Title: Ride Of Your Life
Author: Adrian Jade
Summary: One day you wake up and realize that everything you thought mattered to you doesn't. John Cena has a girlfriend who he thinks he loves and a best friend who he knows he will always love. What happens when on a random pit stop to a Walmart they find something that could change all of their lives. John needs to choose where his heart belongs.
Disclaimer: I own all the people that you don't recognize. Everyone else own themselves and their characters belong to the WWE.
Chapter 12: Learning To Live Again
"You having fun baby boy" Ashley laughed as Phinnigan splashed bath water all around.
Phin giggled a little and continued to send water flying into the air. He loved any chance he got to make a mess. Ashley grabbed a cup full of warm water and rinsed his soapy hair clean.
"Mama" Phinnigan said.
Ashley sat there stunned for a few minutes. Phinnigan had just said his first word and it had been mama.
"Keegan, get in here!" she yelled.
Keegan, who had been tanning on the deck at the time, ran into the bathroom to see what was wrong. His heart was beating a mile a minute in a panicked state.
"What's the matter?" he asked with his hand over his chest.
"Phin go ahead show Uncle Keegan what you can do now" Ashley encouraged the toddler.
"Mama" Phinnigan said happily.
"Aww, Ash was that his first word?" Keegan asked.
"Yeah it was" Ashley was grinning from ear to ear by now.
"Good job little buddy" Keegan kneeled down so that he was level with Phinnigan "high five"
Phinnigan gave him a high five and then stood up and began swishing the water with his feet.
"Phin, sit down or you are gonna fall" Ashley warned him.
But he wasn't listening so Ashley scooped him up and wrapped a towel around his little body. Phinnigan whined a little and kept pointing to the tub.
"No Phin you didn't listen to me so now you are done with the tub for tonight" Phinnigan continued to whine.
Ashley got him dressed and put him in his stroller. She packed his diaper bag and grabbed her keys before pushing the stroller out the door. She walked with Phinnigan down the street to the little park by her house. They made a point to have a few hours of outside exercise if the weather permitted. Today was a very special day because they were going to be visiting with Randy and Dean. When Ashley got to the park Randy was just helping Dean out of the car.
"Auntie!" Dean exclaimed running to give Ashley a hug.
Ashley picked Dean up and spun him around in a circle. She then gave him a kiss on the forehead and set him back down on the ground.
"I missed you" Dean said.
"I missed you too baby" Ashley replied.
"Hey little guy" Randy said taking Phinnigan out of his stroller.
"Rans put you can put him down for a few minutes and let him walk" Ashley said.
"He can walk now?" Randy asked.
"Yeah but he really doesn't like to walk too much because he is spoiled and knows if he starts to whine I'll pick him up" she said more to Phinnigan than Randy.
Randy put Phinnigan down and both adults watched as he took a few steps. Dean took Phinnigan's hand and helped him walk into the park.
"I'll watch him for a little while" Dean said.
"Yeah and who is going to watch you?" Ashley asked.
"I don't need to be watched I'm practically all growed up" he said puffing out his chest a little.
Ashley couldn't help but laugh and Randy just rolled his eyes. He was used to Dean's little macho attitude by now.
"What's up with that?" Ashley asked as she and Randy had a seat on a nearby bench.
"I have no idea" Randy shook his head "he just started talking like that one day"
"I've missed you" Ashley threw her arms around Randy's neck.
They stayed that way for a few minutes and when they finally broke apart Ashley contented herself to resting her head on his shoulder. Ashley watched as Dean struggled to place Phinnigan in a swing.
"Dean … let me help you" she rushed over to the boys and helped Dean place Phinnigan in the swing.
Phinnigan giggled excitedly and waited for his favorite cousin to push him on the swing. Ashley walked back over to where she had been sitting before.
"What" she asked noticing the look Randy was giving her.
"There was no reason Dean couldn't have put Phinnigan in the swing by himself"
"I just didn't want him to get hurt" Ashley reasoned.
"I know but you need to let the boy grow up"
"Since when did you become the giver of parental wisdom?" Ashley asked.
"Since I know what I'm talking about … it's not easy raising a child these days but we learn as we go along"
"Riiiight" Ashley replied skeptically.
"Hey you wanna see my new ink?" Ashley asked pulling up her jeans so that Randy could see the tattoo that now occupied her right leg. There was a small set of foot prints that were outlined in black and colored in with blue. Underneath in beautifully done cursive it read Phinnigan William Joshua and underneath that was May 10, 2007, which was of course his birthday.
"Very nice" Randy said rolling up his own sleeve to show Ashley that he also had a tattoo for his son. On his left shoulder he had gotten Dean Andrew tattooed.
"I wish I could have been there when you got your tattoo done" Randy said.
"Yeah me too I would have liked to have held your hand while it was being done" Ashley said. She had 2 other tattoos both of which Randy had gone with her to get. The first tattoo she had ever gotten was of a Celtic cross in the middle of her back and her second was the Chinese symbol for love on the back of her neck.
"So how about we leave this place and you can show me and Dean around" Randy suggested.
"Sure if you want" Ashley agreed.
After a long day of sigh seeing Randy and Dean had to leave to go to a show that was being held that night. Randy desperately tried to convince Ashley to go but she still didn't feel that she was ready to see John. But it killed her not to be able to see her friends. She sighed as she got ready for work that night. Ashley currently had 3 jobs, not because she needed the money or anything just because it gave her something to do with her time. Monday through Friday during the day she worked at a day care which worked out perfectly because she got to take Phinnigan with her, so she was really killing two birds with one stone. On one hand she could keep Phinnigan close to her but he also had the freedom to interact with other children. On weekend nights Ashley worked as a bartender at a restaurant that a friend of hers owned and last but not least Ashley continued to work as a script writer for the WWE.
Tonight she was working at the bar. She was still kind of depressed about Randy and Dean leaving but it wasn't like she could never see them again. She just missed having her best friend around. She left her room and went in search of her brother and son. They were playing on the living room floor. Phinnigan was wearing his cowboy hat which he loved. For Halloween Ashley dressed Phinnigan up as a cowboy and Phinnigan had fallen in love with the hat and had insisted on wearing it whenever he could. Sometimes Ashley had to wait till he fell asleep to remove the hat because he would throw a fit otherwise.
"Ok you two be good while I'm gone" she told the boys.
"We always are" Keegan rolled his eyes.
"Phin needs to go to bed soon"
"Yes, ma I know" Keegan replied sarcastically.
"Come over here you little monkey and give your mommy a kiss" Phinnigan ran over to his mother and she scooped him up into her arms. After showering every part of his face with kisses she told him she loved him and handed him over to his uncle.
The bar was kinda quiet that particular night. Ashley sat around for most of the night not having anything to do. She was cleaning glasses when she heard someone have a seat at the bar. She turned around and a grin crossed her lips.
"Shane O' Mac, what brings you all the way out here?" Ashley asked happy to see a familiar face.
"I just stopped in for a drink … I had no idea you worked here" he replied.
"Anything you want is on the house" she said.
"That's mighty kind of you"
She grabbed two beers, one for him and one for herself. She took the seat next to him at the bar and was content on catching up.
"Steph told me about your divorce I'm sorry" she said.
"Don't be it's cool, me and Riss are still good friends and I get to see Declan and Kenyon any time I want"
"Well that's good" Ashley said.
"So how did you take the news of John and Kelly's engagement?" Shane asked.
Ashley's insides literally froze. She had no idea that they were engaged, how could Randy and her father for that matter keep that from her.
"Hey it's their life right" she said taking a swig of her beer "they deserve each other"
"I wouldn't go that far but I'm glad you got away when you did things are so much healthier for you and Phinnigan away from John"
"I just wish Phinnigan had a fatherly figure in his life" she found herself saying.
"Well I'll help out in any way I can"
"Really?" Ashley asked.
"What are friends for right I mean I know you would do the same thing for me and my boys"
"Yes I would"
They continued to catch up and have a few more beers. Shane was feeling more and more comfortable. He was never really a big drinker but he was having fun with this young woman.
"You know … Ash before I married Marissa I kinda had a little crush on you"
Ashley's jaw fell, there was no way Shane McMahon had just admitted to having a little crush on her.
"Really because I kinda had a little crush on you back in the day also" she blushed and hid a face for a few seconds.
Shane's face lit up at her admission.
"Why do you think I spent all that time with Stephanie when we were younger" she joked.
"Good point" he grinned.
"Hey my shift is over" Ashley said looking at her watch.
"I could give you a ride home if you'd like" Shane suggested hoping she would say yes.
"Sure"
Shane tried to hide it but he felt like a little kid at Christmas right now. You'd never know it under that cool McMahon reserve but he felt like a teenaged boy crushing over the most popular girl in school again.
They continued to talk about everything on the way back to Ashley's home. When they arrived Shane walked Ashley to her front door and they both lingered. Neither knowing what to do next.
"Well it's late and I should be going I have a plane to catch to Sydney tomorrow afternoon" Shane finally said.
"Hey Shane if you aren't busy tomorrow morning would you like to come back here and have breakfast with me and Phinnigan?" she asked him.
"It would be my honor to have breakfast with you"
Once again Ashley found herself blushing. Her whole body was on fire and for the first time in a really long time she didn't mind feeling that way. Shane leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
"Until tomorrow" he said before walking back to his car.
Ashley waited for him to pull out of her driveway before going into her house. She couldn't help but giggle excitedly. She felt like running around crazily yelling at the top of her lungs but she didn't instead she hurried to her room and got ready to go to sleep.