Chapter 11
Ted and Cody were waiting for them when they got backstage. As soon as Randy and Layne were behind the black curtain, they were DOUSED in champagne. Laughing, Randy held his hand up in front of his face, his newly acquired championship belt over his shoulder.
"YOU DID IT!"
Reed was steering clear of the alcohol, laughing as her mom and Randy got drenched.
Layne squealed as she was soaked from head to toe in champagne by Cody and Ted, laughing and standing behind Randy, who was getting the majority of it. She didn't care if the dress was ruined or not, this was a great moment as she raised Randy's hand again and hugged him tightly. "Congratulations." She whispered in his ear as he squeezed her back before turning around, seeing Reed was still cracking up. "Come here!" She lifted her daughter in her arms and rained kisses all over Reed's face, causing her to giggle and squirm before spinning her around in a circle. "Now you're covered, somewhat."
"Oh gross, mom, seriously. TEDDY BEAR, NO!" Reed shrieked, laughing outright as clear soda was sprayed on them next.
"There we go, baby girl!"
Randy was just grinning, champagne dripping off of him, brushing it from his eyes while Cody hoot and hollered. He watched Layne, licking his lips, and knew something pivotal had happened out in that ring. More then just him winning the gold.
Layne laughed as she held her daughter close to her, kissing her forehead before setting her down, hugging Ted and then her brother. She didn't want to think about her father and Dustin at the moment and refused too as all five of them went into a group hug; Reed finally hugging Randy around the neck while he held her.
"Can I hold it?" Reed asked and grinned when Randy put her on his shoulders, the title belt held up high for everyone to see and brought it down as she stared at it in awe. "I can't believe I'm holding the title. Mom, this is so cool!"
"I know, sweetheart, I know." She was snapping a few pictures with her cell phone that Cody brought her.
"Congratulations, Randy."
Randy spun around to grin at The Dream, shaking the man's extended hand with a grin. No doubt Layne would flee or freak out, but this was Dusty Rhodes. Contrary to his in ring personality, Randy had a lot of respect for the legends. "Thank you very much, sir."
Dusty's eyes strayed to his daughter and his grand-daughter, a smile on his face.
Randy had no idea what was happening next because Paul had come from behind the curtain and was now smothering him in a brotherly hug.
Layne wasn't going anywhere, refusing to let this moment be ruined because of her foolish mistakes. She was glad her father wasn't making a spectacle, though it didn't surprise her. He was a southern gentleman and had major respect for the business. She smiled as Stephanie walked over, the two embracing.
"I didn't hurt you did I?"
"Oh please, if I can take what Randy has dished out, I can take a simple bump off of the damn apron." Stephanie stated, causing Layne to smile as they embraced again.
Layne slowly turned around after Stephanie and Paul left, staring at her father and felt tears pour down her face when he pulled her in for a tight embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck. Dustin was standing behind them, his face grave as he took in the scene. When Dusty finally let Layne go, he pulled her to him for a hug. He was halfway tempted to kick her ass, but...She had some nieces and nephews of her own to get to know.
Reed was staring at the Dream as he stared just as openly down at her.
Randy and Ted both backed away; this was a family moment.
There were no words that could be said as she hugged Dustin back, more tears flowing, nodding when he whispered something in her ear.
"Mom, is this my grandfather?" Reed asked, chewing on her bottom lip, and grinned when Layne nodded. "Wow, the Dream is my grandpa." She sounded star struck and giggled when Dusty picked her up, hugging him tightly around the neck.
"I'll talk to both of you later on. This is Randy's night." She said quietly, seeing them nod in agreement and grinned tearfully as Dustin took Reed from their father, looking at his niece for the first time. Cody had been right in her returning. They didn't hate her, they were just glad to see her again and that she wasn't dead.
"So does this mean I'm not in trouble?" Cody asked hesitantly.
"Bud, you are always going to be in trouble. Tonight, we celebrate!" Ted said with a grin, looking at Layne. "You too."
"What about Reed?" Randy followed Cody's gaze to Dusty and Dustin, who were both smitten with Reed. "Ohhh..."
"Actually, I'm going to stay with my daughter. You three go out and have fun." Layne smiled at them before walking over to her father and Dustin, who were looking at Reed with such love in their eyes.
It tore her heart apart and pieced it together to see that, tears forming in her eyes, but she blinked them away. She had her family back and Layne would much rather spend time with them than go out partying with Randy. As much as it killed her, Reed would always come first as she kissed her daughter's forehead.
"Guys, I'd-" Randy looked at Layne, his eyes wide.
"Come on man, the championship, you HAVE too celebrate! Come on, the entire roster is going, Vince reserved the hotel ballroom for an after party." Cody said, glancing at Layne. "You sure you don't want to go?"
"It'll be off the hook."
"Huh?"
"You're going." Stephanie ordered, crossing her arms in front of her chest, still in her outfit. "Reed needs to spend time with her grandfather and uncle. You're going, end of story."
"But..."
"Mom, go on." Reed sighed exasperatedly, shaking her head, looking identical to her mother. "I'll be fine with the Dream and Goldie."
Ted started laughing along with Cody at the bemused look on Dustin's face, leaning against each other to keep from falling over.
"Oh Lord..." Layne groaned, shaking her head before looking down at her doused dress, sighing heavily. 'I really liked this one too.' She thought before looking up at her father. "I know it's a lot to ask..."
"Go on honey, we'll talk later." Dusty replied softly; too busy chuckling at his grand-daughter, already in love with her. "We'll be just fine, won't we sugarplum?"
"Yup!"
"Onto wardrobe!" Cody said, snatching Layne up on one side while Ted grabbed the other. "We kinda had them make a dress for you." He said, glancing back at Randy. "Hit the showers Orton, we're going straight to the party from here." He and Ted just needed to swap out their wet shirts and everything would be fine.
Layne laughed as she had no choice, but to be dragged by the arms down the hallway, blowing a kiss at Reed over her shoulder.
"Have fun Mom! Don't worry about me!" Reed called with a grin, waving, having been in on the plan with her Uncle Cody and Ted.
"Is there a way you can call me Uncle Dusty instead of Goldie?"
"But...that's your ring name, Goldust. Though Goldie fits better for me." She was sounding like she was in her twenties and she was nearly eleven years old. It amazed both Dusty and Dustin while she just chattered away. "You don't like Goldie?"
"Not really, baby doll."
"Hmm...How about Uncle Goldie?"
Dustin groaned while his father laughed.
At this point, Randy excused himself before he started laughing at the look on Dustin's face. The man would never live down Goldust, ever. Wondering just what kind of dress Cody had requested, he stepped into the shower. He could only imagine. Probably something involving a chasity belt. Snorting, he remembered that kiss from the ring, groaning and turned the sprays to cold.
Cody and Ted rushed off after dropping Layne at the Divas locker room so she could shower. She had champagne all over her so she couldn't very well get ready without cleaning up. Layne walked out with a robe wrapped around her and went to wardrobe, dropping the gold dress and heels off, smiling apologetically at both ladies.
"We kinda figured you'd get doused since Cody and Ted had it planned."
"Now come here, we have the PERFECT dress for you!"
Layne stared in the mirror twenty minutes later and smoothed out the material of her dress. It was a beautiful wine colored gown that flowed down her legs, hugging her curves and was strapless with a heart shaped neckline. Her back was bare and her breasts were covered perfectly. The dress was made for just her as Layne slipped a new pair of black open toed heels on before being guided to the hair and makeup department. She was ready when Cody and Ted came back, her hair down in loose curls that flowed over her shoulders and down to the middle of her back. She had a diamond studded necklace on along with a matching bracelet and earrings and her makeup was very simple. Black eyeliner and clear gloss. She looked amazing and Layne couldn't believe this was her.
"Oh man, we did so well." Ted said, eyeing her appreciatively, exchanging high fives with Cody. "You are SMOKING, Lay."
"Well, you look beautiful." Cody said, slapping his friend upside the head. They had also finished getting around while she was being dolled up. He arched an eyebrow when Randy appeared. "Oh yeah, thanks, outshine us all." He sighed.
Randy was wearing a pair of black dress slacks, shiny black dress shoes and a white button up shirt, his hair gelled into spikes. "What?"
"Thanks." Layne was busy trying to learn how to breathe again at the sight of Randy. That white shirt hugged his muscular chest to perfection, accented his tattoo sleeved arms, and brought out the blue in his eyes. She smiled as Janet finished up with her hair, fluffing it out and rolled her eyes when she was patted on the ass, shaking her head.
"Go knock'em dead, girl!"
"We'll meet you there." Tiffany looked at Cody and Ted with a smirk. "So, shall we?"
Layne blinked as Cody and Ted took the arms of Janet and Tiffany, escorting them out of the building. "Well, that's not something I expected to see."
"That makes two of us." Randy said, shaking his head, wondering how that had happened. He was still paying those two in Chinese food for when they had done Layne up for him on such short notice when she had first started. He turned to study her, now not under the scrutiny of Cody. "You look beautiful." He said, taking her hand and twirling her around in a slow circle, twice.
"Thank you and you don't look so bad yourself, champ." She grinned at him, her eyes sparkling, still not believing Paul had relinquished the title to him. Randy deserved it though and they were going to celebrate tonight like never before as Randy pulled her closer to him and kissed the back of her hand. "You were amazing tonight, Randy." She softly murmured, seeing the cheeky smile on his face, and felt her heart skip a beat. He had such a beautiful smile, he was a beautiful man in general, and Layne already knew she was falling for him.
"I had a good luck charm out there with me." Randy replied, unable to keep that grin off of his face. "To be honest, I didn't tell you how the match ended because I didn't know myself." He admitted, guiding her down the hallway now, his hand linked with hers. "Paul asked them to leave it blank so...He was really awesome though."
"He made the right decision." She softly replied, her heels clicking softly against the arena flooring as they headed out toward the limo that was waiting. "First class service for the champion, gotta love it."
She giggled when he rolled his eyes and slid inside, him following. Layne looked out the window and wondered how her daughter was doing, if she was driving her grandpa and Uncle Dustin up the wall. Then she thought about that kiss that Randy gave her in the center of the ring at WrestleMania and her heart began to pound. She would never forget that moment, not even when she was eighty years old and senile.
Randy studied her thoughtfully, arching an eyebrow when he seen a bucket of ice with a bottle of champagne chilling in it. "Um, want a drink?" He offered cordially. He had been champion before, but didn't remember this much damn attention being lavished on him.
Ted was a sneaky son of a bitch, not that Cody was aware of it.
"Sure." Layne smiled as she took the glass from Randy after he popped the cork, pouring each of them a fair amount. "Not that we haven't had enough of this tonight." She joked, hearing Randy chuckle, and stared deep into his eyes. "To the new World Heavyweight Champion and leader of Legacy." She clinked her glass with his and took a swig before looking out the window again. Her cell phone went off, causing her to pick it out of her purse, and answered it. "Hello?"
"Hey Mom! I just want to make sure you're having a great time and not worrying about me." Reed's sweet voice sounded, giggling when Uncle Dustin wouldn't stop tickling her. "Stop it, Goldie!"
Layne chuckled and shook her head when she heard that, taking another sip of her champagne. "I can't do that, sweetheart. You're forever on my mind. I miss you."
"Miss you too, Mom. Now have fun and remember, I'm FINE. Love you!"
"Love you too sweetheart." She murmured before hanging up and looked over at Randy, who was staring at her with those piercing electric blue eyes, sending her heart racing again. "She wanted to remind me to have fun and not worry about her." Reed was growing too fast as Layne finished off her glass of champagne.
"Well," Randy said slowly, sipping his champagne, blue eyes sparkling. "I think you should listen to her. Enjoy yourself Lay, you've earned it." He whispered, clearing his throat to rid himself of the huskiness that had suddenly emerged. "Oh...we're here." He sounded surprised.
She smiled back at him as the door opened and took his hand as she slid out of the limo, her eyes widening slightly at all the decorations. This was incredible as Layne allowed Randy to guide her inside, hearing the music and seen everyone was reminiscencing, having a great time. She saw her brother and Ted with Tiffany and Janet, shaking her head while they were bombarded with congratulations, mostly to Randy. Layne was so proud of him and it did her heart good to see him happy.
