A/N: Special thanks to ghost303 for being the only person to review the last chapter.
[continued...]
The doorbell rang. "Babe? Can you get that?" Liz shouted from Michael's bathroom where she was giving him a bath. "Yeah, sure," Randy replied and went to answer the door.
Cort followed him as he jogged down the stairs. When Randy opened the door, there was a young girl standing there. She was very small, but Randy could tell she was older than she appeared to be. She looked to her feet; her wavy brown hair hid her face. Randy noticed that her toes wiggling inside her shoes. Clearly the little girl was nervous for some reason.
Standing next to her was someone who introduced herself a social worker. "Good morning. My name is Hope Townsend; I'm a social worker. Is Elizabeth Caro here?" she asked.
Randy nodded. "Yeah. Come in," he said ushering the two females inside, walking them to the living room. "Have a seat; make yourself comfortable. Can I get you anything to drink?" he asked. The woman shook her head, but the girl didn't respond at all.
His curiosity about the young girl was growing by the minute. "Liz!" Randy called up the stairs. "There is a social worker here to see you," yelled.
"Um. Okay. Give me a few minutes. I still have to get Reby bathed," she answered just as loudly.
Randy excused himself and went upstairs to help Liz. He woke Reby and gave her a bath before dressing her in a Disney princess lounge outfit. He picked up Reby and went to check on Liz and Michael. "Reby's all done. I guess I can start on breakfast," he said.
Liz nodded. "Take Michael with you. What did the social worker say she needed to see me for?" she asked.
Randy shrugged. "I didn't ask. There's a little girl with her though," he said.
Liz frowned. "Okay. I'm right behind you," she said. Liz checked herself out in the mirror to make she looked presentable to talk to a social worker; Michael had really put up a fight during his bath.
When Liz made it downstairs, she greeted the social worker with a smile. "Good morning," she said.
"Elizabeth Caro?" the social worker asked. Liz nodded. "I'm Hope Townsend. I'm here to discuss Taylor's living situation," she said.
Liz frowned. "Who's Taylor?" she asked.
It was the social worker's chance to be confused. "This is Taylor, Miss Caro," she said.
"Oh. Hi, Taylor. How are you?" Liz asked in an attempt to be friendly to the child. The young girl smiled and waved. Liz smiled sadly at the young girl; she saw a lot of herself in her. The young girl sat on the sofa as if she was afraid to get comfortable. "My name is Elizabeth. Everybody calls me Liz, though," she said.
Taylor nodded. "I know. Miss Hope told me," she said quietly.
Hope spoke up before Liz could ask any questions. "So, I'm assuming you've already read over all the information. I just need to know your decision before I sign Taylor up for any kind of alternate living arrangements," she said.
"What are you talking about? I'm so confused right now," Liz said.
"The paperwork. Have you read over it?" Hope asked.
Liz shook her head. "I don't know what paperwork you're talking about," she said.
Hope sighed. "Miss Caro, we sent you an entire packet of information to read over so you would be able to make a decision today. Taylor is already 10 years old and some children's homes don't allow children over the age of 10. Until you make a decision, Taylor is going to go into foster care. Meaning that instead of simply living in a group home, Taylor would be bounced around from house to house until a family is willing to adopt her permanently," Hope explained.
"But why do I have to make that decision? I don't understand why I have any say so in this. Where are her parents?" she said.
"Taylor's adoptive parents signed away their rights a month ago. They opened the adoption and decided that you would be her sole caretaker. I know it's a big thing to take in a 10 year old, so that's why the agency is giving you the option. We sent you all of this information in the mail weeks ago so you would have time to think it over," Hope said.
Liz shook her head. "I never got anything in the mail about this. This is my first time to even hear about Taylor and her situation," she said.
Hope thumbed through the file she brought with her. "Here, it says that my secretary sent the packet out on May 1st to 1864 Grover Circle… in Missouri," Hope took a deep breath. "I am so sorry, Miss Caro. We wrote down wrong address," she said.
Liz nodded. "It's okay. I have a question, though. Why me? Why not ask the birth mother?" she asked.
Hope frowned. "Um, you are her birth mother," she said.
Liz's eyes widened. "What?!" she asked. She looked at Taylor in disbelief. "Oh, no…" she said once she remembered. "I—I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say. It's been so long. I feel like a terrible person," she said.
"It's okay," Taylor said. "People forget about me all the time. I understand," she said.
Liz's eyes flooded with tears. "I'm so sorry, Taylor. I just… I didn't realize—"
Randy interrupted. "Do you want pancakes, Liz?" he asked.
Liz sniffled. "Come here, Randy," she said waving him over.
"Is everything okay, babe?" he asked. Liz nodded. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Randy," Liz started. "Do you remember what I told you about my prom night?" she asked. Randy nodded. "Well, I didn't tell you that I ended up getting pregnant. I was too young to know the first thing about raising a child, so I put the baby up for adoption. I never even got to see the baby; I never knew the sex or anything like that. As soon as the baby was born, there was a nurse who gave the baby to another family. I never even thought about it after that," she said.
Randy listened to Liz talk. "It was a closed adoption, so I never knew the adoptive parents' names and they never knew my name. I had never even seen pictures of them. All I knew was that there was a man and woman who had just learned that they couldn't conceive so they wanted to adopt," she said.
He nodded. "Okay. So what's going on? Why are you crying?" he asked.
Liz sniffled. "Randy, this is Taylor… my daughter. Taylor, this is Randy. He's my boyfriend," she said.
Randy stood speechless as Taylor waved at him. "Hi," she said shyly.
"Um, Taylor, would you like to help make breakfast?" Liz asked.
Taylor looked to the social worker who nodded. "Yes," she answered quietly.
Liz smiled. "My cousins Cort and Cassie and their mom will help you," she said. "The kitchen is right through there," Liz said as she pointed. Taylor nodded and walked off into the kitchen.
"I'm so sorry, Randy," Liz said tearfully. Randy took a deep breath and sat next to her. Liz buried her face in Randy's chest. "I should have told you; please don't be mad," she sobbed.
Randy wrapped his arms around her. "I'm not, mad, Liz. Everything is going to be okay," he said.
Hope decided to fill Randy in on what she had just explained to Liz. Randy listened intently until she was done. "So what are our options?" he asked.
"Well," Hope started. "We were hoping that Miss Caro would have made a decision about Taylor's living situation by now, but the information was sent to the wrong address. The options were to send her into foster car, become a foster parent to her, or become her permanent guardian by adopting her," Hope laid out the options with the expectation of Randy to think long and hard about the decision.
He nodded and looked down at Liz. "I don't want her in foster care," Randy said. "What would happen if we became her foster parents?" he asked.
Hope smiled. "She would live with you for a while until a family comes to the agency looking to adopt her. A lot of parents prefer to adopt children when they're younger, but it's not unusual for a 10 year old to be adopted," she said.
"So if we were her foster parents, another family could swoop in and take her?" Randy asked for clarification.
The social worker nodded. "Essentially, yes," she said.
Randy sighed. "So, if we straight up adopt her—"
Liz pulled away from Randy. "Randy…" she started.
"No, Liz. This is your daughter. It's not like we don't have the money or the room. We can do this. I can move in permanently and help you. There's nothing stopping us," he said.
She sniffled. "But with Reby and Michael, now Taylor… you really think we can do this?" she asked.
He smiled and nodded. "Yeah. You're strong enough for this, Liz. I know you are," he said.
Liz smiled. She couldn't understand how Randy could be so loving and accepting when she turned him down when he asked to marry her. "How are you being so nice when I told you I couldn't marry you?" she asked.
He laughed. "Because, I love you regardless. We may not ever get married, but I'll always love you. You'll either be my girlfriend for the rest of my life or you'll be my wife eventually. Either way, you aren't getting rid of me," he said.
Hope jumped in. "So, what is your decision, Miss Caro?" she asked.
Liz looked to Randy last minute confirmation; he nodded. "We'll do it," Liz said with a smile.
"Great. I just need you to sign a few papers and you'll be able to start your life with your daughter," Hope said. She flipped though the file and pulled out a several sheets of paper. One was a blank birth certificate.
"What's that for?" Randy asked pointing to the birth certificate.
Hope handed it to him. "You'll be able to change her first or last name. It's customary with all adoptions. I know you probably won't change her first name, but you can change her last name if you want," she said.
Liz chuckled. "What's so funny?" Randy asked.
She continued to giggle. "If Caro started with a 'K', Taylor's initials would be TKO," she said.
Randy smiled. "You'd give her my last name?" he asked.
"Duh," Liz said as she rolled her eyes. As she wrote "Caro-Orton" in the box designated for last name, Liz noticed that the middle name was empty. "What's her middle name?" she asked Hope.
Hope looked though the information she had. "She doesn't have one," she said.
Liz nodded. "Taylor!" she called the 10 year old from the kitchen. Soon enough, Taylor was back in the living room.
Hope talked to her. "We noticed that you don't have a middle name. Do you want one?" she asked.
Taylor's eyes lit up. "I can get a middle name?" she asked. Liz nodded. "All my friends have middle names but I don't. All of them have other people's first names for a middle name. Can I have my mom's first name as my middle name?" she asked.
Hope nodded. "Of course. So Taylor Victoria?" she asked.
Taylor shook her head. "Taylor Elizabeth," she said.
Liz gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Randy smiled and took the papers from Liz and filled them all out. "Okay," Randy said. "Your name is now Taylor Elizabeth Caro-Orton. You like it?" he asked her.
The 10 year-old nodded. "Yeah. So you're my daddy now?" she asked.
Randy smiled and nodded. "Yep, and you've got a little brother named Michael and a little sister named Reby," he said.
"They're in the kitchen making pancakes. I like them," she said.
Liz and Randy smiled. "Is there anything else?" Liz asked Hope.
"Nope. That's it. I just have to notarize everything," she said. Hope pulled out a notary stamp and notarized all the paperwork; making the adoption official. "Congratulations. Have a great day. Let me just go get Taylor's belongings from the car," she said.
When Hope left for the car, Liz took a deep breath. "This week is already exciting. We have a 10 year old, I'm starting a new line this week, and there's a huge wedding this weekend; the bride is wearing my dress," she listed off happily.
"So I'm assuming we aren't going to Raw tonight," Randy said.
Liz frowned. "Why wouldn't we go?" she asked.
He smiled. "You'd still want to go?" he asked.
"Of course. Taylor is all the more reason to go. It'll be a great bonding moment for everybody," she said.
Randy nodded to agree. "Taylor, we're all going to a wrestling thing tonight. Would you want to go?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I guess," she said.
Liz smiled. "There are a lot of other kids there, too. Michael and Reby are going. The bosses have three kids, too, so they'll be there. I think you'd be the oldest of them, though," she said. Taylor smiled.
Suddenly, Hope reappeared with Taylor's suitcase. "Here you go. Enjoy the rest of your day. Again, congratulations," she said.
"Thank you so much, Hope. Have a good day," Liz said. "I'll walk you out," she said. Randy took Taylor back to the kitchen while Liz walked Hope back to her car.
"Can I ask you something?" Liz asked Hope when they were alone.
The social worker nodded. "Sure,"
Liz sighed. "Is Taylor upset with me for giving her up?" she asked.
"I don't think so. Her other parents were very angry people, so I think your family is an upgrade for her. If she is upset with you, all you can do is love her unconditionally and explain to her why you made that choice," Hope said.
Liz nodded. "Okay. Thank you," she said.
Hope smiled softly and got into her car. Liz stood there in the driveway and watched Hope disappear down the street.
Liz took a deep breath and went back inside where everyone was making pancakes for the house. Before she could get to the kitchen, she was intercepted by Cort.
"Why didn't you tell Randy about Taylor?" he asked. Liz sighed. "I know you got those papers. I saw them in your office," he said.
Liz crossed her arms across her chest. "Imagine growing up with a random family and knowing that your mother gave you away as soon as you were born. I didn't want to face Taylor after all this time," she said.
Cort nodded. "I can understand that, but why didn't you tell Randy? You supposedly love him, but you kept this from him. That's real fucked up, Liz, and you know it," he said.
"What I choose to tell my boyfriend is my business, Cort," she said as she pushed past her concerned cousin.
He sighed. "That dude is in love with you, Liz. The least you can do is be honest with him," Cort said.
Liz turned on her heel. "You don't think I wanted to tell him?! There are some things in my life that no one really needs to know. Taylor's birth was one of those things. The only people who knew were my parents. And apparently you because you can't seem to stay out of peoples' business. Now, Randy knows and he's okay with it. There's nothing else left for me to do!" she yelled.
Cort sighed and shook his head. "Whatever. But if you keep keeping stuff from him, it's gonna blow up in your face. Then, you won't have anybody to not tell your secrets to," he said.
Liz rolled her eyes and continued into the kitchen.
[later that night]
Randy, Liz, Taylor, Michael, and Reby all went to Raw after Liz's aunt and cousins left the house. Now, the newly expanded family had just arrived at the arena in Biloxi for Raw. As usual, Randy and Liz listed off rules for Michael and Reby.
"No running," Randy started.
"And no fighting," Liz said. "If you can't see us, we can't see you; so make sure you stay in our sight at all times," she continued.
Randy thought of an important one. "Be nice to the other kids. You'll be in so much trouble if we find out you weren't playing nice. Understand?" he said.
Reby and Michael nodded.
"Um, Taylor, you can hang out with me or Randy tonight. We'll just hang out backstage until the show starts, then we'll go to our seats in the audience," Liz said.
Taylor nodded; Liz and Randy had already noticed that she was shy. They hoped that she would soon open up.
Almost immediately after the stepped out of the car, Liz saw Dolph walking into the arena.
"Lizzy!" Dolph waved as he approached the family. "I had no clue you were coming. Why didn't you call; I could have gotten you some comp tickets?" he asked as he hugged her.
Liz smiled. "It was sort of last minute. Plus, Randy called Hunter this morning and got us some," she said.
Dolph laughed. "Oh, yeah. I forgot that Randy was tight with the boss man," he said before shaking Randy's hand.
"Hey, booger," Dolph said, ruffling Michael's hair. He bowed before Reby. "Hello, Princess," he said. He noticed the brown haired girl standing behind Randy. "And who is this beautiful little girl?" he asked as he inched towards her.
Taylor whimpered and tried to hide behind Randy. Randy smiled softly and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "It's okay, Taylor. He's a friend; that's Dolph. Dolph this is Taylor," Randy introduced them.
Taylor looked to Liz fearfully. "Go on, it's okay," she said. Taylor gulped and waved at Dolph.
He smiled. "Reby and Michael call me Dolphin, you can, too," he said.
The shy girl smiled. "Hey, Dolphin," she said quietly.
Dolph could tell by her smile that she was somehow related to Liz; then he remembered that Liz was an only child. He frowned in curiosity. "How old are you?" he asked.
"10," she answered simply.
His eyes widened then he looked to Liz and Randy; they each nodded. "Well, then, Taylor. How about we all go inside and say hello to your mom and dad's friends? They aren't as cool as me, but you'll like them," he said.
Taylor sort of chuckled. As the family started walking, Reby and Michael took off running. "NO RUNNING!" Liz, Randy, and Dolph all yelled.
Once they were all inside, Michael and Reby decided to follow Dolph; Randy and Liz were okay with that. They went to find Hunter and Stephanie to introduce them to Taylor.
"You know, Taylor, I used to be a wrestler; I just retired a few months ago," Randy said.
Taylor nodded. "I know," she said. "When Miss Hope told me about my mom, I looked her up on the internet and you popped up so I read all about you," she said.
Randy chuckled. "You read all about me, huh? What did you find out?" he asked.
"Well," Taylor started. "It said that you're really mean. And that you pooped in a lady's purse. And that you killed people," she said.
He sighed. Liz took a deep breath. "Come sit down, Taylor," she said. At a small table, Liz, Randy, and Taylor all sat down. "A long time ago, Randy was very hostile and angry all the time; he had to go to anger management. He's not that mean, anymore," Liz explained.
Randy nodded. "And I was really cocky; but I'm not like that anymore. You can ask Hunter and Stephanie in a minute when you meet them," he said.
Taylor nodded. "But did you really kill people?" she asked.
Reluctantly, Randy nodded. "Your mom means a whole lot to me. I thought a man was trying to hurt your mom, so I beat him up. He died because of the injuries; I didn't kill him on purpose. I didn't kill the other guy on purpose either. I was mad at him, though; he was hurting your mom and I was really upset about it," he said.
The young girl frowned. "But I thought you said you went to anger management; that you aren't angry anymore,"
Randy smiled; she was a smart girl. "Yes, but when you love somebody as much as I love your mom, you'll do anything to protect them. He was a very bad man and even though I didn't mean for him to die, he deserved it for what he did to your mom," he said.
Taylor looked to Liz. "Is that the man who raped you?" she asked.
Liz took a deep breath and looked at Randy. They knew that, one day, they would have to explain to Michael and Reby what happened, but they thought that day was years down the line. Now that Taylor had come into their lives, they were faced with the dilemma of explaining Liz's relationship with Wade.
Liz nodded eventually. "Yeah," she said sadly.
"I read that on the internet, too," Taylor paused. "I'm sorry my real dad raped you," she said quietly.
Randy clenched his jaw to prevent getting emotional; Liz gasped and hugged Taylor tightly. "No, baby; don't apologize. None of that was your fault," she said as she stroked Taylor's wavy brown hair.
"But you gave me away 'cause of him," Taylor said tearfully.
"That's not true, Taylor," Randy said. "Your mom was only 17 when you were born. She wasn't old enough to take care of a baby," he said.
Liz nodded. "I was too young, sweetie. I thought it was best for you to have a mom and a dad who were married. I was 17; single; and alone. Looking back, my parents could have helped out, but that wasn't their responsibility. It's not your fault that I put you up for adoption, baby. I just thought you would have been happier. I'm so sorry if my decision hurt your feelings," she said.
Taylor nodded. "Were you on that show about those 16 year olds who get pregnant?" she asked.
Liz and Randy chuckled. "No," Liz said. "That show wasn't around back then," she said.
Randy stood from the table. "Let's go see Hunter before the show starts," he said.
Liz and Taylor stood from the table and followed Randy to the COO's office.
Even though Taylor's presence was a shock to both Liz and Randy, they knew that she was going to be a great form of therapy for Liz. Taylor was a gateway for Liz to open up about her past and how it has affected her life. Taylor's presence also gave Liz a lot more to think about as it relates to marrying Randy. They were now parents to three children, Randy was about to move in with her, and her business was taking off. All of that just made marriage seem more logical. However, all of that wouldn't change how anxious she was to dive into a legally binding commitment with a man she had known her entire life… actually, that sounds like a pretty genius thing to do.
A/N: Please review! Shout out to ghost303!