A/N: It's been a while, and I'm sorry for that. I hope you enjoy this chapter. LovelyLizzie, your review inspired me and this chapter is for you. Please R&R!
Easing his key into the lock, Randy turned it slowly and pushed the door open with as little noise as he could possibly manage. The apartment was just as he'd left it, save for the faintest hint of burnt bread that still hung in the air. His lips pursing into a grimace, he hoped it wouldn't be that noticeable to Mickie. Whilst they didn't really know each other, the last thing Randy needed was to be ridiculed for his spectacular failure at making toast by someone he hardly knew.
If Mickie did notice, she was polite enough not to say anything. With Juliet slumped like a rag doll in her arms, the brunette Diva stepped over the threshold and into Randy's apartment. Her head turned briefly as she took it all in.
It was spacious, and decorated with a modern style. The walls that had windows fitted were an off white, whilst the rest were a light chocolate brown. The wide, polished wooden floor was clutter free, save for the living area which had two 'L' shaped couches facing one another, separated by a clear glass coffee table. A set of glass doors led out onto a small but comfortable balcony that looked in on the kitchen and dining room that was connected to the main room
Whilst there was a table that could seat eight, Mickie imagined Randy ate most things either in the living area or at the island in the middle right of the kitchen. The image of Randy leaning over breakfast bowl to eat Cheerio's was broken as the real the man stepped in her way.
Walking past the kitchen and down a short, wide hallway, Randy beckoned Mickie to follow. Obliging, Mickie was strangely all too aware of her sneakers that squeaked painfully loudly as she walked over the polished wood floor.
Randy led the way to a guest bedroom she assumed, tastefully decorated in pastel blues and white. Something told Mickie that the apartment was either already decorated when he bought it, or Randy had hired someone to do it for him. Whilst it suited his playboy persona, somehow she imagined Randy's tastes to be more country and a little warmer.
Realising she had no evidence to make this assumption, Mickie pushed the thoughts aside as she walked to the bed. Between them, Randy and Mickie carefully laid the sleeping girl down on the large mattress. Easing Juliet's shoes off her feet, Mickie covered her with a thin cotton comforter to make her more comfortable. Backing out of the room, she eased past Randy as he pulled the door to an almost close.
Following Mickie back out into the main area of the apartment, he studied her back as she walked. Randy knew very little of her. In fact, the most he could claim to know was that she had an awful taste in men and that was only because she had dated the Dykstra kid for all of five minutes. This lack of familiarity had made the journey to the apartment quiet and a little awkward. Randy had said nothing, and Mickie had seemed content to look out the window at the passing buildings. Now that she was stood against the island in his kitchen, Randy didn't know what to say. Moreover, he was wondering what exactly possessed him to ask her here in the first place.
"You've got a nice place Randy. Very modern." Mickie's voice broke the silence, startling Randy somewhat. Smiling a half smile, he pushed his hands into his pockets.
"It's okay I guess," he agreed, "it came ready decorated and with the furniture. It's why I picked it. Couldn't be bothered to do it all myself, y'know?"
Mickie nodded, more at her own earlier assumption than in response to Randy.
"Can I get you a drink?"
"Please." She replied, watching as Randy moved over to the refrigerator.
Sticking his head inside, he stood up with a can in his hand. "Diet okay?"
Mickie nodded, and Randy tossed it to her. Catching it in her outstretched hands, she opened it and took a brief sip, smirking as the carbonated bubbles burst on her tongue and the back of her throat. Without warning, she giggled, causing Randy to cock an eyebrow.
"What's so funny?"
"Oh nothing," Mickie grinned, tracing her bottom lip with the tip of her finger. "I've just always loved the sensation of soda bubbling in my mouth. It's weird, I know."
Randy smirked. "I actually think it's kinda cute."
Blushing, Mickie quickly changed the subject. She was entirely sure what caused the colour to burn her cheeks, but she knew she didn't like feeling that exposed. At least when Kenny had ridiculed her for admitting a simple like of the sensation, she knew how to cope with it. "So what happens now?"
"Honestly? I have no idea." Saying the words seemed to make them more real to Randy, and as such he slumped against the counter behind him, soda half way toward his mouth and the earlier smirk melting away into a down turned mouth.
"How are you feeling about all this? It must've been a shock to find out you had a little girl and that you're her only surviving parent, right?"
The question seemed stupid to Mickie as soon as she'd said it, although Randy made no observation as such. He looked lost in thought; that or he was incredibly interested in the dark marble effect on the island in the kitchen.
"There are moments when I can sort of grasp the idea that I'm a father. " Faltering, Randy took a long drink from his can. "And then I'm utterly terrified again. Do I strike you as the type of guy that copes with kids? I sign the picture, smile for a photograph, then they go away. That's it. End of involvement."
Stopping to consider his point, Randy seemed renewed in his judgement of the situation. "How do I be everything she needs me to be Mickie? It's amazing that I haven't done myself some serious injury just looking after me. How can I be expected to take care of a little person? Don't fathers normally get like preparation and warning or something before the kid arrives? What the hell do I know about babies?"
"Juliet isn't a baby Randy." Mickie smiled, tapping the tip of her nail on the can.
"I knew that." He replied weakly.
"You had to have considered some of this before you took her in. And I don't think any parent gets much advance warning before their first child arrives. You just do the best you can and learn as you go. It's part of being a parent. And for what it's worth, I don't think you're doing too badly at it."
He knew Mickie was trying to be comforting, but it wasn't having the desired effect. "Not doing badly? Mickie I had to take her out just so I could feed her. I couldn't even make toast without messing up. And who designs those things anyway? I put the bread in the damn thing it should have made it into toast…"
Slipping into near hysteria, Randy hadn't realised Mickie had crossed the kitchen until he felt her hands on his chest. Looking down, he saw her amused hazel-green eyes looking back up at him and felt some comfort from her being so close.
"Take a breath Randy and don't freak out on me. Toasters are tricky, but you'll figure it out. The same goes for Juliet. You just need to go shopping and pick up some stuff. Don't you and your girlfriend do that normally?"
Randy rolled his eyes, giving Mickie her answer. Whilst she wasn't on the closest of terms with Randy to know anything about Chase, she had heard enough about the woman from some of the other divas with the company, and she didn't exactly come across as the friendliest of women. And if the stories were true, Chase wouldn't shop for groceries as she pretty much refused to eat anything that was more than a handful of calories.
"It's never been something we've done as couple." Randy finally admitted, shrugging his shoulders in embarrassment.
The move was innocent enough, but shifted the muscles in his chest in a way that allowed Mickie to get a good feel. As her mind registered the hard, warm curve of muscle beneath her hands, it snapped back to the reality that she was pretty much groping Randy's chest. Instinctively Mickie jerked her limbs back albeit a little more rapidly than she would have liked.
Hoping to cover the move, Mickie tucked her hair behind her ear. "Well then I guess you need to go pick up the essentials without her."
"Essentials, right." Looking determined, Randy shifted his weight on his feet but stopped as suddenly. Mickie had to hold back the laugh as she watched Randy's thought processes play across his face. He obviously had no clue. Looking back to Mickie, he rubbed the back of his head.
"Uh, I don't suppose you'd help me?" As Mickie opened her mouth, Randy rushed to continue. "Pretty, pretty, pretty please Mickie? I really need your help, please? I'll be at your mercy forever and do whatever you want. But please. Help. Please?"
Randy blinked his crystal blue eyes in such a way that Mickie felt a tingling sensation somewhere inside her chest. "Okay, alright. Stop saying please. I'll help you."
Grinning, Randy walked across the room to check on Juliet, but stopped as he noticed the light blinking on his answering machine. Pushing the button, the machine bleeped at him before replaying the messages.
"Mr. Orton, this is Detective Carter. Could you please give me a call on the number I gave you when you get this? Thank you."
Beep.
"This is a message for Randy Orton. My name is Jennifer Howard; I'm part of the Child Protection Unit associated with the Police Department. I was wondering if you'd mind giving the station a call at your earliest convenience and ask to be transferred through to me. I'll be here all day, till six. Thank you."
Beep.
"Randy? Randy, it's your mother. Are you there?…God, you'd swear I'd never used one of these things before…are you there? Randy?…I don't think he's there Bob. I got your message sweetheart, what on earth is so urgent? I'll be out of the house today, but I'll be home around five-thirty. Whatever it is, you can talk to me then. I love you."
Beep.
"End of messages."
Gritting his teeth in frustration, Randy looked from the machine to Mickie and back again. Why did everyone decide to call in the few hours that he was out of his apartment? Would it have been too much to ask to be given a break at the moment and have them call when he was actually present?
"They can wait." Randy decided as he looked back to Mickie who smiled encouragingly.
"Who can?"
The sound of Juliet's voice brought a smile to both Randy and Mickie's face. Turning in unison, they saw her standing in the hallway between the bedrooms and the main area of the apartment, scratching her head.
"Nobody important. You feel better after your nap?" Randy softened at the sight of his daughter, eyes blinking as she emerged from the grogginess of a nap.
Juliet grinned at Randy, giggling softly. "I'm not sleepy now."
"Good, because Mickie and I were just saying how I need to get some food for the place. You fancy coming with us?"
Juliet nodded vigorously, rushing to Mickie's side. "You'd better get your shoes on then."
Laughing again, Juliet grabbed Mickie's hand and pulled her toward the bedroom. As she passed Randy, Mickie shot him a knowing look.
Smiling softly, Randy looked on affectionately as Juliet led Mickie back into the bedroom. He could hear the sounds of her excited chatter and Mickie's occasional reply. Leaning against the wall, he sighed deeply. At least he had been afforded some reprieve in Mickie's presence. He honestly didn't think he would have coped this far without her.
As embarrassing as it was to have to rely on her to show him even the basics, Randy vowed to put his pride aside from the sake of Juliet. The future was uncertain, but even if Randy didn't remain her sole guardian, he knew that he wanted to remain in her life. And that would mean getting to grips with being a father, and to do that, he would need to be taught from scratch. If it meant that the learning came from Mickie, then all the better.
Now that he was spending time with her, Randy wondered why he'd never done so before. She was pleasant and nice to be around, not to mention an obviously good person to help him out in his time of need. He made a mental note to make it up to her in the near future, and maybe even become her friend if he could. Randy stood up properly again as the two girls appeared from the bedroom.
"You two ready?"
"We are." Mickie smiled, Juliet holding her hand.
As Juliet stood next to Randy, she reached out and took his hand in her other. Standing between them, she chattered animatedly as Randy considered the situation. His little girl standing between him and Mickie. Suddenly the prospect of being a father wasn't as terrible as it had once seemed.
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Turning into the next aisle, Randy felt a twitch behind his right eye. Row upon row of shampoos, shower gels, soaps and other such lotions and potions reserved for the fairer sex loomed on either side of him.
Truthfully he hated hitting these aisles himself when he had the need to pick stuff up. The only consolation was that the men's section didn't have a great variety and he could be in and out in thirty seconds. With two women leading the way, memories of shopping trips with his mother and sister clouded his memory, and his eye twitched all the more.
The entire trip had seen him being dragged around behind the shopping cart as the tag team of Mickie James and Juliet Mills did a number of him. The metal basket was filled with groceries of every kind; bread, milk, cheese, meat, pasta, vegetables, sauces, spices and any number of frozen foods. Randy didn't know if he could fit everything they'd picked up in his freezer, to say nothing about cooking any of it. But that would be a later problem.
Trundling behind Mickie, Randy eased the cart to a stop as she too stopped in order to survey a row of shampoos. "Randy, what do you think?"
"Insert shrug here." As Mickie looked quizzically at him, Randy grinned. "I've shrugged so much this afternoon my shoulders hurt. I'd actually do it if I could."
"I see." Chuckling to herself, she gestured at the range of shampoos in front of her. "Which do you think?"
"No idea."
"Randy, come on. Work with me here."
"Honestly Mickie, I have no clue. As long as it cleans her hair, what does it matter." Mickie arched an eyebrow that told Randy he wasn't giving the right answer. Sighing, he flicked is hand toward a row of black bottles. "That one." Acting on the spur of the moment, Randy indicated a bottle he'd used himself and didn't mind the smell of.
He knew he'd gotten it wrong as Mickie tilted her head to the side. Randy had fast realised in the afternoon that Mickie James only made that movement when he'd done or said something wrong. It was like she was considering how to politely tell him he was a complete idiot and should not be allowed with ten foot of a child.
"That stuff smells good, but it may be a little harsh on Juliet's scalp. You need to look for things that are made for kids specifically, but aren't loaded with chemicals and additives that are bad for her skin. Here, this is good."
Pulling a white bottle from the shelf, Mickie handed it to Randy. As he reached to take it, his fingers brushed against the back of Mickie's hand. The subtle contact sent chills dancing beneath her skin and up her arm, so much so she had to avoid eye contact. Knowing she was behaving immaturely, Mickie marched down the aisle, grabbing shower gels, soaps and other such items as she did as Randy was left inspecting the shampoo bottle.
Mickie had hoped that Randy would catch on at least a little on how to shop for Juliet, but she'd had no such joy. He didn't seem capable of getting the household essentials for himself. It would be a long time before she forgot explaining to Randy how detergent worked. And as Mickie seemed to have stupid reactions every time her skin connected with Randy's, she'd finally given up on giving him a shopping education and started getting the necessities without consulting him.
Just as she'd deposited the last of the items into the basket, Juliet came clattering up the aisle, clutching a stuffed blue rabbit in her arms. "Can I Mickie?"
Smiling, Mickie glanced from daughter to father, realising it wasn't her place to say either way. "I think you'll need to ask Randy sweetheart."
Moving to him, Juliet hopped from foot to foot with childish impatient, waving the stuffed animal in front of Randy. "Please Daddy? Can I? I want him so bad."
Feeling his breath catch in his throat, Randy could only nod in response which sent Juliet off into a series of explosive giggles. Gripping the shopping cart tightly, Randy felt waves of unfamiliar emotions flooding his chest. He would've let Juliet have the toy anyway, but the fact that she'd referred to him as 'Daddy' made him feel more than weak at the knees. Wondering how he was going to cope with the strange emotions, Randy turned as Mickie placed her hand over his.
Her hazel-green eyes looked affectionately at him as her pink lips curved into a sweet smile. "You okay Orton?"
"I'm fine," Randy croaked, hoping he wasn't about to start bawling in front of Mickie, "I just need a minute."
"Sure thing." With a reassuring squeeze on his hand, Mickie took the shopping cart and pushed it forward to catch up with the squealing Juliet, silently touched at the reaction Juliet had provoked in him.
Left alone with his torrent of emotions, Randy tried to force calm on himself. Watching Mickie and Juliet join the queue at the checkout, he let out the shaky breath he was holding, glad that Mickie wasn't around to hear it. Rubbing his hand over the back of his neck, he realised he was falling for Juliet in a big way. The longer she was around him, the more he felt himself melt because of her innocent charms. He knew he had a lot to learn about being a parent, but with such a sweet little girl to call his own, he realised it would more than be worth the effort.
Feeling his cell phone vibrate in his pocket, Randy pulled it out and checked the caller display. Chase's named blinked in front of him, and he considered answering it. Knowing her, she was probably still angry about Juliet and would expect Randy to do some serious grovelling. He usually didn't mind doing so, as it guaranteed him a night of explosive and very dirty make-up sex. Yet somehow that proposition wasn't enticing him like it normally would. If he was being honest, the last thing he wanted right now was to be around Chase.
Licking his lips, he pushed a button that diverted the call to voice mail. Sliding his phone into his pocket, Randy glanced up to see Juliet in Mickie's arms, both of them laughing at some joke Randy had missed. The view brought a grin to Randy's face and he wanted to be a part of that more than anything else. Once again drawn by the charm of Juliet, he jogged after them to join in with a decision that Chase could wait.