Disclaimer: I do not own the Hardys or any other wrestlers. They belong to themselves and the WWE. The kids and Sindel are mine.

I was a little irked at being told what to do and being put on baby duty, but, at the same time, at least I only had to deal with one, not three.

After Haku had shown me where the steaks were, he ran and got my old Version 1.0 tank-top. As soon as he'd spread it out on the ground near the grill, he set Ray on it. Sure enough, the baby was more than content to role around on and bury his head in my shirt.

I cooked the steaks and watched him. Once in a while, I'd go over and play with him. In mere minutes, I knew he was ticklish and that he liked measuring his hand with mine. He was kinda growing on me.

I began to ponder things I normally avoided talking about, let alone thinking about. Would I be a good father someday? Did I even want to be a father?

"Something smells good," came a strange female voice behind me. I turned and froze. She was about 5'8" with a petite yet athletic frame. Her eyes were a dark brown, almost black and her skin was well tanned. Her hair was waist-length and black with silver tips. One silver streak lined her face, reminding me of Rogue from X-Men. She wore a tan spaghetti-strapped shirt and bell-bottom, hip-hugger black jeans. She wore simple flip-flops, sea shells adorning the straps. Her nails were painted beige with black tips and she wore a silver necklace. The charm was a dragon wrapped around a sword, a ruby in its hilt. Her silver earrings were skull-and-crossbones.

"I see you and Raymond are getting along nicely," she commented, picking up her son. He giggled and squirmed in her arms.

"He's easy to get along with," I replied. "I take it that you're my new sister?"

"There's nothing new about it, but that's a story for later," she replied, shifting Raymond so that she'd have a free hand. "Name's Sindel Alexandra Ruby Jones Hardy."

"Long name," I commented, shaking the offered hand. She smiled. Then I remembered how I'd met Haku. "Are you all right? What was the extent of the damage? What happened?"

"I got caught in a gang-related crossfire," she said calmly. "I walked away with three clean through-and-through shots; two in my abdomen, one in my thigh."

Then she got a thoughtful look on her face.

"It's strange really, but it didn't hurt as bad as I imagined it would," she commented. I just shook my head.

"How did your kids get their names?" I asked, just trying to make conversation.

"Haku Genoa Hardy got his name from a Japanese novel I read at the time that I found him," she said, setting Raymond down on her lap as she took up a nearby chair. "I was nine when I came across an abandoned baby near the river in the town. We were at Genoa when I found him."

Wow…

"I was in the hospital when Kalub and Kamiel were born," she continued. "I knew their mother and their… father… decided his business trip was more important than the birth of his kids so he asked me to be there. I agreed. Their mom didn't survive. Kamiel had to be pulled from a dead body. Luckily, no damage was done. The doctors called Clavo to tell him the news while I held the newborn babies and he told them that the babies were now mine. He'd come by later with the paperwork. Thus, I got to name them. Kalub Brice Hardy got his name from my best friend's boyfriend, Calub, and my adopted father, Brice. Kamiel Ruby Hardy got her name from a movie I'd watched and your mother. Dad spoke little of anyone else. It also came to suit Kamiel as she got older. Dad says she's so very like your mother."

She smiled softly.

"Matthew Gilbert Hardy was abandoned on a bike trail," she told me, playing with Ray. "No one else challenged me for her care, so I kept him. He was named after you and Dad."

That took me by surprise.

"Raymond Moore Hardy is the only one that's mine by blood," she began, her voice going quiet. "I don't know who the father is. It could have been any of my rapists… I named him after my old friend and stole your middle name. Dad says he's a lot like you in many ways."

I sat down hard. This was a lot to digest. I had just learned a lot about my sister, things I know not many people knew.

She trusts me.

***

Matt was looking at me with a funny expression. He seemed shocked, horrified, and awed, all at the same time.

"What?" I asked. He shook his head and smiled.

"You just surprise me," he answered. I nodded, accepting his answer.

"Matt, if you don't mind my asking, why are you at such odds with your brother?"

Matt paused, thinking over how to answer.

"Do you watch wrestling?"

"I've followed your entire career."

"Then you'll see some of my reasoning."

"Jealousy, mal-content, deprivation, luckless-ness…"

"And then there's the whole lack of gratitude for my years of sacrifice for his well being."

"You don't have to answer this, but I must ask. Are you possibly feeling a little disgusted or upset that even Jeff's love-life is better, seemingly, than yours? Is there a part of you that wishes, dares to hope, that his so-called flawless and firm relationship will fail… much like yours had… with Amy?"

I saw him struggling.

"Remember," I reminded him. "You don't have to answer."

He shook his head and sat down next to me.

"Yes, I do," he said, letting Ray mess with his hand. "Yes, I am a little irked *I gave him a look* okay, very annoyed at his success in that area. I feel like I'm living in his shadow when it should be the other way around… I won't lie. There is a part of me that wants nothing more than for Jeff to go through something like I did, but a smaller part of me hopes that what he's found is true. Beth seems genuine…"

"But you're hoping that she's not so perfect or that Jeff will get caught doing something that will ruin his reputation," I finished. Matt nodded. A new thought occurred to me then, surprising and pleasing me.

He trusts me.