"Yeah!" Crystal said.
"When?!"
"About an hour ago. I've been calling people since!" she laughed.
"Oh my God! Congratulations! This is SO exciting!"
"I know!"
"Date?"
"Oh come now! You know the answer to that one!" Crystal chuckled.
"Halloween," the girls laughed together.
"Hope, you have to make my wedding dress."
Hope looked around her cluttered apartment, barely able to see the floor under her work. She was booked up, between doing merchandise, outfits, and everything else in her life, she didn't know how she was going to manage making a beautiful wedding dress too. But she knew she had to. Shannon was her best friend. And Crystal was just as good a friend. How could she turn this down?
"Girl, of course I'll do your wedding dress! It'd be a privilege!" Hope smiled.
"Thank you! Oh I love you!" Crystal laughed. "You'll be a bridesmaid too, right?"
"Of course! I would have been hurt if you hadn't asked!" Hope joked. She listened carefully to ruckus going on in the background at the soon to be Moore house.
"Shannon!" she heard Crystal's muffled growl over the phone. There was a thud and a few crashes.
"Bade!" Shannon yelled into the receiver.
"Ear drums, Shan," Hope shook her head as her ears rang.
"Can you believe it?! I'm going to be a husband!"
"So I hear."
"You'll show me the sketches for Crystal's dress when you do them, right?"
"Wishful thinking, but aint gonna happen buddy!" Hope laughed. "Congratulations Shan. I'm happy for you two."
"Thanks, that means a lot."
"I don't mean to rush ya'll, but I have a crap load of work to do. I love you two!" Hope said.
"Love you too, Bade," Shannon said before they hung up.
Hope shook her head before she gathered up the things she had dropped on the floor. She carried them to her sewing machine and got to work on new bottoms for Trish. She sighed as she glanced out the window. Snow was falling faster onto the ground, blanketing it with fresh powder. Just a few more weeks and it would be Christmas. She was happy for Christmas. She hadn't seen her father and brothers for quite sometime, and she missed them all like crazy. She had been working for a few hours when there was a knock on the door. Sighing, she stopped the machine and stood from her desk, walking to the door. Making sure that the chain lock was secure she opened the door partially.
"Surprise!" Hope immediately took the chain lock off when she saw Sean's spastic hair and strong body standing in front of her door. He stepped in and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the floor. He was damp from the snow outside, but she didn't care. It had been a month since she'd seen her boyfriend. She was more than happy to sacrifice dry clothes for a bit of closeness with him.
"What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed shutting the door behind him. She helped him with his jacket, scarf, and gloves before leading him to the couch.
"Well, my flight for home had to make a stop here because of the storm. So when they said we wouldn't be able to get out of here till tomorrow afternoon, I said fuck sleeping at the airport, I'm on my way to see my girl!" he explained.
"I'm so happy you're here!" she exclaimed kissing him. "I missed you."
"I missed you too," he smiled. "Love what you've done with the place. Really expresses the inner you. Literally."
"Asshole," Hope joked nuzzling into his chest. "You weren't on the same flight as my brothers, were you?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I guarantee they'll be here in 15 minutes or less," she sighed. "So much for being just the two of us."
"Well, I can do it in under 5 if you can," he winked at her. She grinned and dragged him into the bedroom.
They laid in the bed, his arm wrapped around her body, rubbing her arm gently. Her head rested on his bare chest as it moved with every in take of air. Their bodies were wrapped in a sheet, the blankets having been thrown off the second they got in there, along with their discarded clothes. They were oblivious to the outside world. No sound entered their world. It was just the two of them, and no one else existed.
"There you....oh fuck!" Jeff exclaimed as he stood in the door way of the bedroom. In the heat of the moment Hope had completely forgotten to shut the door behind them. She and Sean jumped at the sound of Jeff's voice, both struggled to cover themselves.
"What's the matter?" Matt smiled as he walked up behind Jeff with a can of soda in his hands. Jeff turned quickly, slamming the door shut behind him, so to stop Matt from seeing his little sister naked in bed with a naked co-worker.
"Nothing, she was just taking a nap," Jeff covered pushing his brother backwards into the living room.
"Remind me to kiss Jeff," Hope sighed as she and Sean scrambled to put their clothes on.
"Yeah, me too," Sean laughed buttoning his jeans. "Can I shower?"
"Only if I can too," she winked at him. He nodded and they walked out of the bedroom together. "What are you two doing here?"
"Delayed flight," Matt answered looking to his sister and her boyfriend. His eyes squinted as he examined their looks. Hope's hair had been mostly pulled out of the ponytail and her face was flushed. Sean's hair looked no different than normal, but he wore only one sock and his shirt was wrinkled.
"You guys should have called," Hope smiled pulling Jeff into the kitchen.
"Surprise?" Jeff questioned.
"Well, obviously Sean's been here for awhile, so I would have assumed you would have figured out we'd be here," Matt said, his voice low and threatening.
"Were you and Sean, ya know?" Jeff whispered with a grin on his face.
"Gees, Jeffrey, what the hell do you think?!" she snapped at him as she struggled to fix her knotted up green and blue hair.
"You got caught," Jeff sang quietly, laughing as he walked into the living room.
"I hate my brothers sometimes," Hope shook her head at the ceiling. "So, ya'll eaten yet?"
"No, we were waiting for your great home cooking," Jeff smirked flipping through the tv channels.
"Screw you Jeff," she smiled sarcastically.
"No, that's Sean's job," Jeff joked.
"JEFF!" both Hope and Sean yelled. Jeff ducked as he sunk into the couch. Hope rolled her eyes a she carried a bunch of take out menus to the boys.
"You honestly think someone's going to deliver in this weather?" Matt asked nodding his head to the window, looking through a Chinese menu.
"If you really thought they wouldn't, you wouldn't be looking through that menu right now," she smiled making a point as she sat at her desk to finish working on the pants.
"I hate smart ass little sisters," he remarked walking towards her to hit her with the menu. "Are those Trish's pants?"
"Yeah, do they look good so far?" she asked holding out what she had so far.
"They look great," he smiled walking away.
"Oh gees Matt, you're so helpful."
"Damn, take a chill pill!" Matt laughed.
"The hell with a chill pill, just take THE pill period!" Jeff added.
"Someone kick his ass RIGHT now!" Hope exclaimed.
"Sorry, only in the ring," Sean shrugged.
"Fine, I'll do it!" she exclaimed before releasing a primal cry and jumping over the couch onto her twin brother. She beat into him a bit before being pulled off by Sean. "What would Daddy say if he heard all the things you're saying?!"
"He'd probably agree and tell you that you shouldn't be having pre- marital sex anyways!" Jeff laughed.
"Sean, I'd like you to meet my brother," Hope smiled. "Brother suckface asshole.
"Bitch."
"Man whore."
"Ho."
"Dickhead."
"Love you Bade," Jeff smiled innocently.
"Love you too, but you're still a dillweed," Hope replied.
Hours later, the storm getting increasingly worse, Jeff and Matt had settled in the living room to sleep. Hope and Sean had snuck away to shower together. Afterwards, Hope knelt on the bed, combing out her wet hair. She watched Sean walk into the room, a black towel wrapped around his waist, and he traveled to her dresser where she kept all her framed pictures.
"Is this your mother?" Sean asked picking one up. Hope gave a small smile as she walked towards him.
"Yeah, that's her," she nodded.
"You have her smile," he said putting his arm around her as he put the picture back.
"Thanks," she said shaking away her tears.
"How old were you when she died?"
"10."
"Was it hard?"
"Oh God yes. I wanted her to be joking. So badly did I want that. But I knew she wasn't. Shit happens, right?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry," Sean kissed the top of her head. "Christmas?"
"Yeah, Jeff and I were probably 2?" she guessed.
"Were you and your brothers always this close?" he asked picking up a picture of the three of them, when they were teenagers hanging around their trampoline ring.
"Oh hell yeah. Jeff and I of course always had this twin connection so we were a bit closer. Matt was more of a parent figure to me. Once my mom died, Matt did everything in his power to keep an eye on the only girl in the family when Daddy couldn't. He still does, but he now understands that I'm going to do what I want, when I want, how I want," she laughed.
"What's your Dad like?"
"Um, growing up? Or now?" she chuckled.
"Both?"
"Oh God, growing up, he was VERY strict. He was a great guy, friendly and all, but he had a short temper. We grew up pretty sheltered from the outside world. I mean, we didn't have a radio until we were older. And what we did hear of music, it was all country. Now that I'm older, I can't stand country, Jeff doesn't mind it too much. But we've all grown out of it, pretty much. We didn't have cable, we used to watch like PPVs and things at friend's houses. But I couldn't imagine it being any other way. Our Dad taught us to play guitar. Jeff and I have battles with each other. We're pretty equal. But one thing that I'll always remember about my father when we were kids, was the belt."
"The belt?" Sean questioned.
"We were trouble makers, really we were. And we'd get, well, belted, every so often. It hurt like hell, but it did teach us discipline. And I suppose it helped for school."
"School? I went to a military academy and we didn't have shit like that! Where'd ya'll go to school?!" Sean laughed.
"Small town schools back then aren't what the big schools were. And our elementary school had no problems beating the kids when they got outta line. Jeff and I always got in trouble."
"You got beat as a kid?"
"Sometimes, but normally Jeff or Matt would take the pain for me. If I did something BAD at home, they'd tell Daddy that it was one of them. That's just the way things worked. And starting out, he hated the idea of any of his children being wrestlers."
"And now?"
"And now he's this friendly, sweet guy. Once my mom died, he got a little softer on us, but we always knew not to tick him off. Probably because of the, well, when we almost lost him. Now I don't think I could ever imagine him beating anyone. And he so behind all of us. He loves the Hardy Boyz. He's so proud."
"He almost died?"
"Yeah, Hope and I were going into our Junior year I believe when our father started acting really weird," Jeff popped in sitting on the bed. Hope joined him and held his hand.
"God, I remember that so clearly," Hope cried. She and Jeff put their heads together and thought back to those days. She had been helping Matt pack up his stuff to go back to school, as it was coming close for that day to come. Jeff was helping Shannon work on a move on the trampoline.
"Thanks for helping baby girl," Matt smiled closing a suitcase.
"No probs, but you sure you wanna go back?" she laughed.
"Yeah, sorry Bade. One of the three of us should get an education, cause you and Jeff sure as hell aren't!" Matt joked bringing his little sister into a headlock. Jeff came walking into the bedroom, a glass of lemonade in his hand.
"Hey, um, Daddy's acting weird again," Jeff said.
"What?" Hope questioned.
"This morning when Dad woke up, he started talking to Aunt Joyce," Matt said releasing his sister. She had no clue what was going on since she had been at Lizzie's that nite.
"But she passed away a while ago," Hope said.
"We know," Matt nodded. "Is he talking to her again?"
"No, but his words are all jumbled up. I asked him about Shannon staying over tonite and he just, well, I couldn't even understand him really," Jeff answered.
Matt shook his head and lead the sibling downstairs to have a discussion with their father. "Daddy, are you alright?" Matt had asked.
"Well of course I'm alright!" his response was matter of fact.
"You're acting kinda weird. Maybe you should go see a doctor," Jeff suggested.
"I will do no such thing. I'm perfectly healthy," Gil replied.
The next day, while Jeff, Matt, and Hope observed from outside working a few moves in their ring, Gil's co-worker, Debbie stopped by. They left together and the kids quickly got in Matt's car to follow them. They pulled into the hospital and waited a few minutes so she could get him out of the car and signed in. They met Debbie in the waiting room moments later.
"They're examining him right now," she said sitting down.
"Is he gonna be alright?" Hope asked.
"I'm sure he'll be fine sweetie. Your father is a strong man," Debbie smiled as a doctor exited the examining room.
"Matt, Jeff, Hope Hardy?" he asked. Matt nodded and shook the doctor's hand.
"Your father has a blood clot on his brain. We're getting ready to clean it out now. It was about ready to burst. If we hadn't caught it soon, he would have died," the doctor explained in simple terms.
"But he's gonna be alright, right?" Matt asked.
"I'm sure he'll be fine. As soon as the clot is cleaned out. After that, we'll keep him here for awhile to make sure that all has gone well."
"Is that the reason he was actin so funny?" Jeff asked.
"Yes, it was putting pressure on his brain, causing him to be disoriented. It caused him to remember things he had forgotten."
"When can we see him?" Hope asked.
"Not for sometime. Now if you'll excuse me," the doctor smiled at the kids and walked back into the room.
"We could have lost him," Hope cried. "Jeff, we could have been orphans."
"No, no! I wouldn't have let that happen," Matt said holding his little sister in his arms. "Daddy's gonna be just fine. Nothing bad is gonna happen."
"How can you be so sure?!" Hope exclaimed.
"Mommy wouldn't let it," Jeff answered for Matt.
For two weeks, the three of them visited their father every nite, coming home very late. Matt had kept the other two calm, putting their fears, and his own aside. They focused on music, which really helped Jeff and Hope, making them into the music lovers they are today. Matt decided to not go back to school in the long run, fearing that something could actually happen, leaving Jeff and Hope alone. He wanted to be there for them during the worst case scenario. He was just doing his part as a big brother.
"That's amazing," Sean said snapping Jeff and Hope back to reality.
"We're a strong family," Jeff said.
"Most families would have crumbled in those kinds of circumstances," Hope said. "But we held on, and things worked out for the best." She looked at Jeff and kissed his cheek. "What are you doin up?"
"Couldn't sleep. Ya know how I am," Jeff laughed.
"Yeah, but you've got a flight tomorrow. Go to bed," Hope smiled.
"Nite," Jeff said leaving the couple.
"Did your Dad ever marry again?"
"Oh no, not at all," I laughed. "I always wanted him to, or at least have a steady girlfriend, for me. I tried to pair him up with some of my girl-friends' single mothers. Those never worked. But my brothers, they were horrible to his girlfriends. Always pulled pranks on them and everything."
Sean started laughing as he picked up a picture. Shane was standing next to Hope, his arm around her with a large smile on his face. She, however, had a scowl on her face and her arms crossed, her body kind of turned against Shane's. "You really don't like Shane do you?"
"Alright, here's the thing about Shane and I. We never got along. Always fought about one thing or another. From the first time we met, there was bad chemistry. We just weren't meant to be friends," Hope explained. "Maybe our personalities are conflicting, I don't know, but in the ring it was always a case of 'whatever you can do, I can do better'. It didn't matter what he did, I would always try and top it."
"Rivals?"
"Something like that."
"What about you and Shannon?"
"Well, Shan and Jeff became friends first. But Shannon and I hit it off the second we met. We were attached! And they always teased us about dating, so when we were little, right after his girls have cooties stage, we did date. He was my first kiss. But we broke up not too long after and he started dating my best friend Lizzie. Then he came back to me like my freshman year of high school. But we were friends first and forever. He met Crystal and the sparks flew. And the rest is history," Hope smiled. Sean laughed and sat on the bed next to her. "Bed?"
"Yeah, I love you, Hope," Sean said leaning over to kiss her.
"Love you too Sean."
***********
"Have any ideas that you may want for your dress?" Hope asked Crystal as she took her measurements.
"Nope, it's completely up to you," Crystal smiled as Shannon walked into the house covered in mud.
"Oh gees, thanks," Hope muttered taking down the last of Crystal's measurements. "Maybe tomorrow we'll go out and look at fabric."
"Do you know how crowded tomorrow's going to be?!" Shannon laughed.
"Dude, what the hell were you doing?" Hope asked looking at her blonde headed friend.
"Jeff and I took the dogs and went mudding," he smiled.
"And ya'll didn't wait for me?!" she exclaimed knocking Shannon in the head.
"Oops?" Shannon smirked.
"Anyways, about tomorrow," Hope said relaxing on the couch.
"Honey, Shannon's right. Tomorrow the stores are going to be packed. It's Christmas eve," Crystal said.
"Oh yeah, I forgot," Hope sighed.
"Something wrong, Bade?" Shannon asked.
"Nah, I'm gonna get home. I'll see you guys tomorrow nite," Hope smiled.
"She's upset about Sean not going to be able to be here for Christmas," Crystal said handing her fiancé a glass of water.
"Oh, where's he going to be?" Shannon asked.
"Wow, Lizzie and Hope are right, you are an idiot," she laughed. "How about with his family?"
"Oh, true," Shannon said. "Is he coming at all?"
"She thinks he may try to get here the day after Christmas, but he couldn't promise her anything."
"Well that sucks. He should be here for a traditional Hardy Christmas," Shannon smiled.
"Oh that poor boy. He wouldn't know what to do!" Crystal laughed.
"Hi Daddy," Hope smiled kissing her father's cheek as he stood at the stove, making pies. "Oh Daddy, please tell me you're not baking."
"What's the matter with my cooking?!" he exclaimed.
"Nothing, nothing at all," Hope said grabbing some chips out of the cabinet. "Did Lizzie call?"
"Yeah, she'll be here for dinner," her father replied.
"Sweet! I'm going to Jeff and Beth's. Be back later," Hope said running out the door. She walked into the house, smelling Beth's chocolate chip cookies. She smiled and followed her nose into the kitchen, where Beth was sitting at the table eating a plate of cookies while reading the new Cosmo. "Oh God Beth, you're a savior!"
"Hey Hope," Beth smiled offering her some cookies. Hope sat and took them eagerly. "What's up?"
"Just wanted to see what you and my brother were up to," Hope smiled. "Seeing as he and Shannon didn't bother to wait for me to go mudding with them.
"Ya know, I tried to talk him into waiting and he said he just wanted it to be a male bonding experience," Beth laughed. "It's amazing how wet it is out there."
"I know. I miss mudding. Ugh, I'm so pissed with them," Hope said as Jeff walked into the kitchen in his boxers. "I'm not happy with you."
"Oh there's a shocker!" Jeff said.
"Look, Jeff, you could make this Christmas a little better for me! All you would have had to do was ask me to go with you and Shan, but did you? NO!" she exclaimed storming out of the kitchen.
"What's wrong with her?" Beth asked.
"I don't know, but her attitude these past 2 days have been pissing me off," Jeff sighed. He walked off after Hope, steaming almost as much as she was. Running down the stairs and down the driveway, he remembered he was in his bare feet. But for some reason, he cared more about his sister's attitude than the fact that he could get some infectious disease from the creatures living in the ground. "Hope! Slow down!" he called after her but she just kept walking, her head down, and her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "HOPE BADE HARDY!" She stopped, hearing her full name being used. She turned and waited for him to catch up to her.
"What?!" she asked impatiently has he tried desperately to catch his breath.
"What the hell is up your ass lately?" he asked holding onto her arms.
"Look, it's nothing, alright?!" she exclaimed trying to get out of his grip.
"No, I know you Hope. There's something going on," Jeff said loosening his hands. "Why won't you tell me what's up? You always used to tell me when something was bothering you."
"Jeff, you and Amy and Matt are leaving me by myself for a month! What the hell am I going to do?!" she cried.
"Leaving you? What are you talking about?"
"I joined the WWF to be closer to my brothers. But now you guys will be gone because of where ever the hell this storyline is going!"
"Is that it? You're upset because we're not working for a month?"
"Not just that," she sighed. "I know you Jeff. I can see how unhappy you are. And I know that when you get unhappy with something you quit. Or you work hard to get yourself kicked out of it. I know you'll leave permanently soon. And God only knows if and when Shannon and Lizzie will get called up."
"But you'll have Sean," he smiled at her.
"You haven't heard?" Hope questioned. He shook his head, narrowing his eyebrows. "Sean is being brought down to OVW. They don't have anything for him right now. And I don't know when he'll be brought up again."
"Oh, Hope, I'm sorry," Jeff said trying to hug her. She pushed him away. She continued her walk home, feeling worse than before. Jeff sighed and got on the phone to Matt, telling him what was wrong with their sister.
"Ya know, she just needs to move her ass home," Matt said.
"I know, but you know she won't, and I don't know if she could even do that," Jeff replied. "There's got to be something else we can do to keep her close to us."
"Do you think she'd get back into wrestling?"
"I don't know. I doubt it. The only wrestling she was doing was like a part time Indy wrestler during college. But once she graduated I think she hung up her boots, why?"
"Come now Jeff, you honestly don't think Vince would love to have the Hardy family in the business as wrestlers? I mean think about it. You're wild and crazy. I'm more methodical. Hope is both. She has your wild side, plus my reasoning and thought. And if we draw that much of a crowd with girls, think about the guys that would be interested in her. If we had both Amy and Hope with us, we'd have such a large demographic behind us!" Matt said.
"Matt, you have too much business in you," Jeff laughed.
"Jeff, I'm serious," Matt scolded him.
"And how do you suppose we talk to Miss Hardy about this?"
"Why not talk to Vince first when we come back? We can tell him our thoughts. I mean he's already seen tapes of her. She'd probably just have to go to OVW for a bit and redefine her skills and get rid of the ring rust."
"But that doesn't answer my question about how to ask her about it."
"We don't dear Jeffrey. Vince does," Matt smiled.
"Oh that's good," Jeff nodded with a similar grin.
Christmas had come and gone. She was just waiting for Sean to visit her. She sat in the living room, drawing up designs for Crystal's wedding dress, while Lizzie stretched out on the couch watching tv. Hope shook her head and threw her sketch pad across the room, nearly knocking a picture of Matt at graduation off a table.
"What's the matter?" Lizzie asked not looking up from the cartoon on the tv.
"I swear I'm going dry. I can't think of a single thing for Crystal's dress," Hope sighed. "Maybe I'll just tell her that I can't handle the responsibility."
"Dude, you so can do it if you just keep at it. It'll come to you," Lizzie smiled. "So when's Sean supposed to get here?"
"I don't know. But I'm really worried that Daddy will lay into him, ya know? He's as bad as Matt if not worse. I mean, you were here for the whole Jordan fiasco," she said.
"Oh yeah, that was pretty bad. Jordan was a really nice, preppy, kind of a guy," Lizzie smiled.
"Yeah, well, he was just a cover up for Zac anyways," Hope smiled thinking back to her rebel of a boyfriend in high school. He was the epitome of the phrase "bad boy". Detention every nite, suspension every other month, rode a Harley and drove a classic mustang that was supped up, listened to heavy metal, an earring in each ear, plus tongue ring, and eyebrow ring, leather jacket, smoked, spiky black hair, piercing blue eyes, white t-shirts, just everything you could imagine a bad boy to look like. She was a sophomore and he was a repeating senior when they started dating. Matt nearly killed him when he found out they were dating. Her father had no clue, and to this day, that's how she'd like things to be. Sean may not be a "bad boy", but he certainly didn't have the innocent choir boy look.
Hope sighed and picked up her sketch book just as someone knocked on the door. She glanced over at Lizzie as Taker, Hope's large St. Bernard, let loose a low bark. Hope nearly killed herself as she jumped over the couch to get to the doorway. Pushing Taker out of the way, she opened the door, hoping Sean would be standing there. Instead, standing there was her father's new girlfriend, Renee.
"Hi sweetie," Renee smiled at Hope, giving her a hug.
"Hi Renee," Hope sighed. "Daddy's in the kitchen." Renee nodded and headed straight for it. Hope walked back into the living room, her head down as she slumped onto the couch face first. She screamed into the cushion and soon had a figure sitting on her back. She lifted her head and growled. "Get off me Matthew!"
"I didn't hear the magic words," Matt smirked.
"Get off me or DIE!" she screamed putting all her weight into throwing him off her.
"Those work," Matt said. "What's the matter baby sister?"
"Well let's see, Sean hasn't called, hasn't shown up, and JUST ISN'T HERE! How the hell would you be if Amy did that to you?!" Hope exclaimed.
"Sorry I asked," Matt mumbled grabbing the remote out of Lizzie's hands.
"Hey!" she yelled, grabbing at Matt for the remote. He held it over his head as he stood, knowing she wouldn't be able to reach it, even on her tip toes.
"Don't you have to be going to get high right now?" Matt asked a smart ass smirk on his face.
"Don't you need to be getting a LIFE?!" she exclaimed.
She tried everything she could think of, that didn't include violence, before putting her wrestling knowledge to use. She smirked deviously at him before bending her arm and giving him a full fledged low blow. Not only did the remote drop to the floor, but Matt did as well. Lizzie grabbed the remote, a proud smile on her face, and changed the channel back the one she had it on originally. Matt groaned, holding onto his nether regions, and tears dripped down his face.
Hope rolled her eyes as another knock was heard rapping on the door. Once again, Taker let out this loud howl of warning. She slowly walked to the door, figuring it to be another friend of the family's. She opened the door and was genuinely surprised to see Sean standing there. He smiled at her, holding a duffle bag in his hand. Taker let out furious growls as Sean dropped his bag to bring Hope into his arms.
"He's not going to eat me, is he?" Sean whispered in Hope's ear.
"Oh please, his bark is SO worse than his bite," Hope smiled after kissing his cheek. She grabbed his hand as he took his bag and pulled him inside. "I thought you'd NEVER get here."
"Traffic was horrible! I was in a traffic jam on the interstate for like an hour. It sucked," Sean said with a laugh as he was being dragged up the stairs.
"Welcome to casa de Hope," she smiled turning the light on in the bedroom.
"Twin beds?" Sean questioned dropping his bag.
"Yeah, well, this was mine and Jeff's room. So of course we had separate beds. But I thought we just push em together."
"That could work."
"Hope!" Lizzie screamed from down the stairs. "Bring that boyfriend of yours in here!"
"That would be Lizzie," Hope laughed. "Come on, we can get the beds arranged later." Sean nodded and followed her down the stairs. She walked into the living room, stepped over a pain stricken Matt, and sat on the couch. Sean looked down at Matt curiously and raised his eyebrows.
"What? He took my remote," Lizzie answered the question running through Sean's head. "So I nailed him in the nuts."
"Yeah, Sean, this is Lizzie. Lizzie, this is Sean," Hope shook her head.
"Nice to meet you," Sean said cautiously as Lizzie gave him a wide smile and nodded before focusing her attention back on the tv.
"Matty, you gonna be alright? Or do I need to get you some ice?" Hope asked her brother, touching his back lightly.
"ICE?! Do you want me to shrink TOO?!" Matt squeaked.
"What's there to shrink?" Lizzie remarked.
"Ouch," Sean cringed at her statement.
"Lizzie, I hate you," Matt growled gaining enough strength to get to his knees.
"Yeah, feeling's mutual."
"Are they always like that?" Sean wondered out loud.
"Pretty much. At least she's not in love with Matt like she is with Jeff," Hope smiled.
"Seriously?!"
"Yeah," she nodded as her Dad and Renee walked in.
"Matthew, what's the matter? Your face is pale," Gil worried.
"Well, Dad, you better hope that your other two children can give you grandchildren, cause I fear I may not be able too," Matt smiled sarcastically. "And you have Lizzie Borden here to thank for that."
"Haha," Lizzie stuck her tongue out at him.
Gil shook his head and focused his attention on the man sitting next to his daughter. His face took on a look of hatred right away. Hope knew that her father wasn't going to go easy on her new boyfriend.
"Daddy, this is Sean O' Haire. Sean, this is my father, Gilbert Hardy," Hope introduced the two men. Sean stood up and shook Gil's hand firmly. Gil nodded and took a seat in his recliner. Sean took a deep breath and gave Hope a look of help. Hope just shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. It was going to be a long nite.
"So, how long have you two been dating again?" Gil questioned. Hope knew better than to answer his questions, so she sat quietly, her hand set on top of Sean's.
"Um, almost 4 months, sir," Sean answered.
'Sir, good goin baby,' Hope thought to herself trying to keep her smile secrete.
"And you're how old?"
"28."
"4 years older?"
"Yes sir."
"Hmm, what are your intentions with my daughter?"
"Oh, um, well, I'm just looking to have a good time," Sean smiled.
"Oh no," Hope, Matt, and Lizzie muttered as they all lowered their heads and shook them.
"A good time you say? What's your definition of a good time, boy?" Gil questioned crossing his arms.
'Crap, he said boy,' Hope sighed.
"Well, fun, I suppose," Sean replied.
"Fun, well, listen here. If I hear word that you and my daughter are having "FUN" with one another, then you'll be one sorry boy," Gil warned.
"Did I say something wrong?" Sean whispered to Hope. She nodded slowly in response.
"Sir, I have no intentions on having that sort of "fun" with Hope. I love her sir. She makes me happy and all I can do is hope that I do the same for her," Sean said.
"Yes, right," Gil swallowed.
"Daddy, I'm an adult. You really don't need to be grilling my boyfriends anymore. I can make my own decisions and I've decided on Sean. I do love him Daddy. And he does make me happy. Just please except him. At least for the 3 days he'll be here for," Hope requested.
"Yes, alright sweetie. Well, it was nice meeting you Sean," Gil smiled holding his hand out to Sean. Sean took it and nodded. "Renee and I are going out for the evening. I'll see you all in the morning."
The kids watched the two older adults leave the house before letting loose. "Sean, you saved your ass on that one," Lizzie laughed.
"Yeah, I thought you were a goner man. If you thought I was bad, then you'd be petrified if my father didn't approve of you," Matt said.
"He's a very intimidating man," Sean breathed.
"Yeah, no kidding," Hope rolled her eyes. "So, um, are you ready for your Christmas gift?"
"Oh hell yeah. Let me just run up and get yours," Sean kissed Hope softly and took off for the bedroom. Hope grabbed a box out of the hall closet and set it on her lap as she sat back on the couch. Sean ran down and handed Hope her gift. "Open mine first." He smiled. Hope gave him a side ways glance, holding the small gift in her hand. She tore off the shiny Christmas paper and pulled off the top of a jewelry box.
"Oh it's beautiful Sean," she said holding up a solitaire diamond necklace.
"Wait, there's more in the box," he said. She lifted up more tissue paper to reveal an eyebrow post. She smiled looking at the blue flame decoration on the top of it.
"This is great baby," she kissed him putting the jewelry back in the box and setting it on the table.
"Well, I realized you haven't changed your eyebrow ring since I met you, so I thought you may need a new one. And since flames are my specialty," he chuckled. "But you like the necklace?"
"It's beautiful. Thank you." She handed him the large box that was sitting in her lap and watching him open the gift.
"Oh wow! Is this that helmet I saw in California?" Sean asked holding up a shiny black motorcycle helmet.
"The very one. But I painted O' Haire on the back of it in flames," she pointed.
"Bade, this is great! Thank you!" he rejoiced pulling the helmet over his head. "It fits great!" he exclaimed flipping the shaded face shield up. She laughed at him and he took it off. "I love you."
"I love you two," Hope smiled.
"I think I'm going to be sick!" Matt gagged.
"And I think you're a dork, so what?" Lizzie smirked at him. He growled at her and knocked her over, grabbing the remote, to start the remote war all over again.
**************
"Hello?" Hope questioned, juggling the phone, her sketches, and some fabric in her arms.
"I'M GETTING MARRIED!!! I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!" the person replied with such excitement she had caused Hope to drop all the things, phone included, on the floor.
"CRYSTAL?!" Hope exclaimed grabbing the phone quickly.
"I'M GETTING MARRIED!!! I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!" she had screamed once again. Hope started squealing in excitement as she jumped around her apartment, before realizing she was the only one there and probably sounded like an idiot to her neighbors.
"Shannon proposed?!"
"Yeah!" Crystal said.
"When?!"
"About an hour ago. I've been calling people since!" she laughed.
"Oh my God! Congratulations! This is SO exciting!"
"I know!"
"Date?"
"Oh come now! You know the answer to that one!" Crystal chuckled.
"Halloween," the girls laughed together.
"Hope, you have to make my wedding dress."
Hope looked around her cluttered apartment, barely able to see the floor under her work. She was booked up, between doing merchandise, outfits, and everything else in her life, she didn't know how she was going to manage making a beautiful wedding dress too. But she knew she had to. Shannon was her best friend. And Crystal was just as good a friend. How could she turn this down?
"Girl, of course I'll do your wedding dress! It'd be a privilege!" Hope smiled.
"Thank you! Oh I love you!" Crystal laughed. "You'll be a bridesmaid too, right?"
"Of course! I would have been hurt if you hadn't asked!" Hope joked. She listened carefully to ruckus going on in the background at the soon to be Moore house.
"Shannon!" she heard Crystal's muffled growl over the phone. There was a thud and a few crashes.
"Bade!" Shannon yelled into the receiver.
"Ear drums, Shan," Hope shook her head as her ears rang.
"Can you believe it?! I'm going to be a husband!"
"So I hear."
"You'll show me the sketches for Crystal's dress when you do them, right?"
"Wishful thinking, but aint gonna happen buddy!" Hope laughed. "Congratulations Shan. I'm happy for you two."
"Thanks, that means a lot."
"I don't mean to rush ya'll, but I have a crap load of work to do. I love you two!" Hope said.
"Love you too, Bade," Shannon said before they hung up.
Hope shook her head before she gathered up the things she had dropped on the floor. She carried them to her sewing machine and got to work on new bottoms for Trish. She sighed as she glanced out the window. Snow was falling faster onto the ground, blanketing it with fresh powder. Just a few more weeks and it would be Christmas. She was happy for Christmas. She hadn't seen her father and brothers for quite sometime, and she missed them all like crazy. She had been working for a few hours when there was a knock on the door. Sighing, she stopped the machine and stood from her desk, walking to the door. Making sure that the chain lock was secure she opened the door partially.
"Surprise!" Hope immediately took the chain lock off when she saw Sean's spastic hair and strong body standing in front of her door. He stepped in and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the floor. He was damp from the snow outside, but she didn't care. It had been a month since she'd seen her boyfriend. She was more than happy to sacrifice dry clothes for a bit of closeness with him.
"What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed shutting the door behind him. She helped him with his jacket, scarf, and gloves before leading him to the couch.
"Well, my flight for home had to make a stop here because of the storm. So when they said we wouldn't be able to get out of here till tomorrow afternoon, I said fuck sleeping at the airport, I'm on my way to see my girl!" he explained.
"I'm so happy you're here!" she exclaimed kissing him. "I missed you."
"I missed you too," he smiled. "Love what you've done with the place. Really expresses the inner you. Literally."
"Asshole," Hope joked nuzzling into his chest. "You weren't on the same flight as my brothers, were you?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I guarantee they'll be here in 15 minutes or less," she sighed. "So much for being just the two of us."
"Well, I can do it in under 5 if you can," he winked at her. She grinned and dragged him into the bedroom.
They laid in the bed, his arm wrapped around her body, rubbing her arm gently. Her head rested on his bare chest as it moved with every in take of air. Their bodies were wrapped in a sheet, the blankets having been thrown off the second they got in there, along with their discarded clothes. They were oblivious to the outside world. No sound entered their world. It was just the two of them, and no one else existed.
"There you....oh fuck!" Jeff exclaimed as he stood in the door way of the bedroom. In the heat of the moment Hope had completely forgotten to shut the door behind them. She and Sean jumped at the sound of Jeff's voice, both struggled to cover themselves.
"What's the matter?" Matt smiled as he walked up behind Jeff with a can of soda in his hands. Jeff turned quickly, slamming the door shut behind him, so to stop Matt from seeing his little sister naked in bed with a naked co-worker.
"Nothing, she was just taking a nap," Jeff covered pushing his brother backwards into the living room.
"Remind me to kiss Jeff," Hope sighed as she and Sean scrambled to put their clothes on.
"Yeah, me too," Sean laughed buttoning his jeans. "Can I shower?"
"Only if I can too," she winked at him. He nodded and they walked out of the bedroom together. "What are you two doing here?"
"Delayed flight," Matt answered looking to his sister and her boyfriend. His eyes squinted as he examined their looks. Hope's hair had been mostly pulled out of the ponytail and her face was flushed. Sean's hair looked no different than normal, but he wore only one sock and his shirt was wrinkled.
"You guys should have called," Hope smiled pulling Jeff into the kitchen.
"Surprise?" Jeff questioned.
"Well, obviously Sean's been here for awhile, so I would have assumed you would have figured out we'd be here," Matt said, his voice low and threatening.
"Were you and Sean, ya know?" Jeff whispered with a grin on his face.
"Gees, Jeffrey, what the hell do you think?!" she snapped at him as she struggled to fix her knotted up green and blue hair.
"You got caught," Jeff sang quietly, laughing as he walked into the living room.
"I hate my brothers sometimes," Hope shook her head at the ceiling. "So, ya'll eaten yet?"
"No, we were waiting for your great home cooking," Jeff smirked flipping through the tv channels.
"Screw you Jeff," she smiled sarcastically.
"No, that's Sean's job," Jeff joked.
"JEFF!" both Hope and Sean yelled. Jeff ducked as he sunk into the couch. Hope rolled her eyes a she carried a bunch of take out menus to the boys.
"You honestly think someone's going to deliver in this weather?" Matt asked nodding his head to the window, looking through a Chinese menu.
"If you really thought they wouldn't, you wouldn't be looking through that menu right now," she smiled making a point as she sat at her desk to finish working on the pants.
"I hate smart ass little sisters," he remarked walking towards her to hit her with the menu. "Are those Trish's pants?"
"Yeah, do they look good so far?" she asked holding out what she had so far.
"They look great," he smiled walking away.
"Oh gees Matt, you're so helpful."
"Damn, take a chill pill!" Matt laughed.
"The hell with a chill pill, just take THE pill period!" Jeff added.
"Someone kick his ass RIGHT now!" Hope exclaimed.
"Sorry, only in the ring," Sean shrugged.
"Fine, I'll do it!" she exclaimed before releasing a primal cry and jumping over the couch onto her twin brother. She beat into him a bit before being pulled off by Sean. "What would Daddy say if he heard all the things you're saying?!"
"He'd probably agree and tell you that you shouldn't be having pre- marital sex anyways!" Jeff laughed.
"Sean, I'd like you to meet my brother," Hope smiled. "Brother suckface asshole.
"Bitch."
"Man whore."
"Ho."
"Dickhead."
"Love you Bade," Jeff smiled innocently.
"Love you too, but you're still a dillweed," Hope replied.
Hours later, the storm getting increasingly worse, Jeff and Matt had settled in the living room to sleep. Hope and Sean had snuck away to shower together. Afterwards, Hope knelt on the bed, combing out her wet hair. She watched Sean walk into the room, a black towel wrapped around his waist, and he traveled to her dresser where she kept all her framed pictures.
"Is this your mother?" Sean asked picking one up. Hope gave a small smile as she walked towards him.
"Yeah, that's her," she nodded.
"You have her smile," he said putting his arm around her as he put the picture back.
"Thanks," she said shaking away her tears.
"How old were you when she died?"
"10."
"Was it hard?"
"Oh God yes. I wanted her to be joking. So badly did I want that. But I knew she wasn't. Shit happens, right?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry," Sean kissed the top of her head. "Christmas?"
"Yeah, Jeff and I were probably 2?" she guessed.
"Were you and your brothers always this close?" he asked picking up a picture of the three of them, when they were teenagers hanging around their trampoline ring.
"Oh hell yeah. Jeff and I of course always had this twin connection so we were a bit closer. Matt was more of a parent figure to me. Once my mom died, Matt did everything in his power to keep an eye on the only girl in the family when Daddy couldn't. He still does, but he now understands that I'm going to do what I want, when I want, how I want," she laughed.
"What's your Dad like?"
"Um, growing up? Or now?" she chuckled.
"Both?"
"Oh God, growing up, he was VERY strict. He was a great guy, friendly and all, but he had a short temper. We grew up pretty sheltered from the outside world. I mean, we didn't have a radio until we were older. And what we did hear of music, it was all country. Now that I'm older, I can't stand country, Jeff doesn't mind it too much. But we've all grown out of it, pretty much. We didn't have cable, we used to watch like PPVs and things at friend's houses. But I couldn't imagine it being any other way. Our Dad taught us to play guitar. Jeff and I have battles with each other. We're pretty equal. But one thing that I'll always remember about my father when we were kids, was the belt."
"The belt?" Sean questioned.
"We were trouble makers, really we were. And we'd get, well, belted, every so often. It hurt like hell, but it did teach us discipline. And I suppose it helped for school."
"School? I went to a military academy and we didn't have shit like that! Where'd ya'll go to school?!" Sean laughed.
"Small town schools back then aren't what the big schools were. And our elementary school had no problems beating the kids when they got outta line. Jeff and I always got in trouble."
"You got beat as a kid?"
"Sometimes, but normally Jeff or Matt would take the pain for me. If I did something BAD at home, they'd tell Daddy that it was one of them. That's just the way things worked. And starting out, he hated the idea of any of his children being wrestlers."
"And now?"
"And now he's this friendly, sweet guy. Once my mom died, he got a little softer on us, but we always knew not to tick him off. Probably because of the, well, when we almost lost him. Now I don't think I could ever imagine him beating anyone. And he so behind all of us. He loves the Hardy Boyz. He's so proud."
"He almost died?"
"Yeah, Hope and I were going into our Junior year I believe when our father started acting really weird," Jeff popped in sitting on the bed. Hope joined him and held his hand.
"God, I remember that so clearly," Hope cried. She and Jeff put their heads together and thought back to those days. She had been helping Matt pack up his stuff to go back to school, as it was coming close for that day to come. Jeff was helping Shannon work on a move on the trampoline.
"Thanks for helping baby girl," Matt smiled closing a suitcase.
"No probs, but you sure you wanna go back?" she laughed.
"Yeah, sorry Bade. One of the three of us should get an education, cause you and Jeff sure as hell aren't!" Matt joked bringing his little sister into a headlock. Jeff came walking into the bedroom, a glass of lemonade in his hand.
"Hey, um, Daddy's acting weird again," Jeff said.
"What?" Hope questioned.
"This morning when Dad woke up, he started talking to Aunt Joyce," Matt said releasing his sister. She had no clue what was going on since she had been at Lizzie's that nite.
"But she passed away a while ago," Hope said.
"We know," Matt nodded. "Is he talking to her again?"
"No, but his words are all jumbled up. I asked him about Shannon staying over tonite and he just, well, I couldn't even understand him really," Jeff answered.
Matt shook his head and lead the sibling downstairs to have a discussion with their father. "Daddy, are you alright?" Matt had asked.
"Well of course I'm alright!" his response was matter of fact.
"You're acting kinda weird. Maybe you should go see a doctor," Jeff suggested.
"I will do no such thing. I'm perfectly healthy," Gil replied.
The next day, while Jeff, Matt, and Hope observed from outside working a few moves in their ring, Gil's co-worker, Debbie stopped by. They left together and the kids quickly got in Matt's car to follow them. They pulled into the hospital and waited a few minutes so she could get him out of the car and signed in. They met Debbie in the waiting room moments later.
"They're examining him right now," she said sitting down.
"Is he gonna be alright?" Hope asked.
"I'm sure he'll be fine sweetie. Your father is a strong man," Debbie smiled as a doctor exited the examining room.
"Matt, Jeff, Hope Hardy?" he asked. Matt nodded and shook the doctor's hand.
"Your father has a blood clot on his brain. We're getting ready to clean it out now. It was about ready to burst. If we hadn't caught it soon, he would have died," the doctor explained in simple terms.
"But he's gonna be alright, right?" Matt asked.
"I'm sure he'll be fine. As soon as the clot is cleaned out. After that, we'll keep him here for awhile to make sure that all has gone well."
"Is that the reason he was actin so funny?" Jeff asked.
"Yes, it was putting pressure on his brain, causing him to be disoriented. It caused him to remember things he had forgotten."
"When can we see him?" Hope asked.
"Not for sometime. Now if you'll excuse me," the doctor smiled at the kids and walked back into the room.
"We could have lost him," Hope cried. "Jeff, we could have been orphans."
"No, no! I wouldn't have let that happen," Matt said holding his little sister in his arms. "Daddy's gonna be just fine. Nothing bad is gonna happen."
"How can you be so sure?!" Hope exclaimed.
"Mommy wouldn't let it," Jeff answered for Matt.
For two weeks, the three of them visited their father every nite, coming home very late. Matt had kept the other two calm, putting their fears, and his own aside. They focused on music, which really helped Jeff and Hope, making them into the music lovers they are today. Matt decided to not go back to school in the long run, fearing that something could actually happen, leaving Jeff and Hope alone. He wanted to be there for them during the worst case scenario. He was just doing his part as a big brother.
"That's amazing," Sean said snapping Jeff and Hope back to reality.
"We're a strong family," Jeff said.
"Most families would have crumbled in those kinds of circumstances," Hope said. "But we held on, and things worked out for the best." She looked at Jeff and kissed his cheek. "What are you doin up?"
"Couldn't sleep. Ya know how I am," Jeff laughed.
"Yeah, but you've got a flight tomorrow. Go to bed," Hope smiled.
"Nite," Jeff said leaving the couple.
"Did your Dad ever marry again?"
"Oh no, not at all," I laughed. "I always wanted him to, or at least have a steady girlfriend, for me. I tried to pair him up with some of my girl-friends' single mothers. Those never worked. But my brothers, they were horrible to his girlfriends. Always pulled pranks on them and everything."
Sean started laughing as he picked up a picture. Shane was standing next to Hope, his arm around her with a large smile on his face. She, however, had a scowl on her face and her arms crossed, her body kind of turned against Shane's. "You really don't like Shane do you?"
"Alright, here's the thing about Shane and I. We never got along. Always fought about one thing or another. From the first time we met, there was bad chemistry. We just weren't meant to be friends," Hope explained. "Maybe our personalities are conflicting, I don't know, but in the ring it was always a case of 'whatever you can do, I can do better'. It didn't matter what he did, I would always try and top it."
"Rivals?"
"Something like that."
"What about you and Shannon?"
"Well, Shan and Jeff became friends first. But Shannon and I hit it off the second we met. We were attached! And they always teased us about dating, so when we were little, right after his girls have cooties stage, we did date. He was my first kiss. But we broke up not too long after and he started dating my best friend Lizzie. Then he came back to me like my freshman year of high school. But we were friends first and forever. He met Crystal and the sparks flew. And the rest is history," Hope smiled. Sean laughed and sat on the bed next to her. "Bed?"
"Yeah, I love you, Hope," Sean said leaning over to kiss her.
"Love you too Sean."
***********
"Have any ideas that you may want for your dress?" Hope asked Crystal as she took her measurements.
"Nope, it's completely up to you," Crystal smiled as Shannon walked into the house covered in mud.
"Oh gees, thanks," Hope muttered taking down the last of Crystal's measurements. "Maybe tomorrow we'll go out and look at fabric."
"Do you know how crowded tomorrow's going to be?!" Shannon laughed.
"Dude, what the hell were you doing?" Hope asked looking at her blonde headed friend.
"Jeff and I took the dogs and went mudding," he smiled.
"And ya'll didn't wait for me?!" she exclaimed knocking Shannon in the head.
"Oops?" Shannon smirked.
"Anyways, about tomorrow," Hope said relaxing on the couch.
"Honey, Shannon's right. Tomorrow the stores are going to be packed. It's Christmas eve," Crystal said.
"Oh yeah, I forgot," Hope sighed.
"Something wrong, Bade?" Shannon asked.
"Nah, I'm gonna get home. I'll see you guys tomorrow nite," Hope smiled.
"She's upset about Sean not going to be able to be here for Christmas," Crystal said handing her fiancé a glass of water.
"Oh, where's he going to be?" Shannon asked.
"Wow, Lizzie and Hope are right, you are an idiot," she laughed. "How about with his family?"
"Oh, true," Shannon said. "Is he coming at all?"
"She thinks he may try to get here the day after Christmas, but he couldn't promise her anything."
"Well that sucks. He should be here for a traditional Hardy Christmas," Shannon smiled.
"Oh that poor boy. He wouldn't know what to do!" Crystal laughed.
"Hi Daddy," Hope smiled kissing her father's cheek as he stood at the stove, making pies. "Oh Daddy, please tell me you're not baking."
"What's the matter with my cooking?!" he exclaimed.
"Nothing, nothing at all," Hope said grabbing some chips out of the cabinet. "Did Lizzie call?"
"Yeah, she'll be here for dinner," her father replied.
"Sweet! I'm going to Jeff and Beth's. Be back later," Hope said running out the door. She walked into the house, smelling Beth's chocolate chip cookies. She smiled and followed her nose into the kitchen, where Beth was sitting at the table eating a plate of cookies while reading the new Cosmo. "Oh God Beth, you're a savior!"
"Hey Hope," Beth smiled offering her some cookies. Hope sat and took them eagerly. "What's up?"
"Just wanted to see what you and my brother were up to," Hope smiled. "Seeing as he and Shannon didn't bother to wait for me to go mudding with them.
"Ya know, I tried to talk him into waiting and he said he just wanted it to be a male bonding experience," Beth laughed. "It's amazing how wet it is out there."
"I know. I miss mudding. Ugh, I'm so pissed with them," Hope said as Jeff walked into the kitchen in his boxers. "I'm not happy with you."
"Oh there's a shocker!" Jeff said.
"Look, Jeff, you could make this Christmas a little better for me! All you would have had to do was ask me to go with you and Shan, but did you? NO!" she exclaimed storming out of the kitchen.
"What's wrong with her?" Beth asked.
"I don't know, but her attitude these past 2 days have been pissing me off," Jeff sighed. He walked off after Hope, steaming almost as much as she was. Running down the stairs and down the driveway, he remembered he was in his bare feet. But for some reason, he cared more about his sister's attitude than the fact that he could get some infectious disease from the creatures living in the ground. "Hope! Slow down!" he called after her but she just kept walking, her head down, and her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "HOPE BADE HARDY!" She stopped, hearing her full name being used. She turned and waited for him to catch up to her.
"What?!" she asked impatiently has he tried desperately to catch his breath.
"What the hell is up your ass lately?" he asked holding onto her arms.
"Look, it's nothing, alright?!" she exclaimed trying to get out of his grip.
"No, I know you Hope. There's something going on," Jeff said loosening his hands. "Why won't you tell me what's up? You always used to tell me when something was bothering you."
"Jeff, you and Amy and Matt are leaving me by myself for a month! What the hell am I going to do?!" she cried.
"Leaving you? What are you talking about?"
"I joined the WWF to be closer to my brothers. But now you guys will be gone because of where ever the hell this storyline is going!"
"Is that it? You're upset because we're not working for a month?"
"Not just that," she sighed. "I know you Jeff. I can see how unhappy you are. And I know that when you get unhappy with something you quit. Or you work hard to get yourself kicked out of it. I know you'll leave permanently soon. And God only knows if and when Shannon and Lizzie will get called up."
"But you'll have Sean," he smiled at her.
"You haven't heard?" Hope questioned. He shook his head, narrowing his eyebrows. "Sean is being brought down to OVW. They don't have anything for him right now. And I don't know when he'll be brought up again."
"Oh, Hope, I'm sorry," Jeff said trying to hug her. She pushed him away. She continued her walk home, feeling worse than before. Jeff sighed and got on the phone to Matt, telling him what was wrong with their sister.
"Ya know, she just needs to move her ass home," Matt said.
"I know, but you know she won't, and I don't know if she could even do that," Jeff replied. "There's got to be something else we can do to keep her close to us."
"Do you think she'd get back into wrestling?"
"I don't know. I doubt it. The only wrestling she was doing was like a part time Indy wrestler during college. But once she graduated I think she hung up her boots, why?"
"Come now Jeff, you honestly don't think Vince would love to have the Hardy family in the business as wrestlers? I mean think about it. You're wild and crazy. I'm more methodical. Hope is both. She has your wild side, plus my reasoning and thought. And if we draw that much of a crowd with girls, think about the guys that would be interested in her. If we had both Amy and Hope with us, we'd have such a large demographic behind us!" Matt said.
"Matt, you have too much business in you," Jeff laughed.
"Jeff, I'm serious," Matt scolded him.
"And how do you suppose we talk to Miss Hardy about this?"
"Why not talk to Vince first when we come back? We can tell him our thoughts. I mean he's already seen tapes of her. She'd probably just have to go to OVW for a bit and redefine her skills and get rid of the ring rust."
"But that doesn't answer my question about how to ask her about it."
"We don't dear Jeffrey. Vince does," Matt smiled.
"Oh that's good," Jeff nodded with a similar grin.
Christmas had come and gone. She was just waiting for Sean to visit her. She sat in the living room, drawing up designs for Crystal's wedding dress, while Lizzie stretched out on the couch watching tv. Hope shook her head and threw her sketch pad across the room, nearly knocking a picture of Matt at graduation off a table.
"What's the matter?" Lizzie asked not looking up from the cartoon on the tv.
"I swear I'm going dry. I can't think of a single thing for Crystal's dress," Hope sighed. "Maybe I'll just tell her that I can't handle the responsibility."
"Dude, you so can do it if you just keep at it. It'll come to you," Lizzie smiled. "So when's Sean supposed to get here?"
"I don't know. But I'm really worried that Daddy will lay into him, ya know? He's as bad as Matt if not worse. I mean, you were here for the whole Jordan fiasco," she said.
"Oh yeah, that was pretty bad. Jordan was a really nice, preppy, kind of a guy," Lizzie smiled.
"Yeah, well, he was just a cover up for Zac anyways," Hope smiled thinking back to her rebel of a boyfriend in high school. He was the epitome of the phrase "bad boy". Detention every nite, suspension every other month, rode a Harley and drove a classic mustang that was supped up, listened to heavy metal, an earring in each ear, plus tongue ring, and eyebrow ring, leather jacket, smoked, spiky black hair, piercing blue eyes, white t-shirts, just everything you could imagine a bad boy to look like. She was a sophomore and he was a repeating senior when they started dating. Matt nearly killed him when he found out they were dating. Her father had no clue, and to this day, that's how she'd like things to be. Sean may not be a "bad boy", but he certainly didn't have the innocent choir boy look.
Hope sighed and picked up her sketch book just as someone knocked on the door. She glanced over at Lizzie as Taker, Hope's large St. Bernard, let loose a low bark. Hope nearly killed herself as she jumped over the couch to get to the doorway. Pushing Taker out of the way, she opened the door, hoping Sean would be standing there. Instead, standing there was her father's new girlfriend, Renee.
"Hi sweetie," Renee smiled at Hope, giving her a hug.
"Hi Renee," Hope sighed. "Daddy's in the kitchen." Renee nodded and headed straight for it. Hope walked back into the living room, her head down as she slumped onto the couch face first. She screamed into the cushion and soon had a figure sitting on her back. She lifted her head and growled. "Get off me Matthew!"
"I didn't hear the magic words," Matt smirked.
"Get off me or DIE!" she screamed putting all her weight into throwing him off her.
"Those work," Matt said. "What's the matter baby sister?"
"Well let's see, Sean hasn't called, hasn't shown up, and JUST ISN'T HERE! How the hell would you be if Amy did that to you?!" Hope exclaimed.
"Sorry I asked," Matt mumbled grabbing the remote out of Lizzie's hands.
"Hey!" she yelled, grabbing at Matt for the remote. He held it over his head as he stood, knowing she wouldn't be able to reach it, even on her tip toes.
"Don't you have to be going to get high right now?" Matt asked a smart ass smirk on his face.
"Don't you need to be getting a LIFE?!" she exclaimed.
She tried everything she could think of, that didn't include violence, before putting her wrestling knowledge to use. She smirked deviously at him before bending her arm and giving him a full fledged low blow. Not only did the remote drop to the floor, but Matt did as well. Lizzie grabbed the remote, a proud smile on her face, and changed the channel back the one she had it on originally. Matt groaned, holding onto his nether regions, and tears dripped down his face.
Hope rolled her eyes as another knock was heard rapping on the door. Once again, Taker let out this loud howl of warning. She slowly walked to the door, figuring it to be another friend of the family's. She opened the door and was genuinely surprised to see Sean standing there. He smiled at her, holding a duffle bag in his hand. Taker let out furious growls as Sean dropped his bag to bring Hope into his arms.
"He's not going to eat me, is he?" Sean whispered in Hope's ear.
"Oh please, his bark is SO worse than his bite," Hope smiled after kissing his cheek. She grabbed his hand as he took his bag and pulled him inside. "I thought you'd NEVER get here."
"Traffic was horrible! I was in a traffic jam on the interstate for like an hour. It sucked," Sean said with a laugh as he was being dragged up the stairs.
"Welcome to casa de Hope," she smiled turning the light on in the bedroom.
"Twin beds?" Sean questioned dropping his bag.
"Yeah, well, this was mine and Jeff's room. So of course we had separate beds. But I thought we just push em together."
"That could work."
"Hope!" Lizzie screamed from down the stairs. "Bring that boyfriend of yours in here!"
"That would be Lizzie," Hope laughed. "Come on, we can get the beds arranged later." Sean nodded and followed her down the stairs. She walked into the living room, stepped over a pain stricken Matt, and sat on the couch. Sean looked down at Matt curiously and raised his eyebrows.
"What? He took my remote," Lizzie answered the question running through Sean's head. "So I nailed him in the nuts."
"Yeah, Sean, this is Lizzie. Lizzie, this is Sean," Hope shook her head.
"Nice to meet you," Sean said cautiously as Lizzie gave him a wide smile and nodded before focusing her attention back on the tv.
"Matty, you gonna be alright? Or do I need to get you some ice?" Hope asked her brother, touching his back lightly.
"ICE?! Do you want me to shrink TOO?!" Matt squeaked.
"What's there to shrink?" Lizzie remarked.
"Ouch," Sean cringed at her statement.
"Lizzie, I hate you," Matt growled gaining enough strength to get to his knees.
"Yeah, feeling's mutual."
"Are they always like that?" Sean wondered out loud.
"Pretty much. At least she's not in love with Matt like she is with Jeff," Hope smiled.
"Seriously?!"
"Yeah," she nodded as her Dad and Renee walked in.
"Matthew, what's the matter? Your face is pale," Gil worried.
"Well, Dad, you better hope that your other two children can give you grandchildren, cause I fear I may not be able too," Matt smiled sarcastically. "And you have Lizzie Borden here to thank for that."
"Haha," Lizzie stuck her tongue out at him.
Gil shook his head and focused his attention on the man sitting next to his daughter. His face took on a look of hatred right away. Hope knew that her father wasn't going to go easy on her new boyfriend.
"Daddy, this is Sean O' Haire. Sean, this is my father, Gilbert Hardy," Hope introduced the two men. Sean stood up and shook Gil's hand firmly. Gil nodded and took a seat in his recliner. Sean took a deep breath and gave Hope a look of help. Hope just shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. It was going to be a long nite.
"So, how long have you two been dating again?" Gil questioned. Hope knew better than to answer his questions, so she sat quietly, her hand set on top of Sean's.
"Um, almost 4 months, sir," Sean answered.
'Sir, good goin baby,' Hope thought to herself trying to keep her smile secrete.
"And you're how old?"
"28."
"4 years older?"
"Yes sir."
"Hmm, what are your intentions with my daughter?"
"Oh, um, well, I'm just looking to have a good time," Sean smiled.
"Oh no," Hope, Matt, and Lizzie muttered as they all lowered their heads and shook them.
"A good time you say? What's your definition of a good time, boy?" Gil questioned crossing his arms.
'Crap, he said boy,' Hope sighed.
"Well, fun, I suppose," Sean replied.
"Fun, well, listen here. If I hear word that you and my daughter are having "FUN" with one another, then you'll be one sorry boy," Gil warned.
"Did I say something wrong?" Sean whispered to Hope. She nodded slowly in response.
"Sir, I have no intentions on having that sort of "fun" with Hope. I love her sir. She makes me happy and all I can do is hope that I do the same for her," Sean said.
"Yes, right," Gil swallowed.
"Daddy, I'm an adult. You really don't need to be grilling my boyfriends anymore. I can make my own decisions and I've decided on Sean. I do love him Daddy. And he does make me happy. Just please except him. At least for the 3 days he'll be here for," Hope requested.
"Yes, alright sweetie. Well, it was nice meeting you Sean," Gil smiled holding his hand out to Sean. Sean took it and nodded. "Renee and I are going out for the evening. I'll see you all in the morning."
The kids watched the two older adults leave the house before letting loose. "Sean, you saved your ass on that one," Lizzie laughed.
"Yeah, I thought you were a goner man. If you thought I was bad, then you'd be petrified if my father didn't approve of you," Matt said.
"He's a very intimidating man," Sean breathed.
"Yeah, no kidding," Hope rolled her eyes. "So, um, are you ready for your Christmas gift?"
"Oh hell yeah. Let me just run up and get yours," Sean kissed Hope softly and took off for the bedroom. Hope grabbed a box out of the hall closet and set it on her lap as she sat back on the couch. Sean ran down and handed Hope her gift. "Open mine first." He smiled. Hope gave him a side ways glance, holding the small gift in her hand. She tore off the shiny Christmas paper and pulled off the top of a jewelry box.
"Oh it's beautiful Sean," she said holding up a solitaire diamond necklace.
"Wait, there's more in the box," he said. She lifted up more tissue paper to reveal an eyebrow post. She smiled looking at the blue flame decoration on the top of it.
"This is great baby," she kissed him putting the jewelry back in the box and setting it on the table.
"Well, I realized you haven't changed your eyebrow ring since I met you, so I thought you may need a new one. And since flames are my specialty," he chuckled. "But you like the necklace?"
"It's beautiful. Thank you." She handed him the large box that was sitting in her lap and watching him open the gift.
"Oh wow! Is this that helmet I saw in California?" Sean asked holding up a shiny black motorcycle helmet.
"The very one. But I painted O' Haire on the back of it in flames," she pointed.
"Bade, this is great! Thank you!" he rejoiced pulling the helmet over his head. "It fits great!" he exclaimed flipping the shaded face shield up. She laughed at him and he took it off. "I love you."
"I love you two," Hope smiled.
"I think I'm going to be sick!" Matt gagged.
"And I think you're a dork, so what?" Lizzie smirked at him. He growled at her and knocked her over, grabbing the remote, to start the remote war all over again.