A special spank you goes out to Katy for this idea...

Dave walked quickly down the hall of their house, smiling as he watched Lilian feeding their now ten month old daughter. Over the past six months, Lilian and Dave had settled into a routine in which he did wrestling shows during the week and saw Lilian and Sophia whenever he could. As hectic as this could be sometimes, Lilian, Dave, and Sophia seemed to be coping well with this schedule. He paused for a moment, taking in the little blonde's loving way she fed their daughter mashed carrots, playfully twirling the spoon in Sophia's face.

"Baby, I'm going out now. I love you," he told her, turning and walking to the door.

"Fine. Whatever."

Dave froze at the annoyed tone in her voice, turning back quickly. "You okay, Lil?"

"I'm fine."

Dave frowned at the annoyed monotone in the short sentence, placing his keys on the side table and walking into the dining room. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Dave. Just go."

"No, Lil. I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong."

She sighed, the annoyance evident in the short breath. She yanked the towel off the holder, wiping her hands and turning to Dave.

"I told you. It's nothing!" she repeated, throwing the towel down once she was finished wiping her hands.

"Lil," Dave replied gently, resting his hand on her shoulder. "I know you enough to be able to tell when something isn't right."

"Just go, Dave," she said bitterly, shaking his hand off her shoulder. "Go have fun and leave me here with Sophia."

"Oh…" Dave said slowly, crossing his arms over his chest. "I see what's wrong."

"Oh, yeah?" Lilian challenged. "What's that?"

"You think I'm leaving you to care for Sophia." When she didn't answer, he pressed, "I'm right, aren't I?"

Lilian sighed, matching his posture as she crossed her arms across her chest. "Dave… You're on the road three of the five days that I'm home with Sophia. So don't you think I'm a little upset that you're leaving me to take care of her again?"

"Take care of her?" Dave repeated. "That's your daughter you're talking about, dear. I thought your job was to take care of her."

Lilian glared at him, her jaw clenching. Dave didn't flinch at the look that made most people cringe, however; he matched it perfectly. "My job," Lilian spat. "So you look at parenthood as a job? Like it's no different then fighting Hunter at a pay-per-view?"

"That's not what I said, Lil," Dave ground out. "Stop doing that."

"Stop doing what?"

"Putting words in my mouth!" Dave exclaimed angrily. "You always do that! You twist around what I say so that you make me feel guilty. It's not gonna work this time, Lilian."

Lilian flinched slightly, though she didn't show that to Dave. He used her full name… he never did that unless he was really pissed. She turned, shaking her head. "I'm done with this conversation, David," she said evenly. "Just go. Have fun." He grabbed her arm, Lilian wrenching the limb away from him. "Don't grab my arm!" Lilian hissed.

"Lilian… look, if it means this much to you, I'll just cancel my plans," Dave said softly, his hands dropping to his sides. "Hunter will be disappointed, but I'll just-"

"No, Dave," Lilian cut him off. "Go. I mean, it's not you get to hang out with the guys all the time after the shows. So go hang out with Hunter and have a grand old time."

"Lilian, I've had these plans for a month now? Why are you being such a bitch all of a sudden?"

Lilian's first reaction was to slap the taste out of his mouth. However, the sudden cooing of Sophia stopped her. She clenched her fists, glaring at him before muttering, "Leave."

"Lil-"

"Damn it, Dave, just go!"

Sophia began crying at the sudden outburst, and Lilian shot Dave another angry look. The big man simply shook his head, grabbing his keys and stalking out of the house, making sure to slam the door on the way out. Lilian closed her eyes briefly, willing herself to relax as she turned her attention back to Sophia.

"Hey, there, Sopapilla. It's okay. Mommy's here."

Dave sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that afternoon. Hunter glanced from the basketball court where the Washington Wizards had just scored to Dave. "You okay, man?"

"Hmm?" Dave asked, bringing his attention to Hunter. "I'm sorry. What?"

"You keep sighing. What's up?"

Dave shook his head, smiling weakly at his friend. "It's nothing. Lilian and I just had a little fight before I left."

"A fight?" Hunter asked skeptically. "You two never fight. What gives?"

"I don't know, man," Dave replied, running a hand through his hair. "Lilian got all pissy when I left… I think she's annoyed because I'm always on the road and I went out today, leaving her with Sophia again."

Hunter frowned slightly, taking in the depressed look on his friend's features. "Look, man… why don't we just forget the rest of the game? Go home to Lilian and talk to her," he suggested softly.

"Nah," Dave replied with a sigh. "She needs time to cool off. Lilian's a Latina; it's best to let her chill out before trying to talk to her. Trust me. She's a fireball when she's pissed."

"Okay, then," Hunter replied. "In the meantime, try to smile a little. Your face won't crack!"

Dave managed a small smile, turning his attention back to the game. However, his mind and heart were thinking of a certain blonde back at the house…

Dave shook his head, meeting Hunter's concerned glance. "Look, man… would you be upset if we left?" he finally asked. "I just can't…" he trailed off.

"We're out of here," Hunter replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "Come on. Let's get you home to the fireball."

"Hey there, baby girl," Lilian sang softly, holding her daughter to her chest as she moved around the bedroom. "I love to dance with you!"

Lilian laughed along with Sophia, twirling around the room as she held her daughter. "You're so pretty! Oh, yes, you are!" she continued to sing, kissing her daughter on the cheek. "Pretty, pretty, pretty!"

She was so involved in her dancing and singing that she didn't notice the door of the house opening and footsteps moving through the house. "I love you… I love you… I love you," she sang, before whispering one last time, "I love you."

Lilian frowned slightly when Sophia perked up, glancing behind her to see Dave standing there.

"Hey," he said sheepishly, smiling at his wife. "Looks like Sophia likes your singing."

Lilian managed a small smile back, mumbling a greeting as she held Sophia a little closer. "You're back early," she added calmly.

"Yeah, the game was boring," Dave commented.

"You shouldn't talk about your friends that way," Lilian answered, shifting Sophia to her other hip as the baby looked at Dave with wide eyes. Seeing the blank look on his face, she reiterated, "The Game? Triple H?"

"Oh!" Dave said, getting her joke. "Yeah." Sophia held her arms out to be taken by her father, and Lilian complied, handing off her daughter.

They stood there, staring at each other for a few moments, before both began talking at the same time.

"Dave, I-"

"Look, Lil-"

They laughed nervously, before Dave stated, "Go ahead."

"Dave, I'm sorry," Lilian began. "You work hard, you put your body on the line every week, and it's all to make sure that Sophia and I are taken care of. I overreacted earlier, and I'm sorry."

Dave shook his head, frowning as he answered, "No, Lil, you were right. You spend all your time with Sophia, you take care of her everyday, and I should be more sensitive. I shouldn't just run out of the house when I'm home."

"But Dave,' Lilian spoke up. "There's been plenty of times where I've left you to take care of Sophia so I could see Trish or Lita. So how's that different?"

Dave opened his mouth to reply, then closed it. "I can't believe we're arguing over this," he finally answered.

Lilian shook her head, smiling up at her husband. "I don't like fighting with you Dave."

"I don't like it either, Lily," Dave replied, gesturing for her to join him and Sophia.

With a sigh, she closed the distance between, leaning into him and pressing her tiny frame against his massive chest. "How about we just forgive and forget and promise to be more sensitive to the other's plans?" she suggested, holding her finger up for Sophia to grasp.

"That sounds good," Dave conceded, kissing the top of Lilian's head. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

They stood in silence for several minutes, save for the occasional baby noises that Sophia made. "She really loves you," Lilian commented softly, noting the way that Sophia seemed to melt into Dave's side.

"Hmm, she really does take after her mother," Dave replied.

"Yeah, her mother has pretty good taste," Lilian teased, glancing at her watch. "We need to get her down for a nap or else she'll be up all night."

"Okay," Dave said, walking over to the crib and gently placing Sophia down. Lilian followed, slipping her arm around Dave's waist as they looked down at their daughter, who looked back up at them with wide eyes.

"Dada?" Sophia suddenly said, her little eyes moving from Lilian to Dave.

Dave's mouth opened slightly, but it was Lilian's gasp that broke the silence. Dave glanced at Lilian, surprised to see her hands covering her mouth. She looked at Dave, tears welling in her eyes.

"Dave!" she exclaimed. "She just said Dada!"

"I know," Dave replied, amazed. "And to think, I almost missed this!"

"Well, for some reason you came back here," Lilian replied softly, watching as Sophia rolled over and closed her eyes, her breathing evening out. "She's amazing, isn't she?"

Dave wrapped his arms around Lilian, holding her closely. "She is. I just really wish I had a normal job so I could see her everyday."

Lilian sighed, resting her head against Dave's chest. "I wish you could be home more often, too. But Dave… what we do isn't normal. We're on the road a lot and I don't want to expose that to Sophia. So as long as my parents and your mother are available…"

She trailed off, looking up at Dave with tear-filled green eyes.

"I know you love the business, but I also know you love me and Sophia. And as long as I know that, nothing else really matters."

End Part 5.4