"Kayla, come on we need to talk about this." Josh said.
She sighed and walked out into the back yard and around the side of the house, and into a tool shed.
"Okay, five minutes then I have to go inside so the boys can open their presents, so at least one parent will be there." She said sarcastically.
"I'm staying for that, I'm staying for another hour or so." He said.
"Wow that means you'd have been here for a whole two hours, which has to be some sort of record." She said.
"I work, I train, and I go to school." He yelled.
"I don't live off Daddy, and Uncle Mark. I live off myself."
"Really so do I; I work at the company as a talent scout, and help with the story lines, hell I'm a gopher, a photographer, I even set up the ring. Then after of that I go to a hotel, and take care of two five year old boys who have endless energy, and even more questions about their dad. I don't have a constant, I can't afford to, as an employee I get free board as long as I travel, and all of us do." She shouted.
"Want to trade? School, you sit in a chair and learn, train, yeah you get beaten up, work, you do bare minimum manual labor." She said.
"Oh, your life is so fucking hard isn't it? Play at Daddy's company, and play with your kids. Get everything handed to you, including half my paycheck." He spat.
All the color drained from her face, and rushed back.
"Stay, spend time with our kids for an hour or so, then leave. Don't talk to me, if it wasn't for our kids I'd have you escorted off my property." She whispered.
"Kayla…" he reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Don't touch me, and don't talk to me." She said and pulled her arm free.
She whipped around and walked back to the house.
"God damn it." He growled and stalked after her.
He caught up to her before she rounded the corner.
"Don't go in there like this, you'll just upset them. Stay out here and cool down." He ordered.
"I thought I told you not to touch me or talk to me?" she said.
"It's you're sons' birthday party, look I'm just going to leave. I knew I shouldn't have come." He said.
"Why don't you love them?" She whispered.
"You promised to be there for this kind of thing, sending a check doesn't make you a good father." She said.
"I love them…" he paused and took a breath.
"I didn't want them, but I stuck it out, didn't I?" he demanded.
Kayla just stared at him in horror.
"What?" He demanded, and then realized she wasn't looking at him, but past him.
He looked over his shoulder in time to see his sons run away.
"Shit!" he said and put his head in his hands.
Kayla pushed past him and ran after the boys, her heart was broken at Josh's heated words, and she couldn't imagine what they felt like. She saw Shane bend down catching the boys. He bent his head close to theirs, his expression becoming hard. The boys buried their heads in his chest, she could hear their muffled crying and felt tears well up in her eyes. She dropped to her knees next to them and wrapped her arms around them. "He…he doesn't want us."
"…doesn't love us either." She heard.
"No, no, he loves you very much." She said.
"Why…" they asked.
"We were arguing, and we got mad, sometimes you say things you don't mean when you're mad." She explained.
Shane looked at her, clearly pissed.
"We'll talk about this later." He mouthed.
She nodded, and looked away. A few minutes later she had calmed the boys down and brought them into the house to wash them up. A quiet knock and Josh came in, and opened his arms. The boys hesitated, looking at him, then at her. She nodded and they ran into his arms.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean it. I love you both so much. I wouldn't give you up no matter what." He said his voice cracked.
Kayla turned around and ran a wash cloth under cold water and wiped at her tear stained face with it.
"Shane, look at me." She said.
He turned his head towards her and she wiped his face and hands. Brandon turned to her next and she did the same.
"Go tell everyone it's time to open presents. We'll be right there." She said.
They walked out, and shut the door. She ran the wash cloth under the water again and fought the tears.
"I'm sorry." Josh whispered.
He pulled her into his arms.
"I fucked up, I ruined their party. I'm sorry." He said rubbing her back.
She pulled away and he took the washcloth from her hands and dabbed at her eyes and cheeks with it.
"Come on we better get out there." He said taking her hand and squeezing it.
She nodded and followed him out into the dining room.
The boys eagerly ripped open their presents, oohing and awing over the gifts. Kayla and Josh stood side by side, not really looking at each other, just focusing on their boys. Kayla glanced up and seen Shane looking at her questioningly, she quickly shook her head and looked away.
"Mom, Dad, look!" Shane exclaimed, holding up a toy.
They both smiled down at them. After all the packages were stripped of their colorful paper, and everything was put back in order, only Shawn, Mark, Paul, Shane, Kayla, and Josh remained.
"Bye Uncle Paul thanks for the video game…" the boys said hugging him.
"No problem." He said and left.
"Bye Kayla, bye boys." Mark yelled.
"Bye Uncle Mark." The boys said and Kayla yelled good bye from the kitchen.
"Okay Kayla, we're leaving." Shawn yelled.
She hugged the boys and her dad.
"Bye dad, boys be good." She warned as they left.
"I got to run to the store, I'll be back in a half an hour." He told Kayla.
She nodded and he turned and left.
"We need to talk." Josh said and motioned for her to sit on the couch next to him.
She sighed and sat down.
"I'm sorry about earlier, we should have waited until now to talk about anything." He said.
"Yeah." She said.
"Look, I love those boys you know I do but I don't think it's going to work between us, and you don't either do you?" he asked.
She looked away, and felt tears well up in her eyes.
"Kayla, we were young, and stupid. Neither of us planned it but we dealt with it." He said.
"I know it just hurts." She whispered.
"I'm sorry." He said hugging her.
"I'll still be around, and stuff." He said.
"I know, that's all I ask for the boys' sake." She said.
He pulled her close and comfortingly rubbed her back.
"I'm sorry sweetie." He said.
She shook her head and pulled back.
"Not that it matters or anything but is there someone else." She asked.
"No, there's this girl but we don't date or anything, I don't even think she knows my name." he said.
She smiled and laughed.
"Hey!" he said laughing.
"I'm shy, you know that." He said defending himself.
"So what about you?" He asked.
"Anyone you have your eye on?" He asked.
She shook her head.
"No, if you hadn't noticed I'm surrounded by overprotective males my father's age." She said.
"Shane's not your father's age." He pointed out.
"Me and Shane? Are you joking?" She asked. "
I just want you to be happy." He said.
"Friends?" she asked.
"Friends." He said and kissed her cheek.
Shane walked by Josh on his way in.
"Hey take care of her." Josh said and got in his car and left.
Shane looked at him and shook his head. He walked in ready for the tears and heartbreak. She sat on the sofa with tears in her eyes.
"Ah, come here sweets." He said opening his arms.
He sat next to her and she crawled into his arms.
"Want me to beat him up for you?" He asked.
She laughed.
"No we're fine, I mean we're not together but we're friends." She replied.
"Then why are you crying?" He asked.
"I always thought once we got older we'd get together and get married or something, but I think its better this way. We're both happy." She said.
"That's good, but it doesn't mean you're not going to tell me what happened outside earlier." He said.
She sighed and looked up at him.
"Well come into the kitchen then, I have a mountain of dishes to do." She said.
He got up and followed her but instead of sitting at the small table; he turned on the tap and filled up the sink with water.
"I'll wash and rinse if you dry and put away." He said.
"The Shane McMahon does dishes?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm even giving you the easy part of the deal." He said.
"Okay." She said and they started doing the dishes together.
"So…" He prompted.
"Well we got in fight because as soon as the party was over he was going back to OVW and not sticking around to be with his kids. Then we went outside and argued more, about his job and school and training vs. my job and taking care of two five year olds." She said.
"Kayla doesn't he know what you do?" Shane asked.
"I told him today, it's nothing easy. Don't get me wrong I love my job, from helping the writing staff to setting up the ring. He just doesn't understand it." She said.
"Then he just really pissed me off and I told him not to talk to or touch me and he caught up with me and told me to think of the boys. Then I broke down and asked him why he didn't love the boys." She said.
"Does he?" Shane asked quietly.
"Yes he loves them very much, but the boys heard the ending part of it, they heard him say he didn't want them but he was there before that he said that he loved them and he didn't choose for it to be this way." She said.
Shane nodded.
"You'll go to your grave defending that man." He said.
"I'm not defending him!" she protested.
"Yes you are, he didn't want them but he's here now, he sends a check, he can't be there for them when they need him, it doesn't work with his busy life." He demanded.
"Shane it's not like that." She said.
"It isn't, because that's exactly what it sounds like to me. Men who work all day and night still make time for these kids, who aren't even related, let alone their father." He said.
"Shane I work for the company, of course you guys see them more." She said.
"I'm not always with the company, neither is half the roster, we get new guys, and trade guys, yet they still see them more." He said.
"Shane I don't want to argue." She said.
"I'm not the one arguing I'm telling the truth." He said.
She didn't look at him and kept herself busy with the dishes.
"You know I'm right and that's why you don't say anything. He's a great dad when he's around, I'll give him that. He just doesn't try to be around a lot." He said.
"Yeah I know but why do you have to point it out, we parted on good terms. I know he's going to be around less and less." She said.
"I don't want to think about it. I don't want to think my children are going to suffer because of it. They are going to grow up with no father." She said.
"They aren't going to grow up without a dad, well their real dad but all the guys and your dad and uncle. You are going meet someone and fall in love, and he'll treat the boys great like they were his own because he loves them and realizes they're the great. He'll love you because you're beautiful and talented. You're not afraid to work hard, and still have enough energy to come home to two kids." He said.
She gave him a watery smile.
"Shane you should be saying I told you so, not comforting me." She said and hugged him.
He held her tight.
"Why should I be saying I told you so?" he asked.
"You told me the day before we found out Josh was their father that he wouldn't be there, and you guys would. You were right he's never around and all of you are." She said.
"I'm sorry I was right I wish he would have proved me wrong, sweets." He said.
"Shane you're my best friend, I love you." She said and kissed his cheek.
He looked at her, he face was tear stained and red, her eyes watery and red rimmed, her lips trembled and he realized she had never looked more beautiful in her life than she did then.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead than pulled her close again.
"I love you too, sweets. More than you'll ever know." He said.