Chapter 3

Layne was laughing so hard, tears were streaming down her face by how flushed her brother became. "I really thought you had more brains than that, Code." She knew the Undertaker, Mark Calaway, from back in the day when she'd come on the road with her father when he worked for the World Wrestling Federation -now it was called Entertainment- and couldn't believe the man was still there. "So you three are Legacy?" She questioned, seeing them nod, and raked a hand through her hair.

"Legacy, Mom." Reed sounded exasperated. "Legacy is made up of Orton JR., Rhodes JR. and DiBiase JR. All- Hey, does that mean the American Dream is my grandpa?" Her eyes widened. "Whoa...I seen him on the Hall of Fame ceremony a few years ago and he was awesome!"

"Dad would love to meet her, Lay." Cody said quietly. "How OLD are you, Reed?"

"Eleven in a few months." She stated proudly and didn't notice her mother's head lower, too excited to be around her favorite Superstars.

Layne had to stand up and walked over to stare out the window, wrapping her arms around herself, angry tears stinging her eyes. She did not want to have this conversation with her daughter in the room because what she had to tell him was probably going to tear his heart in shreds.

Sensing this, Ted decided to give them both some privacy before food arrived. "Hey Reed, how would you like an authentic Legacy t-shirt?"

Reed's eyes lit up like stars as Ted lifted her up and Randy went with them, chattering away as they walked into the other room.

Cody wasn't as dumb as he pretended to be and his sister and friends knew it. He stood up and walked over to stand behind Layne, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder. He felt her tensing and sighed.

"Almost eleven, Lay?" He said softly. "Funny, you ran away ten years ago." He wasn't accusing her of anything, making assumptions; he didn't have too.

"I know." She whispered, letting a few tears trickle down her face and felt him slowly turn around to face her, staring into his blue eyes. "I was pregnant with her when I ran away."

"Why did you run away from your family when you knew we would help you?" Cody demanded, placing his hands on her shoulders, seeing her head lower and knew he wouldn't like whatever she was going to say. "Layne, what happened?"

"Damien..." Her voice cracked when she said his name, feeling her brother tense, and refused to look up at him. Damien James was one of Cody's best friends and she was secretly seeing him behind her brother's back when they were teenagers. "He raped me, okay?" She walked away from him, wiping the tears away, and felt chilled all of a sudden. "H-He raped me in the back of his truck of all places and then told me if I told anyone he was going to kill me." Damien was sixteen at the time and a troublemaker to put it mildly.

Cody was mentally making plans to look up his old 'friend' and take along Randy and Ted. "Why didn't you tell any of us?" He demanded, trying to be soft and caring, but damn it family was family. She was supposed to be able to tell them ANYTHING. "Lay, why didn't you come to us?"

"I was scared to death and didn't know what to do." She whispered, sinking down on the bed, and put her head in her hands as the tears continued falling. "I was a terrified fifteen year old that was raped by a guy I thought I could trust, a guy I thought loved me, and..." Layne couldn't go on because the painful memory of that night was slowly beginning to surface. "I took what I saved up from my job at the local diner down the street, bought a bus ticket, and never looked back. I started stripping when I was sixteen, shortly after Reed was born, and have been doing it ever since."

Cody was processing all of this. His big sister had been raped by his best friend and, instead of coming to her family with it, had taken off. Only to wind up a stripper with a rape baby. It was so damn cliché it would have made him laugh if it hadn't been HIS sister. As it was, he wanted to cry.

"Look, I'm sorry I hurt you, Dustin and Dad. I really am, but I was scared to death and did what I thought was right. I'm sorry..." She stood up, not able to take this anymore. "I have to go." Layne grabbed her keys and walked past him toward the bedroom when Cody stopped her. "What do you want from me, Code?" Her voice was cracking again, knowing he thought very low of her and, hell, that's how Layne felt almost every single day of her life.

"I want my sister is what I want. I want to get to know my niece and I want to know why you think running away is the best answer? You're a Runnels, we don't RUN away from anything, especially family. Dad and Dustin were worried sick about you. Dad thinks you're DEAD, Lay, and he's STILL mourning for you. You gotta make this right again."

"Are you out of your mind?" Her voice was becoming panicked as she shook her head frantically, more tears sliding down her cheeks. "No! No I can't, Code! Do you have any idea what would happen if I were to show up now? Dad would probably disown me and I wouldn't blame him! I'm a dirty stripper, that's what I am, and it takes care of my daughter! That's all I'm worried about and I'll do whatever it takes short of actual prostitution." She DID have limitations after all. "No, I can't. I can't go back, I can't face them..." Layne had to get out of there, feeling her heart pounding furiously in her chest. "Reed!"

"BUSY! We're playing the new WWE game!"

"This is not the answer, Layne. Running isn't the answer, so stop it." Cody ordered, grabbing her firmly by the forearms and pulling her back, staring down at his sister out of narrowed eyes. "Tell Dad whatever you want, I'll back you up on it. But he wouldn't disown you. You know him better then that. He LOVES you and we both know damn well he'd LOVE Reed too. Don't you want your family back?"

"It's not that simple!" Layne shouted at him and started crying harder, burying her face in Cody's neck as his arms wrapped around her, her arms going around his neck. "It's not that simple, Code. What am I supposed to do about my job, my home here?"

"Let me help you through this, sis. Let me help you for once in your life, please." He was pleading with her and slowly pulled back, staring into her sapphire eyes. "Let your family help you when you need it the most. Stop being stubborn!"

She knew he was right, no matter how hard she tried fighting it and slowly nodded before hugging him tighter, not wanting to let go. "I'm sorry, Cody, god I'm so sorry..." She whispered painfully, her heartbreaking sobs tearing throughout her body.

"Is my mom crying?" Reed asked, glancing towards the door, pausing the game so Ted couldn't cheat.

"No, probably Cody." Randy said seriously. "He cries a lot." He turned up the volume, looking at the door as well, exchanging a look with Ted. He could only hope the siblings were getting this sorted out because he didn't want to deal with a moping Cody Rhodes -Runnels- for God only knew how long.

The food arrived and Layne was in the bathroom washing her face, not wanting her daughter to know she was crying, and walked out with a bright smile on her face. It'd been an emotional night as Layne walked over to her daughter and sat down, smiling at Randy when he handed her the plate of spaghetti. "Thank you." She softly said, feeling her brother pat her shoulder, and placed her hand over his reassuringly. She was tired of running, it was time to face the music and gain her family back.

"Is everything alright?" Randy asked, glancing down at Reed, who was wedged between him and Ted while Cody sat with his sister. "You comfortable? I can move, sweetie."

"Nope, you're fine."

"Hey you know what Rhodes, why don't you see if you can't get your sister a job with us?" Ted suggested through a mouthful of food.

Layne choked on her food when Ted said that, coughing as her daughter patted her back, cracking a smile at her as she patted her chest.

"You alright, sis?" He asked worriedly, knowing that probably shocked the hell out of her. "That's not a bad idea though..."

"Though Randy would probably have to be the one to talk to Vince about it."

"Vinnie is still around?" She asked, grinning and seen her daughter smack of her forehead, pinching her side gently. "Do you KNOW how long it's been since I've watched wrestling, sweetheart?"

"Vince McMahon OWNS the company, of course he's still around." Reed looked at Randy with a raised eyebrow. "Did you really hurt him?"

"Only a little bit, sweetie. It was for a storyline. And why do I have to ask?"

"Because you're the top dog?"

"And Vince will listen to you?"

"What kind of job am I selling him?"

"No offense to any of you, but there isn't a job in that company that deals with stripping." She sighed heavily, suddenly not hungry anymore, but kept that smile on her face for her daughter's sake. Her mental anguish could wait, her daughter was more important, and she wanted Reed to think nothing was wrong. "How's your pizza sweetheart?" She asked, effectively dropping the subject. "After you're finished we have to get going."

"But mom!"

"Cody can come see us whenever he wants, but we still have a place here and I can't give my job up. Not to mention we have an early day tomorrow." That and she was desperately needing some sleep.

"Randy..." Cody was pleading now, looking over at his friend desperately.

Randy rubbed his chin thoughtfully, staring at Layne appraisingly. "She can be a valet for us." He said finally. "She's beautiful, has an attitude, she'd fit right in."

"Hey...you're right, she would."

"Have you three lost your minds?"

"Oh my god! My mommy is going to be with Legacy!" Reed was jumping up and down happily with the biggest smile on her face, clapping her hands and everything.

Layne knew damn well what a valet was and just crossed her arms in front of her chest with a raised eyebrow at her brother. "You've officially lost your mind. The SECOND Dad and Dustin see the damn TV they're going to know I'm back!"

"You need your natural hair color back though." Reed stated, eyeing her mother critically, and tapped her chin in thought. She looked the spitting image of Cody when she did that without realizing it.

"No, absolutely not."

"Uh, wasn't letting them know you're back part of the plan anyway?" Cody asked, shooting her a look. "Either you tell them or I tell them, either way, I'm not letting our father mourn for his daughter who is NOT dead. Besides, you have any idea how much money you could make? Not to mention full benefits for you and for Reed. You get those where you work?"

Scowling darkly, Layne knew he had several points and sighed, raking a hand through her blackish blue hair, knowing it would be the best thing for her daughter. "I just...I didn't think I'd have to face them so soon..." She grumbled, feeling Cody's arm wrap around her shoulders, letting her know silently everything was going to be fine. "I don't have a choice do I?"

"Let me put it this way, Lay, you either come willingly or we'll kidnap you." He was dead serious and his eyes showed it.

Sighing resignedly, Layne chanced a glance up at Randy, who was staring at her with unreadable electric blue eyes. "What if Vinnie doesn't allow it?" She finally asked.

"Leave that to Randy."

"Vince will allow it. He owes me BIG TIME considering what he wanted me to do to his daughter."

"You hurt her, was she really out all that time?"

"I caught her face before it actually got the canvas. You want to come with us on the road?"

"What about school?"

"Tutors!" Cody was getting really excited about all of this.

Layne was feeling dizzy as she stared back at her daughter, seeing she was excited as well, nodding despairingly. "Alright, we're going on the road." She grunted when Reed tackled her with a hug and smiled, burying her face in her daughter's chestnut locks, closing her eyes as a few tears slipped down her cheeks. Her father and Dustin were going to beat the living hell out of her when they finally saw her again. Hell, she'd deserve it too, but she couldn't pass up this opportunity either.

"So...we leave tomorrow afternoon. How much time do you need to quit and grab some stuff so you can come-"

"Don't you think Randy ought to talk to Vince first?"

"If Layne wants to come tomorrow, let her. I can handle Vince." Randy said confidently, having finished his meal, and was now polishing off a bottle of water.

"Thank you, Randy." Layne said softly, seeing him nod, and stood up as she stretched before cracking her neck and back. Feeling the wad of money in her pocket, Layne sighed as she whipped out the hundred dollar bill Ted gave her earlier that night, and handed it back to him. "I do believe this belongs to you." She winked when he took it and lifted her daughter up in her arms. "We really need to go now, sweetheart, if we're going on the road. We have to pack and everything." She looked at Cody, seeing the worry in his eyes, sighing jadedly. "I'm not going to run."

Nodding, Cody knew all he could do was trust her and stood up, jotting down his cell phone number, the hotel's address and room number, knowing he was now being a moron, but couldn't stop himself. "Please, come with us." He said softly, holding the paper out to her, not caring if he was being a sentimental fool in front of the guys.

"Come with us, Uncle!"

"You'd have to sleep on the couch." Layne smirked when he groaned, patting his shoulder, and kissed his cheek. "I won't run for two reasons. One, I would never do that to my daughter and two, you're right. I have to stop running and...I have to face Dad and Dustin. It's time to stop running. I'll be here tomorrow." She tapped his nose before turning to face Randy and Ted. "I'm sorry about all of this...and about earlier." She cracked a small smile at them, shocked when Ted hugged her before Randy followed, inhaling his scent. Randy smelled incredible as she pulled back, seeing her daughter grinning, and kissed her forehead. "We have a lot to do, young lady."

"I know, I can't wait!"

"I can go-"

"You have a photo shoot in the morning with me moron, remember? Some exposure for the rest of Legacy besides the big man." Ted shot Randy a smirk, laughing when Randy just shook his head.

"I can help you, Layne, if you need it." Randy offered, knowing Cody wanted her packed and ready to go as soon as possible.

"Please mom, please let Randy come! Pretty please?"

Layne stared back at him, seeing the pleading in her brother's eyes, not blaming him for thinking she was going to run off. "Sure, that's fine." She sighed when her daughter squirmed out of her arms and walked up Randy, shaking her head, though she couldn't stop smiling. She watched as Randy gathered some clothes for the following day and hugged her brother again, kissing his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow." She walked out with Randy and Reed, thinking maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Hey, one second." Cody grabbed Randy by the arm. "Not saying that you would or anything, but she IS my sister and-"

"And I know." Randy rolled his eyes. "Man, you need to calm down. I'm going to help her pack and stuff, okay? DO NOT blow up my phone either." He added, knowing damn well Cody would, and followed Layne out.