Chapter 25

"Come on Rome," Lexi nearly whined as she pulled against his grip. "My back hurts and for reasons beyond me, my feet are starting to swell. All I want to do is go lay down with the heating pad and put my feet up." Why was he being so obstinate about this? He knew she hadn't been feeling well the last few days, so why was he so insistent about her going with him for dinner with Dean and Seth?

After everything that had happened over the course of the pregnancy why in the world was he so willing to throw caution to the wind? Sure, she only had a few more days with them before she would return home and stay until after the baby was born, but did that fact negate her not feeling well?

"I promise," he said as he tugged her toward the tour bus door. "I will rub your back for as long as you want if you go with us." The pleading look in his eyes broke down her resolve. How could she possibly say no to him. Besides, this would probably their last time to be together as a group for quite some time.

"Okay, fine." She motioned to the door. "Let's go before I change my mind." Mindful of the recent shift in her center of gravity, Lexi placed a hand on her back to help brace herself as she stepped down and into the humid July air. "I'm seriously starting to feel like a cow," she grumbled.

Roman chuckled. "You're not a cow." He pulled her to him, cupped her face in his big palms. "What you are, is absolutely beautiful."

She grinned as he leaned down to kiss her. "You are such a liar, but at this point I'll take it. So where are we going to eat?" she asked as she pulled back, turned and started walking toward the hotel entrance where Dean and Seth had rented rooms for the night. While it was fun for them all to ride from city to city together, the bus really wasn't spacious enough for all six of them, including Amber and Zoe, to sleep. Not to mention it lacked a certain amount of privacy for the boys that they craved.

Roman shrugged. "I'm actually not sure. Seth said he found this neat little Moroccan place nearby."

Lexi groaned as she placed a hand on her belly, thought about the squirming and kicking that would result from her indulging in spicy foods. No way would little one let her sleep tonight if she ate Moroccan. "Last week it was hot wings. Three days ago it was Mexican and now Moroccan? I swear you guys are trying to put me into early labor with all the spicy food."

Roman only smirked as he continued walking. "I would like to remind you that you could have gotten BBQ wings instead of buffalo and you could have eaten some mild tacos instead of that jalapeno packed enchilada."

Lexi frowned. "It wasn't jalapeno packed, besides, mild tacos are boring."

She caught the wry grin on his face, but he remained silent and instead simply shook his head.

Smart man. She slipped her hand into his as they crossed the threshold into the building. "So why are we heading into the hotel if we're supposed to be going to dinner?" She knew she was being persnickety with all her questions and grumbling, but damn it she really wasn't up to sitting in a hard chair several hours while eating food that would end up keeping her up with heartburn.

"Dean said we needed to meet him and Seth." He passed by the front desk and headed down the short hall to the elevators. Then stopped in front of a closed door marked conference room.

She frowned. "We're meeting them In the hotel's conference room?"

He reached for the handle, turned it and pushed open the door. "Just humor me, okay?"

Running out of patience, Lexi rolled her eyes and walked into the room.

Surprise! The unified shout was so loud it actually had her taking a step back in surprise. Her hand went to her mouth as she smothered a gasp. There were balloons, and streamers and a giant sign that read Congratulations Roman and Lexi.

Nattie was the first to hug her. "What is all this?" Lexi asked as the shock took hold.

"Your baby shower, silly." Nattie placed a paper hat on Lexi's head. "With you on bed rest we weren't really able to give you a bridal shower or a proper bachelorette party, so we decided to throw you a baby shower instead."

"Besides," Amber said as she pulled Lexi into a hug. "Did you really think we were going to let you go back to Pensacola without the necessary gear for taking care of a baby?"

Lexi actually giggled at the question. "Well, of course not."

"Come," Zoe motioned to the middle of the room. "You and Roman need to sit."

"Me?" Roman asked, as he glanced at the guys. "I thought baby showers were for the women."

"We're having a Jack and Jill shower," Amber clarified.

"Complete with beer and food." Seth raised a bottle of beer from where he stood a few feet away.

Roman glanced at Lexi and shrugged as a grin tipped his lips. "Who am I to argue. Lead the way and somebody bring me a beer."

An hour into the party, Roman was on his third beer and Lexi was giddy with happiness as she opened gifts and laughed with her friends. Most of the time Diva's left the WWE before having kids. So a baby shower was a rare occurrence. The fact that someone thought to put one together for her and Roman made Lexi's heart melt.

Lexi picked up a box wrapped in a red baroque patterned paper. "That's from me," AJ said from where she sat on Punk's lap.

Lexi grinned, then ripped open the paper and stared at the box. Roman leaned over for a better look. "What is that?"

"It's a baby carrier," AJ offered. "You wear it like a reverse backpack and the baby slides right inside.

"I love it," Lexi replied, thinking about how handy it would be to carry the baby around backstage after she came back to work.

Seth let out a snort and slapped Dean on the back. "I bet Roman would look just adorable wearing that."

Dean grinned at Seth, pulled the half empty bottle from his hand and passed it off to Amber. "He's flagged," Dean said.

Amber shook her head even as a smile tipped her lips. "He'll be sorry tomorrow, but then that's his problem."

"Dick," Roman grumbled as he shot a glare at his best friend. "I'll have you know I'm secure enough in my manhood to use that thing. How about you?"

Seth shot to his feet, staggered for a moment and used Dean's shoulder as a brace to keep himself upright. "Is that a challenge, Reigns?" he narrowed his inebriated gaze. "That sounds like a challenge," he repeated. Lexi simply shook her head as she handed the box to Roman. She knew where this was going and oh boy was Seth going to be sorry tomorrow.

"Just don't break it," she whispered.

"No promises," Roman replied, then planted a quick kiss on her lips. "But if we do, I'll make Seth replace it."

Lexi watched as, box in hand, Roman stalk across the room toward Seth. He had just enough alcohol in him that it would make for an interesting night between him and the boys.

Nattie slid a big box in front of Lexi, pulling her attention away from the mischief her boys were creating. "This is from me and TJ."

Lexi grinned up at her cousin as she reached for the wrapped box. While she and Nattie didn't have a whole lot in common, Lexi still saw her more as a sister than a cousin. They'd trained together during the early days, leaned on each other when times were tough and was always there for one another whenever a shoulder was needed to cry on. She ripped at the paper and stared blankly at the picture of the travel system that was apparently inside. "Nattie." Lexi looked from the box to her cousin and back. "This is so awesome."

Natalya grinned. "I'm glad you liked it. I wanted to go with something a little more babyish, but TJ reminded me that Roman would have to use it too, so out of respect for him and not knowing the sex of the baby we decided to just go with grey and blue."

Lexi shook her head. "No, it's perfect." She could feel the tears welling and hoped she wouldn't cry. Nattie slid into the seat Roman abandoned and nudged Lexi. "So have you two decided on a name for my new cousin."

Lexi rested her hands on the top of the box and nodded. "I think so. We've been toying with names for the last three months and have decided that it's important for Roman's heritage to be represented. So if it's a boy we're leaning toward Owen Fetu. She waited a heartbeat and watched as Nattie's eyes widened and a slow smile filled her face. "Oh Lexi, Mom and Uncle Bret would be so moved if you named your baby after Uncle Owen." Lexi felt the lump form in her throat. "I'm glad you think so."

Nattie took her hand. "And if it's a girl?"

"Alea Faith," Lexi answered.

"That's beautiful," Amber whispered from where she sat a few feet away. "I'm guessing the Alea is probably Pacific Island or Samoan, but does Faith have some special meaning?"

Lexi caught a glimpse of Roman strapping the baby carrier onto Seth, then placing a white teddy bear they'd received as a gift in the spot where the baby would go. Dean and Roman's cousins Jimmy and Jey already had their phones out recording. Boy was he going to be sorry tomorrow. She grinned as she turned her attention back to Amber. "Only in that I needed to find and keep my faith when it came to accepting happiness back into my life."