Everyone has their secrets, their disguises that they hide from the rest of the world. She was Bruce Springsteen's daughter, Mac and John were married with a little boy. She was sure all of her other new friends had secrets as well. So maybe with that understanding she could let people onto her world. Maybe she could tell them who she really was and maybe they would accept her. Does it really matter who her father was, it wasn't that she was ashamed of him or anything because she wasn't. Her father had always been one of those blue collared guys who you had to respect. He believed what he believed and he didn't care what anyone else thought about him. He went out there and did what he loved and people paid big money to watch him doing what he loved, which is all the more power to him.

She sighed as she thought about all this. Sitting backstage by herself just thinking about everything, her past, where she was now, what she hoped for the future. She felt someone tap her on the shoulder and looked up to come face to face with a certain blue eyed Massachusetts native.

"Hey John" she smiled at her new friends husband.

"Hey you mind if I talk to ya for a moment?" he asked having a seat next to her on the floor. "Mac told me that you know about JJ and that doesn't bother me any but seeing her so excited that somebody else knew and understood made me start to think. I have my own confessions to make I guess and since you helped out Mac maybe you can help me out as well. I've had this secret in me for a long time now and I need to tell someone".

"John … I dunno we don't really know each other all that well" she reasoned.

"Please I need to tell someone and you are the only person who this won't really affect because I don't really know you. It's hard enough living this secret life that nobody else knows about but to have to carry around the burden of another secret that you can't even tell the one you love it is torture".

"Sure John I would be happy to listen to your secret" she relented. She knew all too well the need to have someone really know the real person that you had to hide from the world.

"I love Mac and I love JJ and nothing will ever change that but about a year and a half ago I was in a really bad place … I was convinced that the whole world was against me and that everyone was telling me lies and that I couldn't believe anyone. My therapist says that I had a mini nervous breakdown due to all the stress that I was under". He shrugged. "Apparently it is possible" he let out an almost agonized chuckle. "I did something that I am so ashamed of because I wasn't able to think straight. I was so convinced that Mac had cheated on me and that JJ wasn't mine that I had him tested to see if he really was. When the results came back that he was I felt so guilty for ever doubting her like that. I knew deep down that she would never cheat on me but I was too crazy or whatever to think rationally. For a long time I couldn't even look at JJ because I felt like I had wronged him in some way. I thought he deserved so much better than me" he hit down on his lower lip to keep his emotions in check. "What kind of a man does that to his own son?"

"John … you weren't in your right mind then" she reasoned. She placed a comforting arm around him. "Mac knows that you love her and I'm sure JJ does too and in the scheme of things you having JJ tested is very low on the list of things you could have done".

"You don't understand it would kill Mac to find out that I took our son for a DNA test because I didn't believe he was mine" he retorted. "What was I supposed to do if he wasn't mine … I don't know how that would have ended but I can tell you that it probably wouldn't have been pretty".

"I would think not"

"You have no idea how amazing it feels to be able to tell someone my secret … I swear it's like a weight has been totally lifted off of my shoulders and I can breathe normally again".

"I'm glad I could help then" she grinned at him. "But let me ask you something … why not just come out with the truth … just tell everyone that you guys are married?".

"At first it was just fun to keep it a secret" he answered. "But as time went on it became more about protecting our jobs … it's not a law or anything Vince can't actually forbid his employees not to romance each other but it is something he feels very strongly about … he believes if things end badly then that would just be the end of the world I guess" he rolled his eyes a little in disgusted defiance. "Mac was already in the business by the time I came around and I knew she worked so hard to get here and it's hard being a woman in a man's world such as this so I did what I had to do to protect my wife" he explained.

"But doesn't Vince know that you two are dating?" Ana asked. "I mean it's pretty obvious".

"Vince is a psycho simple as that" he remarked. "He will let you date but you aren't allowed to get married which is the stupidest thing I have ever heard but you know what I have a wife and a 22 month old child to support so we keep this little charade up".

"One day John you and Mac are going to be able to tell people the truth" she promised him.

"I hope you are right because that would take all the pressure off of us and we couple truly enjoy being a married couple again". He shook his head. "We weren't always this way, we used to be young and in love but then Vince and his BS rule which really doesn't make any sense happened and now we are all screwed".

"Have you ever tried to complain?"

"Are you kidding me have you even met the man?"

"Yea kinda"

"Well my best advice to you is keep a low profile and don't get on Vince's bad side"

She nodded letting him know that she had heard his warning. But she being who she was just could not accept it. She was after all her father's daughter. He had taught her to fight injustice and that is exactly what she was going to do. Vince McMahon may be this diabolical tyrant but she was Anastasia Mercer-Springsteen and she never backed down without a fight.