Disclaimer: I don't own John Cena, the WWE, Ohio Valley Wrestling, etc. All these things belong to whomever they belong to and I don't make any money off of them or this story.
Summary: John Cena's past comes screeching back into life one day and he has no idea what to do with all the women and drama in his life now! Will his life ever be the same again?
Author's Note: I just wanted to say thank you very much for reading this story and THANK YOU to the people who reviewed and put this story on alert. It means a lot to me that you all like it and I hope you continue to like it! D I also wanted to apologize for some mistakes I saw in the first chapter after I read it again once it was already posted. I shouldn't have posted it up so quickly, but I was excited about the story and wanted people to read it ASAP. I will try to fix those mistakes later and hopefully none were so bad that you stopped reading the story. I tried to make sure none were in this chapter, but I'm not perfect so sorry for before, now and in the future. But enough of the author's note, on with the story, cha!
Walk the Line
Chapter Two: One Step Closer to the Truth
John sighed as he continued slowly driving. He looked left and he looked right. None of the houses seemed to scream out at him, "RACHAEL'S OLD PLACE," which was getting really, really annoying. He had been wandering around neighborhoods forever now and still he had nothing.
John finally pulled the car over and let the engine idle for a few minutes as he thought all of this over again. He had not been able to get Rachael or her kid, my kid too, since he had heard from that background checking agency. He had made plans to get here, in Louisville again quickly after finding out the news, but then John had had nothing to do but think.
He didn't care what some people said; he knew thinking could be a very dangerous thing. He had been thinking of those two people so much that it had consumed everything else he was supposed to be doing before them. John had skipped on a workout because he couldn't get them out of his mind. John had also been in the ring and taken a punch to the face because he had been thinking of them instead of the match.
John gingerly touched the right side of his jaw. He had the beginnings of a nasty looking bruise springing up there and it hurt like a bitch. The worse part was that John hadn't even been able to take out his pain on anyone because it had been his own fault for getting hurt in the first place. John knew that if he had been paying attention then he wouldn't have been taken by surprise and injured.
John stared moodily out of his car window and looked at the block he was currently in. It was a nice one with old houses with big trees shading them. There were abandoned bikes lying in yards, waiting for their owners to get out of school and start riding them again. There were nice cars parked along the sidewalk and all was quiet. It looked like every other neighborhood he had been in so far.
John had been thinking on his plane ride about how to get here and it had brought up a lot of memories for him. More then he had thought it would. He had just been trying to remember how to get to Rachael's aunt and uncle's house, but then he remembered how it was always her that would pick him up from work.
John had been working hard in the ring and even though he had a car, he was usually exhausted when he was done for the day. Rachael used to work for the Ohio Valley Wrestling company during the summer. One of their many gophers that ran around and did whatever some boss needed. Rachael had been taking the job since she was sixteen and could work. Now Rachael was an old hand at it. That's how John had met her actually.
Rachael had been running around getting all the wrestlers names to make sure they had everyone in their files. She had approached John and they had just hit it off.
She had been polite and he had been indifferent. He cracked a bad joke and she rolled her eyes. He gave her a fake name which sent her into a fit as he wasn't on the list. He laughed and she frowned. He gave her his real name and she almost walked away. He grabbed her and asked her out. She said yes. He almost fainted.
John still didn't know why he had asked her out then. There was just something about her that he had liked and had clicked with him. Later Rachael would tell him that she didn't know why she had ever told him yes when she should have kicked him. That had made John laugh.
After that though, Rachael always got off of work before John did and she would come back and pick him up from work and take him to his apartment. There he would collapse for a few hours and she would go back home. Later John would get up and call Rachael and see what she was doing. She had been more then just a girlfriend for John back then, she had really been a friend.
Sure John had friends in the wrestling business, plenty of them. John still held many of those friendships now, but Rachael had been different because her life wasn't all about wrestling. Yes, she worked part time for the company and yes, she enjoyed wrestling, but it was only one of many hobbies. Rachael had many other things that made up her life.
She had been refreshing to John and he liked that she was interested in him as a person and not just as another wrestler. Rachael liked hip hop music, which John had thought was freaking sweet. She had never been North of Kentucky or Virginia, which John had thought was weird. She had a strange addiction to skittles that could never be sated. Rachael always asked the strangest questions that John never knew the answers to, but would make him wonder about it too, like why did they call what you parked on a driveway and what you drove on a parkway.
John would go to her house all the time, for all of those reasons and more. Rachael had been important to him then and when she had went home it had hurt. He wasn't heartbroken or throwing himself into the river depressed, but it had left a big hole and John was at a loss for a long time about how to fill it up.
John closed his eyes and laid his forehead against the window of his car. He did not want to think about all of this right now. It didn't matter that she loved skittles and had never been up North. What mattered was finding her Aunt and Uncle's house so he could find out about this mystery child. The child was what was important. John put the car into gear again and started driving down the road.
It had taken another couple of hours, but finally John stared up at the large blue and white house of Warren and Amanda Roark. John had had an epiphany and had went back to his old apartment complex, made himself think of the route he used to take to her house and had somehow managed to find the house. The house used to be all white and the big tree that had shaded the left side of the house was now gone, but that was most definitely their house.
John sat in his car for a few minutes, parked at the curb across the street from the house. John had been so excited when he had realized that he had really found the house. That he could get the answers he wanted so much. It was just that thought though that kept John from getting out of his car and going up to the porch and knocking on the door. Those answers he wanted so much.
John bit his lip a little and stared at the house, still not bucking his courage up enough to actually go over there when a tap at his passenger window made him jump and look over. John was a little shocked at seeing the old grizzled face right there, "Uncle War!" he gasped surprised at the man's sudden appearance.
"Hey boy, what're you doing sitting in your car all day? Don't you want to come in?" Warren Roark asked him as he stood up straight.
John quickly turned the car off and hopped out of his vehicle. He walked around the front and stood in front of the man that was Rachael's uncle and his child's great uncle. John didn't know what to say. Hey Uncle War! I got a tip that your grand niece or nephew might be mine and I thought I'd just stop by for a minute and see if that was true. No, no that wouldn't work at all.
"Hmph," Uncle War said looking John up and down, "You look like you've been doing alright. Come on in and quit gawking around outside," he said as he led John across the street and into his yard. The man stopped to pet the brown Border collie that had bolted out of nowhere and into his legs.
"Where's Puddin'?" John asked looking around for the old hound dog.
"Eh, passed away a year or so ago. Made it to the age of seventeen, pretty damn good for a dog that didn't do anything," Warren said, "This is Sidy Lou," he introduced to John.
John petted the dog and missed Puddin' greatly. That had been the nicest and laziest dog he had ever met. He had tripped over him countless times, along with everyone else, and the dog wouldn't even raise its head to see what had just hit him; he'd just keep on sleeping.
"Come on, my Amanda has promised me some pie," Warren said leading John now into the house. John nodded his head and with a last pat to Sidy Lou, followed the old man into his house.
John stepped into the mud room, took off his shoes and then followed Uncle War into the living room. He found that while the outside of the house had changed quite a bit, the inside had very little changed about it. A few things were mixed up and there was a new television in the living room, but that was about it. It comforted John to know that while his life was turning upside down at the moment, that some things never changed; even if it was just the inside of Uncle War and Amanda's house.
Warren smiled as he walked from the living room to the big kitchen and dining room, smelling fresh apple pie the whole way. "There's my girl and pie!" he said happily and after giving Amanda a quick kiss on the cheek he went to the two pies sitting on the counter cooling off.
"It's good too see you too," Amanda said, "Don't touch those pies yet! There still cooling," Amanda warned as she slapped Warren's hands away from her fresh pies.
"Shew woman, it's better when their fresh out of the oven," Warren pouted as he continued to eye the pies.
Amanda rolled her eyes and turned when she caught movement to the side of her, "Well I never," she said striding to where John was hanging around the archway in between the kitchen and living room, "It's been a while since I've seen your face in my house! How have you been sweetie? Here, come here, sit down! Have some pie," she said as she steered John to the small table they kept in the kitchen.
"How come he gets pie?" Warren asked grouchily as he also sat at the table across from John.
"Because he's a guest War, that's why," Amanda replied as she busied herself getting John some pie and milk to wash it down with, "Here you go honey. Now if you want some more, just tell me," she said.
"Oh, thanks," John said blinking and picking up his fork. Amanda had always been one of those women who were made to take care of everyone else, a cyclonic caregiver so to speak. She had also never heard the word 'no' directed towards her and so John knew better now to just accept and eat the pie then to try to get out of it. Plus it really was awesome pie, even better then his mothers, although John would never tell her that. John didn't want to die, thank you very much.
There was a companionable silence then as John ate his piece of pie and Warren pestered Amanda enough to get a piece of his own. It surprised John that he could be so comfortable in this house after such a long time of not being in it or even talking to Amanda and Warren. He supposed it was just the way the couple was though. Even back when John would visit Rachael here, they had always made John feel completely comfortable and at home here. It seemed that distance and time didn't matter to them.
"So John," Warren started slowly as he finished his last bite of pie, "What brings you around? Are you doing some work for Ohio Valley Wrestling?" he asked.
"No, I'm still with the WWE," John said, not knowing what to say now that his mouth didn't have any pie to fill it.
"Well you moved away dear, what brings you around now?" Amanda asked politely as she smoothed her skirt, not looking at John.
John stared at his empty plate and wished that he knew how to voice why he was here without causing a huge scene. Wouldn't it seem obvious why he was here? They would know about Rachael's kid and they would know he was the father, right? Were they just testing him somehow? John frowned and took a nervous look at Amanda who was still not looking at him. That wasn't a good sign. He then glanced at Uncle War who was staring at him dead on. The man's light gray eyes seemed to stand out more from his tanned, wrinkled face and flyaway gray hair. Those eyes stared right into John's blue eyes and John knew then that Warren and Amanda knew exactly why John was here, they were just waiting to see how John was going to broach the subject and he decided to be straight forward about it.
"A man from a background checking company called me a couple days ago and during that conversation," John struggled for a few seconds and looked again at Uncle War, whose gaze had not wavered in the slightest, "I found out that the reason they called me was that Rachael was trying to get a job and they had found my name on a," John stuttered a little then, he was so nervous, "my name on a birth certificate of a baby she had had."
John was silent then as was everyone else in the room. It was uncomfortable and John hated that part of it more then anything else. He didn't care that he had admitted he had a kid out there somewhere. John had been really shocked, but he was not ashamed of it; nervous more then any other emotion. John was also mad that he hadn't known about it until now, but that was a conversation between him and Rachael, not her relatives.
The room was quiet for a minute, "But why are you here?" Amanda finally said, breaking the silence.
John was startled by the question, "I want to know if the baby is really mine and well, I don't know how to find Rachael or, or the baby. This was where I knew her, so this is where I came back to," John explained himself.
Uncle War nodded his head, "It is yours," he said and John gulped, trying to take that in. He really did have a baby. "You want the baby?" Warren asked.
John opened his mouth and shut it again, it's not that he didn't want it, but then again how could he keep her either? He couldn't even take care of a dog properly while he was on the road with the WWE. "This has totally hit me by surprise. I didn't know anything about it until a couple days ago. This, that baby changes a lot of things and I won't, I can't ignore it," John finally answered.
Amanda and War both nodded their heads understanding what John was saying to them. They had known about this problem for a long time and a problem it certainly was. They had hoped that John would find out about Rachael and the baby somehow. It wasn't right that John hadn't known about any of it, but there had been no talking to Rachael. She was an adult and not telling John had been her decision. It hadn't made anyone in the family happy, but it was her life and her choice and they had all respected that.
"It's about time you got here," Warren suddenly said as he stood up, making both John and Amanda look up at him. His tall, lean frame towered over John and he stared at the younger man. "I think I'll leave you two to talk," he said and left the room.
John looked back at Amanda, "What was that about? Is he mad at me? I swear I didn't know or I would have been here before!" he said alarmed.
Amanda shook her head, small strands of her grayish blonde hair falling from her low ponytail, "It's not that at all. This whole situation has always upset him. We know you never knew about Rachael and Gracie."
John stared at Amanda. He stared at her with wide eyes and his mouth letting out a low noise of surprise. He had a daughter. John had a daughter and her name was Gracie. Gracie. Gracie. Gracie, his daughter's name was Gracie. "Gracie?" he asked weakly looking at Amanda.
Amanda's sweet, round face fell into a gentle smile as she looked at John. She might not have known exactly how John was going to react to Rachael and Gracie. She didn't know whether they would be able to work out a good relationship with each other. Amanda did know by watching John's face as he learned his daughter's name, with that sudden far off look on his face and the way he said Gracie's name told her that John really cared for her, even though he had never had the pleasure of meeting Gracie yet.
"Yes, Grace Ann Elizabeth Roark, or just Gracie," Amanda said and smiled broadly at the wide eyed look on John's face and the smile that was starting to grow there.
"I never knew her name before, hell I didn't even know the baby was a girl," John said as he thought about his daughter's name. She had four names, just like he did.
"You do now," Amanda told him, "Do you mind me asking what you're going to do?"
John shook his head, "I don't mind you asking, but I don't know what to tell you. I know I want to see Rachael and Gracie," he said and smiled quickly again, "but after that? I don't know what to do," he said.
"Do you want to be with Rachael and Gracie?" Amanda asked curiously. She knew she was treading on business that wasn't hers, but she wanted to know. She loved Rachael and Gracie both and she had always liked John. He had been a good boy then and he was a good man now. None of them deserved to be hurt in this.
"Me and Rachael were never really serious," John admitted, shrugging his shoulders, "I don't know if I want to be with her. I don't have a girlfriend or anything right now, but I don't know if I would want Rachael to be my girlfriend again. I just don't know," John said. 'Don't know' seemed to be his favorite phrase lately.
Amanda nodded her head. She had grown up in a time where Rachael and John would have been married to each other a long time ago, but that was then and this was now. Now it was up to them to stay together or be separate from each other. Either way they could share Gracie; that is if John wanted Gracie around.
They were quiet then and Amanda stood up and collected the dirty dishes from the table. She walked over to the sink and started washing them. John was silent and she wondered what he was thinking. This had to be a lot for him to take in. Her question was answered though when John suddenly spoke up, "Why didn't Rachael tell me?"
Amanda stilled. She had hoped that John wouldn't ask that question. It was complicated and Amanda didn't know if she was the right person to tell John everything. She stared out the small window above the sink and into her backyard. The evening was coming on quickly and it would be dark in an hour's time. She finally turned around and looked at John. His face was squared like he was ready to take a punch rather then hear the truth. Amanda supposed he thought it was much the same thing.
"I don't think that it's not that she didn't want to tell you. I think Rachael just wanted the best for everyone," Amanda answered John.
"How is not telling me about my own kid the best thing?" John asked suddenly angry. He wanted to know about Gracie! He was her father, and as her father he should have known about her existence and been there for Gracie, played, loved and supported her in every way that he could. John wasn't given that chance and he wanted to know why.
"John, sweetie, I don't know. It wasn't my choice, it was Rachael's. We all respected it and followed it because she wanted us too. You need to ask Rachael these questions, not me," Amanda told John.
John let out a deep breath and tried to let his anger go. It was not Amanda's fault that all of this had happened. He didn't need to take his anger out on her. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely.
"It's alright dear. I know this must be rough for you," she said and smiled at him, "You might as well stay here tonight and tomorrow you can continue your journey," Amanda suggested.
John thought about it. It was going to be dark soon and he needed to find a hotel room. He still didn't know where Rachael was and he liked it here, "Alright, thanks," he said,"Are you sure it's alright? Uncle War won't mind?"
"No dear, not at all," Amanda said waving off John's fear of Uncle War, "Do you like pork chops?" she asked and smiled at John's nod.
John was lying on the bed in the guest room that Amanda and Warren were letting him stay in for the night. It had been a whirl wind of a day and John was just now letting it all sink in to him. He had a daughter, a daughter named Grace Ann Elizabeth. Rachael's Aunt and Uncle were happy that he had finally found out about his child and had come in search of her.
It did seem like that was what he was doing too. John was searching for his child, because now that he knew Gracie existed he couldn't let her go. He would never be able to not live his life without thinking of her now. It turned John's head around and he didn't know if he would be able to recover from it.
There was a knock on the door that interrupted John's thoughts. He looked at the door and jumped up from the bed, walked over and opened the door. Uncle War was standing before John, a very serious expression on his face. "Uncle War, is there anything wrong?" John asked him moving to the side to let the older gentleman by him.
The man sat on the edge of the bed and looked at John, "Come here," he ordered patting the bed beside of him. John walked back over and sat beside of Warren, "Good, now I need to talk to you boy," Warren said.
John was wondering what Uncle War was going to say. Was it good or bad? "Now I know all of this is new to you and it's probably pretty overwhelming, but I need to tell you some things first. You need to be there for that baby, no matter what boy, you hear me? Every child needs its mother and its father. It doesn't matter about you anymore, what matters is her," he said.
John nodded his head; he knew he needed to be like that, he knew Gracie was more important now. John stopped thinking though as Uncle War continued, "I don't know how you feel about Rachael, but you two need to have a good relationship, whether it's just being friends or lovers. Gracie needs to see that things can work between you two," he said and John nodded his head. He also knew this was true. He and Rachael needed to work something out for Gracie.
"Finally John, son, you need to realize that no matter how far from left field this has come from, you need to realize that this is a blessing to you. Every child is and you need to cherish that you have been so lucky and blessed to have a child. No matter that she was unexpected or interrupting your plans now," he said.
John nodded at this too, "Okay I know, I get it Uncle War," he said and the older man nodded his head.
"I know you think you do, but when you start through your life with those two with you now. Things are going to change, stop and start just because they are with you now and sometimes it won't be as easy as you think it's going to be. It's one thing to think and say you're going to be there and help out; it's another to actually do it. Do you understand me?" he asked John.
"I do," John said nodding his head again.
"Alright then," Warren said, "I suppose I should let you sleep then. You have quite a trip tomorrow," and with that he said his goodnight and was gone, closing the door behind him. John looked at the door again and wondered why Uncle War had felt the need to do that. Still the man was right and John knew that it was also time to go to bed. He had to drive southeast on highway 64 and then hop onto 23 south where he would go through Pikeville and then 460 through Elkhorn and finally he would be in Haysi, Virginia.
The closest John had ever been to there was Lexington and that was only about half the trip. He was really hoping that he wouldn't get lost. Uncle War and Amanda had given him very precise directions. Still, John was nervous and so he was starting at around eight in the morning and would hopefully make it sometime in the afternoon.
John knew that by now Rachael would be expecting him to show up. Amanda had called her sometime after dinner when Uncle War had been distracting John in the living room, talking to him about Ohio Valley Wrestling and the WWE. Amanda hadn't said much about it except that Rachael would be waiting for him at her house and had given John Rachael's phone number in case he got lost. He really didn't want to have to call it.
It unnerved John to know that Rachael knew he was coming to her house. It probably unnerved her more. John needed to know about Gracie and why Rachael had done what she had done. It would be an interesting day to say the least. John shut his eyes and waited for sleep and tomorrow.
To Be Continued!