"Daddy, where are we going?"

Chris looked in the rearview mirror at Finnegan who was looking out his own window intently. Chris smiled and turned his eyes back to the road. "We're going to get you some clothes that Mommy will like," Chris explained. "We're doing something special for Mommy next week."

"What are we doing?"

"We're going to ask Mommy to marry us," Chris told him, "but you have to promise that you'll keep this a secret from her, like we talked about before."

"But why?"

"Because if you didn't then it wouldn't be much of a surprise, would it?" Chris said.

"I don't know," Finnegan responded cutely, shrugging his shoulders. "Is Mommy going to marry me too?"

"Sort of, you know how my last name is Irvine, and your last name is…"

"Finnegan Irvine!" Finnegan exclaimed with the exuberance of a child.

"Right," Chris responded. "But what's Mommy's last name?"

"Mommy's name is Stephanie McMahon."

"Yeah, so when we ask Mommy to marry us, she'll change her name to Stephanie Irvine--"

"Like us!"

"Yeah, so it's kind of an official way to accept Mommy into our family. When we ask her, it's kind of like we're asking her to be our family, but in an official way, since Mommy is already our family, but we want to be a family that's legal."

Finnegan nodded soberly, "I want Mommy to marry us, Daddy."

"Well, I should hope so," Chris joked. "It wouldn't be too good if you didn't want Mommy to marry me. I already asked Grandpa Vince and he said that it was okay."

"Daddy, does it mean you can come home cause I miss you and so does Mommy."

"Yeah, I'll be coming home," he paused and actually digested his son's words. "Wait, did you say that Mommy said that she missed me?"

That was a new development, but he shouldn't have been surprised. Their house was huge and they were only three people to begin with so to be a man down, it made the house much bigger and there was somehow more space to fill. But maybe there were other implications to Stephanie missing him. He was sure that their problems could be overcome. They never really had many problems during their relationship, which just made their non-marriage even stranger. Sure, they fought, they were good at that, but at the end of the day, they still loved each other and they still loved Finnegan.

Whatever was holding back Stephanie would just have to be resolved. Finnegan spoke up, "Mommy was asking lots of questions 'bout you."

"Questions? Why would Mommy ask questions about me, she knows everything about me."

"I don't know, Daddy."

"What was she asking?"

"About girls," Finnegan answered. "Daddy, can we hear your CD?'

"In a sec, Finn, Mommy was asking about girls? Like girls with me?"

"I think so, I don't remember everything, Daddy," Finnegan said with his version of childlike sarcasm.

Chris had to laugh at that. Here he was, grilling his four-year old son. And by the sounds of it, Stephanie had been grilling him too. It was really sad though, but it just proved further what Chris already knew, Stephanie loved him.

That fact had been a little bit in doubt since the break-up, but Chris had no choice but to believe she loved him. He had heard what she had done to Paul, and when he had heard it, he had to grin. That was the Stephanie he knew and loved. Then to defend him like that proved it all. Just as he had been willing to protect her, she was the same way. God, she was the perfect woman.

"Okay, here we are," Chris said as he pulled up to the mall. "Where are my sunglasses?"

"So you don't have to sign graphs, Daddy?" Finnegan asked, because he knew that sometimes his daddy was bombarded with people. He was used to it by now, though when he was around one and two, he got terrified by the magnitude of people.

"Yup, this is Daddy/Finn time," Chris told him as he looked back at Finnegan with a smile. Finnegan gave him a big smile back. Chris found his sunglasses and put them on and opened his door to get out before helping Finnegan out of the car.

Finnegan loved to go places with Chris. It made him feel like a big kid and made him feel important. It was important to both Stephanie and Chris that they made Finnegan feel like he was the most important thing in their lives. They each knew that their jobs were hectic and often stretched them thin, but they never wanted Finnegan to think that he came second. Their son came second to nothing or nobody.

"Daddy, can we get cookies?" Finnegan asked as he took Chris's hand.

"I don't want to spoil your lunch, but I think that we can get a cookie each, but let's go shopping first, that way we can be as messy as we want when we get our cookies."

"Okay," Finnegan said as they walked inside.

They headed straight for shopping for Finnegan, not stopping until they got to the store. Chris was proud as Finnegan took charge when they stepped into the store. "Daddy, Mommy like this?" Finnegan asked repeatedly as he looked through the racks and racks of clothes. Chris laughed and started to pick a few things that looked good.

"Chris, do you think our baby will like me?"

"I don't think that is a thing that you should worry about."

"But it could happen," she reasoned. "He could hate me and not want me to hold him and stuff. He could like throw things at me."

Chris laughed, "Or he could adore you like most of us do. I think the odds are in your favor."

"I just want him to like me. I just want the chance to be a good mom. I'm worried that I'll blow my chance. I want him to like me is all."

"I see a little boy who is intent on making his Mommy proud because, above anyone else, he loves you. I think any guy, if they get a few moments with you, would fall for you in a second. The minute you hold our son in your arms, he's going to be a goner. Kind of like me on our first date."

Chris and Finnegan's shopping trip was quite productive. They bought the young boy a pair of black pants and a button-down dress shirt so that he would match Chris during the proposal. As they walked out of the mall, he noticed that it was beginning to rain. That turned out to be an understatement later that evening when the heavens decided to open up and the rain poured down. A severe thunderstorm was what they called it, but whatever the name, it was no fun to have the lights constantly flickering.

"Okay Finn, time for bed," Chris said as the little boy lay on the couch.

"Do I have to?" he whined.

"Yes, or else I'm going to get someone to come help me put you to bed," Chris said ominously.

"Who?" Finnegan asked curiously.

"Oh, just The Undertaker," Chris said nonchalantly, referring to Mark's character, which just happened to be Finnegan's #1 fear. Finnegan's lip started to tremble as Chris said who he was going to bring.

Finnegan scurried off the couch and into his bedroom, climbing under the covers as Chris walked into the room. "Don't call Undertaker, Daddy!"

"Well…okay," Chris said, coming over to tuck him in. Chris pulled the covers more tightly around his son and then kissed his cheek, "Goodnight you."

"Night Daddy," Finnegan told him as he shifted around trying to get comfortable in the bed that he wasn't quite used to yet, and hopefully wouldn't have to get used to any time soon.

Chris stood up and turned off the light and closed the door partially. He went into his own, hopefully also temporary, bedroom and pulled out Stephanie's ring, staring at it as he listened to the rumble of thunder in the distance. He wasn't a schmaltzy, sentimental man, but he couldn't help but grab the picture frame next to his bed, which contained a picture of Stephanie and Finnegan after he had won the WWE Championship upon his return to the company. It was backstage and he had just walked through the curtains with his new belt and was greeted by two identically excited faces.

The first thing that Chris did upon winning the title, you ask? Well, the very first thing he did was hand it to Finnegan, who took it eagerly, if not a little clumsily since it was a little heavy for him to carry. He didn't know who had taken the picture, but someone had snapped a shot of Finnegan looking amazedly at the big, gold belt and Stephanie kneeling next to him, pointing at the belt and talking to him. The picture was going to go on the WWE website, but Chris decided he wanted a copy all to himself so instead they had put up a picture of Finnegan and Stephanie hugging him, which had happened moments later. Needless to say, he loved the picture.

"Daddy?" came a small voice from the door.

"Hey Finn, what's up?"

"The booming," he answered pitifully, Lionheart hanging off to his side.

"Oh, the thunder and lightning?" Chris asked. Finnegan nodded, "Well, why don't you join me?"

"Yeah?"

"Hop on up," Chris said, scooting over in his bed. He switched off the light and stuck Stephanie's ring in his drawer as Finnegan climbed in bed with him. He laid down, deciding that since he was already ready for bed, he might as well go to bed. Finnegan cuddled up to his daddy, seeking solace from the storm as Chris laid there, looking up at the ceiling watching the lightning make strange patterns upon it.

This wasn't where he imagined his life to be exactly. But then, you never really get what you expect in life. You're thrown curveball after curveball and you just try to get a hit every now and again. Before Stephanie, he pictured the marriage, the kids, the life. After Stephanie and after Finnegan, he knew that his life was simply the two of them. He didn't need anything else. His eyes were getting heavy and Finnegan's rhythmic breathing was lulling him to sleep when there was a knock on the door. Chris tensed, it was almost midnight and he wasn't expecting visitors and nobody had been buzzed up. He carefully maneuvered to get out of bed without waking Finnegan before heading to the door. He opened it and was shocked to see Stephanie, clad in some pajama pants and her old Boston University sweatshirt.

"Steph, what's wrong?"

"That house is scary during a storm. I swear I was hearing sounds and I got scared and I had nowhere else to go. Shane and my parents are all in Florida and I couldn't wake up Grammy Vicky, and I remembered that you gave me your key for emergencies," she told him, explaining why nobody had been buzzed up. "I know I sound pathetic, but--"

Chris stepped forward to hug her, "Come here."

She hugged him back, "I'm sorry, I'm intruding, I didn't mean to, it's just with a 10,000 square foot house and four acres of land, that's a lot for one person."

"You don't have to explain it to me, I know how you get during storms when they're really bad."

She just let him hold her for a moment, glad that he hadn't turned her away and hoping he wasn't here with some woman. He led her into his apartment and she sat down on the couch as Chris got her some water. She looked around, trying to find any evidence of a female being around. She didn't see any as Chris came back.

"That house can be kind of creepy when you're alone," he said with a lazy smile.

"Yeah," she said, shivering as she thought about the storm and her house, her big, empty house.

"I'd give you my bed to sleep in, but it's occupied," he told her, "And the person in it kind of, you know, takes up space."

Stephanie's mind suddenly conjured up images of different women in Chris's bed. God, what if she had invited herself over and Chris had a woman…a girlfriend over? Maybe he just snuck her up here after Finnegan went to bed since he went to bed early enough. She suddenly felt foolish for being frightened. If he had a woman here, she'd be the third wheel, a very awkward third wheel.

"Oh, if you don't have room, I can just go back home."

"You're scared though and I have room, can you sleep by yourself or do you need protection?"

"Really Chris, now I'm just imposing on you," she said, standing up. "I'll just--" She couldn't finish as a flash of lightning and immediate clap of thunder made her jump.

"Okay, come on," he said, pulling her towards the bedroom. "We'll just all have to squeeze in."

Stephanie looked horrified as Chris led her to the bedroom. If she hadn't lost her logic in the face of thinking she had lost Chris, she would've seen the truth. She tried to pull away, but couldn't, letting him open the door. She closed her eyes, being pulled in against her will, but she couldn't find it in herself to figure out how to protest.

"Yup, just as I expect, took up all the room," Chris laughed quietly.

Stephanie dared to open her eyes and look and saw Finnegan sprawled out on one side of the bed. She let out a huge sigh of relief and just stared at her son. He was laying on his back, his legs and arms going in all directions, his little blue cast above his head. Stephanie let herself laugh, both out of relief and the cute picture Finnegan made.

"Seems I've got two scaredy-cats on my hands," Chris said. "I think we can both squeeze in though, unless that bothers you…"

"No, it doesn't," she said immediately. No, the idea of spending the night in the arms of the man she loved wasn't unappealing at all.

Stephanie climbed into the bed first, laying in the middle. As if sensing a presence in the bed with him, Finnegan cuddled up close to Stephanie. His arm landed smack on her hip as she laid on her side. Chris climbed in behind her. Since Finnegan was taking up so much space, Chris and Stephanie only had limited space with which to work with. Chris wrapped his right arm around Stephanie's waist. He moved so his body was pressing against hers.

"Still scared?" he asked as they settled in and Stephanie's head buried itself into the pillow.

"I'm good," she told him. And that was the truth. She hadn't felt this good in the past month. Being with her family felt better than most anything.

"Good," he replied, feeling pretty perfect as well. He tightened his hold on Stephanie as they both watched Finnegan sleep in the quick flashes of light from outside.

"He's handsome huh?" Stephanie commented quietly as they both lay awake. Neither one was willing to give in to sleep and lose this perfection.

"Gets that from you," Chris told her. "He's so you. He's the best."

"He is the best."

Chris sighed as he reached up his hand and gently and tenderly brushed some of her hair over her ear. Stephanie closed her eyes briefly, falling into the moment. Moments like these were the ones you hid away for when your heart needed to be picked up. Despite it all, it just came down to the two of them.

"Steph, what are we doing?" he wondered.

"We're lying down."

"I mean in our lives. Look at the two of us. We're supposedly not together, but we're right where we started."

"Oh…"

"I can't escape you."

"Do you want to? Do you want to escape me? If that's what you want…"

"That's just the thing, Steph, I can't escape you. I will never escape you, not with that person hogging the bed over there in our lives. We'll always be connected through him."

"He wasn't in the plan," she whispered, running her hand through his soft, brown hair.

"There never was a plan."

"Touché."

Chris pressed a kiss just below her ear. It was innocent enough, but was still enough to make her heart race. Chris moved to her jaw, pressing another chaste kiss to her warm skin. His hold of her tightened even more until they were firmly smashed together. Their bodies were just warm against each other, drawing different things from the other.

"Chris, what are you doing?" she breathed as she received another kiss.

"Kissing you," he mumbled against her skin. "Is that not allowed? Should I stop kissing the mother of my child?"

"Yes…no…I don't know," she mumbled. "No, don't stop, Chris."

Chris smiled against her skin. She was giving him permission to continue. He never thought he'd be so happy to get permission to kiss Stephanie before. But that's just what he felt. He was happier than he had been in the last month. This was how it was supposed to be, maybe not here, maybe not in this room, in this apartment, but this, being with Stephanie, kissing her whenever he wanted to, holding her tightly, this was how it was always supposed to be. This was how their lives should be, just this moment, played in a continual loop for the rest of his life.

He felt compelled, everything was coming together. Everything was coming together for him, and the moment was perfect. With the storm raging outside, it made the room feel even smaller. The glimpses of Stephanie when the lightning flashed were enticing. For some reason, it made her more beautiful than he had ever seen her, and that was a bold statement. He felt right, this felt right, not a restaurant, not flowers, not him on his knee, this moment felt more right than any of that.

"Stephanie," he said, turning her so she was on her back. She looked up at him curiously. He took her hands in his and hovered over her until he was pressed cheek to cheek with her. He whispered gently into her ear. "Stephanie, will you please, please marry me?"

Stephanie tensed up. Nothing was resolved, she came to realize in that moment. Nothing was resolved and she hadn't talked to Chris. She needed to get everything out in the open before she said yes to him. She needed to know the truth. She breathed out a little and smelled his aftershave as it hit her nose. She wanted to give in, but she had to stay strong. She pulled away so she was facing him.

"Chris, no," Stephanie started, but by the time she was going to finish his sentence, Chris was gone. He had gotten up quickly and was out of the room, grabbing a sweatshirt on his way out. He was pulling it on as Stephanie got out of bed quickly. She ran out into the large room and saw Chris trying to put on his shoes. "Chris, wait."

"No Steph, I can't do this anymore, I'm sorry. This is it for me, okay. I've put myself out there time and time again and I can't do this anymore. I can't have you the way I want to, and yet I can't live without you. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I can't be with you. What is it going to take, Stephanie! Huh, why can't I be what you want! Why am I not enough!"

"Chris, please, just don't go, please," she begged as Chris pulled his other shoe on. "Chris, you don't get it, please, just stop."

"No, I can't do this anymore. This is it, I tried one last time, I promised myself I'd do it one last time and if you said no, I'd stop. I tried, you said no, I'm stopping. This is it, I can't do this anymore. Finn is our only link from now on."

"Chris, stop!" Stephanie yelled. "Stop! I didn't say no to your proposal, not yet. I need to talk to you."

"I'm done talking, I'm sorry, I'm done, I can't do this anymore. You don't know how you're tearing me up inside. You don't know what it's like…you just don't. You don't know what this is doing to me, what you're doing to me."

Chris got up and went towards the door. Stephanie had to stop him. She had to stop him and talk to him. She didn't want to lose him. She just wanted to talk to him, she needed to get it all out in the open. She tried to grab his arm, but he pulled away at the last second. She frowned and he headed towards the door.

"Chris, where are you going?"

"Out, please be gone when I come back."

"I'm not leaving Finny alone," she told him.

"Fine, I'll be outside, get out now so I can come back up here and watch our son," Chris said coldly, heading for the door. This time, Stephanie grabbed a hold of his arm and held it in hers firmly. Chris turned to her. "Let go of me."

"I thought you didn't love me for five years!"