South Florida was a little cooler than it normally was around the holiday season, but it was still substantially warmer than anywhere up the East Coast.
Dwayne Johnson still knew that it could be used as an excuse to ask Jessica to fly down to Miami for a few days, a means of getting her away from Cena. Rather, it'd be a means to get her out from the protection of Orton and Bautista.
He groaned in disgust as he began to tear open some of his mail.
The two of them made him nauseous sometimes. Did they honestly believe that he didn't know what they were doing by constantly making plans with her? He was the one who had originated the protective role in her life back in the 90's.
Soon, however, he was reminded of another person from those days as he stared at the letter in his hands.
Dear Dwayne,
It feels like it's been ages since I last spoke to you. In fact, it probably has been. I'm sure that by now, you've realized that the date of wedding has passed. You remember Ron, right? He's a nice guy, Dwayne, and I've known him for a very long time, certainly well before I found success in the WWE. I think the fact that he thought I was something long before anyone, including Vince McMahon, did is something that has kept us strong over the years.
I'm sorry to hear about you and Dany splitting up. I always thought she was an incredibly nice woman and I know you both adore your daughter very much. If either of you, or Simone for that matter, ever need anything… please, don't hesitate to ask. It may have been a while since we last talked, but I still consider you a friend. And I know you would have come to the wedding if your schedule had allowed.
It is because I value your friendship that I feel compelled to offer my two cents to you right now.
In the years leading up to your eventual retirement, you, Jessica, and I spent a lot of time together. As a result, I came to see you as the older brother I never had. Nonetheless, I've known her a smidgeon longer than I've known you, but not much. Subsequently, I understand her in ways that only another girl could… especially when it comes to her emotional state.
Before you jump to any conclusions, I have not spoken to Jess regarding the current situation. However, that doesn't mean that I don't know how her mind works.
I'm not going to necessarily throw my support to either you or John. Instead, I'm going to tell you something that you should really take seriously.
I know that you care about her, Dwayne. I really do. But I know, that above all, you just want her to be happy. She may make her decision today, she might make it next month, or next year. No matter when the decision takes place and what she decides, you need to accept it, even if her choice isn't you. The amount of pain she has experienced as a result of all this is astounding and there is no reason for her to go through it again.
I hope that someday, when this all passes, we can sit down and talk, friend to friend once more. Perhaps, catch up on the direction our lives have taken us. I, for one, look forward to it.
Love always,
Trish
"Hey, Dad?"
"Yeah, Sean?" the much older man seated at the kitchen table replied, barely looking up from his morning newspaper.
The young man continued to stare out the window as the water began to pool on the dish he had just placed in the sink. "Is John supposed to come home today?"
His father turned a page and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "No, son. Not until Christmastime in two weeks."
"Then why is his car parked outside of Jessica's house?"
The elder Cena pulled his glasses off of his face and turned to his youngest son in shock. "What?"
"We should really leave within the hour if we want to get there on time."
The blonde looked over at him from the frame on her wall. "Hmm?"
"I said that we should really leave within the hour if we want to get there on time," he repeated and then caught sight of the picture she was staring at. "I'm sorry… I can leave you alone if you want."
Begrudgingly, her eyes tore away from the photo of her grandparents' wedding day.
"No, it's fine," Jessica waved him off. "Too long and I'll start to cry. It's just hard to believe that it's been so long since she's been gone."
"Grandma Catherine was even less than that," John replied in understanding. "I understand, Jess."
"I don't know," the hazel-eyed woman sighed. "I had only a few years with Grandpa, sporadic moments, you know? But Grandma…" she trailed off and found herself in need of extra composure before continuing. "She made me who I am. For eleven years, I saw her nearly every morning and every night. Even after college, I talked to her every day. All of these years, I've thought that maybe, someday, the hole in my heart would heal…"
"But it hasn't," John finished for her softly. "Mine hasn't either. It only got bigger."
Jessica nodded silently. "Yes, exactly."
The sapphire-eyed twenty-nine year old rubbed a hand over his slightly lengthened hair. "And then, this year… it got bigger again."
Immediately, Jess's gaze dropped to her feet. She knew exactly what he meant.
"We should probably get going."
The entire drive to the kennel was virtually silent with Jessica occasionally stating the next step on the directions he had handed her a half an hour ago.
It was awkward, exactly what John had wanted it not to be.
"We're here," he mumbled, throwing the car into park. "You might want to put your coat on. We're going to have to walk to the kennel."
The blonde nodded and reached for her jacket in the backseat, the scent of her shampoo drifting across the car towards John.
For a moment, he reveled in it and then caught himself, whipping open the driver's side door in frustration. "I'm going to go ring the doorbell at let them know we're here."
The twenty-eight year old winced as it shut roughly. "Okay," she whispered.
"You must be Jessica!" a voice exclaimed brightly from the lawn of the sprawling estate in front of her.
Jessica tightened the belt on her black pea coat with her gloved hands. "That'd be me."
"Lisa," the dark-haired woman in her mid-thirties replied with a smile and extended her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Jessica gripped her hand and shook it. "Believe me, today… the pleasure is all mine."
Lisa grinned. "Quite right. Shall we go pick out your puppy?"
Her hazel eyes flitted over to John, who was still visible behind Lisa as he towered over her. Reflexively, he looked away.
Jessica's gaze fixed back on Lisa. "Absolutely."
"Good!" the breeder remarked brightly. "Follow me."
John and Jessica began to follow the woman down the gravel path that led to a relatively large building, remaining quiet the whole time.
Lisa pushed open a door and immediately, found themselves surrounded by dogs in spacious dog runs for each of them. The females were on their right and the males were on their left.
"This is where we keep the litters," she explained, opening a frosted glass door ahead of her.
Immediately, five viewing windows appeared, a plain wooden door beside each.
"Can we see the puppies through the window?" Jessica inquired, stepping into the room, with John following soon after.
Lisa shut the door lightly behind her. "Absolutely. Just so you know, the middle door is your litter."
Slowly, the blonde made her way to the tinted window and peered inside.
In what looked like a small, brick red sandbox laid eleven puppies, all squirming around.
Gazing upon the sight, a slow smile spread across her face. "John, you have to see this."
A grin spread across John's face too. Those were the first voluntary words she'd spoken to him in two hours.
The expression persisted as he looked upon the puppies with her. "How does she pick?"
She gestured to the playpen to her right. "I'll take the females from the room and place them in the pen. From there, how you select is your decision. I'll start getting them now."
They watched as Lisa walked in and out of the room, carrying the puppies one by one into the pen. Finally, they counted six.
"I'll leave you to it," the woman stated simply and retreated back through the door, leaving John and Jessica alone.
"How do we do this?" Jessica piped up after staring at the pen for five minutes.
"Well, since she's going to be your dog," John began, approaching the pen slowly. "I'd put your hand in there and see who comes to you first."
She nodded. "That's actually a really good idea."
"I'm more than just a pretty face, you know."
"Yeah, you're also a meathead."
He snorted. "Whatever."
Jessica took a deep breath and sighed, walking to the edge of the cube. "Here goes nothing."
John stood, feet firmly planted beside her, as she took off a glove and extended her hand over the side.
About a minute or so passed by without much commotion.
All of a sudden, the little puppy in the corner began to stir.
"John!" she whispered forcefully. "Look! In the corner."
His blue eyes fell on the chocolate colored dog. "She's moving."
"She's moving to me…" Jessica marveled as the dog wearily approached her. "Hello, sweetheart."
"That's her," the Massachusetts native announced as the puppy pressed her snout into her palm.
Instantaneously, her heart melted. "Yes, that's her. That's Dakota."
His eyebrow arched at her. "Dakota? I like that…"
"Yeah, me too."
John slipped away for a moment and poked his head out the door, causing Lisa to return to the room.
"That's the one, huh?"
Jessica looked from Lisa to John to Dakota and then smiled. "Yeah, that's the one."
The maroon-colored car slowed to a stop in a parking spot that was relatively close to the front of the shopping center.
Their 10am trip to the breeder had left little time to do otherwise and as a result, there were still a lot of supplies needed for the newest addition to the McMahon family.
"She's shaking," Jessica announced as John opened her door for her.
John looked over to the puppy sitting on her lap. "She's just nervous. Keep her in your arms while we're in the store. She'll be fine. Do you need help?"
"I'm holding a puppy… not bench pressing Dave."
"Right, right…" he trailed off, allowing her to get out of the car as he rubbed the back of his neck.
By the time he had shut the door however, the blonde wrestler was already a good fifteen feet ahead of him.
He hated this feeling of wanting to say something he knew he wasn't supposed to.
For twenty years, their friendship had allowed John to say a lot of things. He could make jokes, some appropriate, most rather inappropriate, and say things to get a rise out of her. The reason their romantic relationship had been so strong was the fact that they could be themselves around each other.
But once John could no longer be himself, he didn't know how much she'd want him anymore.
The sun had long since disappeared from the Massachusetts sky, ushering in a deep freeze on a cold winter night.
But inside the house that she'd grown up in, Jessica was warmed by the small animal sleeping on top of the blanket in her lap.
"Do you want a slice?" a voice interred her concentration.
The Diva looked up to find the azure-eyed wrestler standing above her, a slice of cheese pizza on a plate in his hand.
She shook her head, "I'm not really hungry."
He nodded silently and then retreated back towards the kitchen.
Jessica sighed as she watched John turn and walk away. How many times had she been forced to watch that in the last few months?
Each time, staring at his back, she felt saddened by the pain she knew he was feeling, possibly greater than her own. No matter what, she knew that someone was going to experience that pain for a long time.
And she felt guilty.
"John?" her voice graced his ears and he turned around.
His eyes locked on her. "Yeah?"
"Would you like to sit with her for a little while?" Jessica asked him softly, already repositioning her on the blanket and causing the puppy to squirm in response.
"You sure?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" she laughed, standing up from the plush chair. "Come here."
The wrestler nodded and crossed the room. In a few paces, he was standing in front of her and Jessica placed the wriggling Chocolate Lab into his arms.
She watched as he laughed at Dakota's squeaky yawn. "You know, maybe I can finally provide Sean with a job."
He squinted his eyes. "What are you talking about?"
"Puppy sitting… I'll pay him to puppy sit her. I can't exactly take her on the road with me 300-something days out of the year," Jess explained with a chuckle. "He'll finally be gainfully employed."
John petted the fur on her back. "My dad will be thrilled."
"I'm sure," Jessica laughed again, backing away from the chair. "I am kind of hungry, come to think of it. Think you can handle her until I come back?"
His crystalline blue orbs rolled. "Cody and I will be just fine."
"Cody?"
"It's my new nickname for her… although, if you adopt it too, Runnels might have a problem sharing his name with a dog."
"Won't be the first time," she mused, retreating from the room once more.
After watching her exit, he turned back to the mischievous dog in his lap with a smile.
"You see that lady, Cody?" he asked her, scratching the little white spot on her chest. "That's your mommy. She's a pretty cool person. You're going to love her. Her grandma taught her to make the best cookies on the planet, but be careful. Sometimes they have chocolate and while you may be a Chocolate Lab, you can't have those. But just between you and me… you can sneak a sugar cookie or two off the counter."
Unbeknownst to John, however, Jessica hadn't really left the room. Instead, she was standing behind a wall near the front door, her head peering around the corner to listen in on the conversation.
"You're going to have the best time with her, I promise. Maybe, if we're both really lucky, I'll get to spend a lot of time with you too… but that's up to Mommy. Even if I don't though, you'll get to spend time with someone else who is nice. He has a daughter who'll love to play with you all of the time," John explained to Dakota, whose little steel blue eyes were gazing intently into his own. "Either way, Cody, you're a really lucky puppy because you have Jessica McMahon for a mom. And she already loves you a lot, I can tell. Trust me, puppy, there isn't a better feeling in the world than when she loves you. I would know…" he added, his own blue eyes darkening slightly in sadness. "Because once upon a time, she used to love me too."
Jessica's breath caught in her throat as she pulled herself back into the hallway, sliding down against the wall until her elbows could rest on her knees.
She brought her hands to her mouth, pressing them against her face to stifle any sound she could make as the tears began to fall from her watery hazel eyes.
A/N: The updates are coming a lot faster now, aren't they?
I know that all of you McCena fans were probably reaching for tissues at the end of this chapter. It had to be done. I'm sorry.
But on the upside, I'm contemplating ending this story a little sooner than I anticipated. I don't think that between now and my planned ending of the story, I can write six chapters about that period of time. It just doesn't make sense to me. There's probably, more realistically, about five chapters total left… instead of the eight planned chapters remaining.
The next chapter will feature a lot more Dwayne. I'm kind of planning out what is going to happen over the next few original chapters. And then it's the answer… and then the wedding scene!
If I tried and stretch it out, it wouldn't be nearly as effective as I'd want it to be. And you wouldn't like it as much.
I've decided that the new poll will go up after the big reveal chapter. It'll be more appropriate then.
Oh, and by the way, in Jessica's little blog on my profile… you'll be able to see a pic of the puppy! Whose name, in real life, is really Dakota!
Ooooh! And once again, shamelessly promoting my Heroes fic here. It's called 'Fix You.' Read/Review it!
Onto the shoutouts…
CamieAnn – Glad you like it, girl! Thanks for the support!
Enigmatic Lotus Leaf – Really? You want her to end up with John? I hadn't noticed. Hehe. I'm glad you liked the idea of Cena and a puppy… I have a feeling you liked this chapter too.
iNdy MiLk – I'm very proud of Jeff and I think it is a well-deserved title. It makes me happy to know that I've gotten you to root for Cena, even though you aren't really a fan of his.
Sambolina – I can only imagine what this letter did to you then! Poor Dave is going to be out for a while now, though. Something like 6-8 months, apparently.
ThatGirl54 – Thank you for the luck… apparently it came in handy for my Meteorology exam. I got an A! And yes, you did. Sort of. I'll explain it to you later.
Cena-holic8 – Yes, I did. After all this time, did you really expect anything less from me? And thank you!
Da-Real-Mrz-Cena102100 – You probably hated me for this one then. I shall make the wedding the last chapter. It's already decided, by the way. Anything you say now has no baring. Haha!
Sideways anger – I had one of those Five Hour Energy drink things right before my Politics final. Thank God for that! It was amazing. McCena is always fun to work with on their good days, not so much on their bad days. This was a little hard to write.
Westfan – Oh my God, girl. Please send Dave our love and best wishes. I can't imagine what having to be out another 6-8 months is doing to him. I know you love the time together, but at the same time, I know it's rough to deal with, as well. I will come and visit you after the holiday season has passed. David will probably join me at some point. If you need anything let me know. And thanks for the numerous compliments per usual. I thought K-Fed was hysterical as a part of RAW and I thought Jess would find it very funny too.
Hotpocketbandit – You're quite welcome… it's very clever. Animals are the best, aren't they?
OneAndOnlyHardyGirl – He did! I'm so proud of him. He deserves it! Jeff as champ, John as champ… could it be any better? Thank you!
Nic-002001 – Thanks. I'm starting to get back to my old updating habits. I can't belive I'm getting close to the end! John has come to his senses… it's just a question of what Jess decides.
Dreamin'BIG – I love how I discuss Trish and a week later, she returns in a match with John. SERIOUSLY ironic. You have no idea. I think John is struggling a lot more than anyone realizes. There is totally going to be a fourth SAR… although, what do you mean by a teaser?
StarSixtyNine – So, I'm talking to you online as I'm replying to your review… and as these two dogs are constantly knocking my laptop charger out of the wall. We're experiencing a deep freeze here, as well. It's worse in NYC than it is in my hometown, about an hour from here. You were talking about killing your brother… and I offered to beat him up for you. And yes, she did cover Womanizer. Interestingly enough.
Chain Gang Princess – Tiff, I must say… Randy/Jess would have been a rather interesting coupling and I toyed with making that the potential kink for this story way back when I started SAR II. However, I like this normal Randy way too much… and once things started to fall in place in real life to line up with this story, I couldn't deny it. It was perfect. McRock vs. McCena… interesting.
So that's about it for now, folks. Enjoy this chapter and please, as usual, review. The reviews have been on the decline lately… consider it a Chanukah present for me!
Have a Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas, everyone!
Danielle