"Mama.. We go back to Pop's for weekend?" Stella asked as her mommy packed them up, got ready for a weeks downtime. "Or we go back home?"
"No, sweetie, we're gonna go to Pop's." Mariah said quietly as she winced and remembered just what her daughter had seen, been raised in. Everytime she thought about it, she felt like a failure, or the worst mother in the history of motherhood.
"We gonna see my aunties?"
"Probably not, baby, they all have family they're gonna want to go back to." Mariah started as Natalya stepped in and cleared her throat as she said "Actually, if memory serves, Riah, we all said we'd come out and help you get the guest house at the ranch ready to live in?"
"You guys don't have to.."
"Look.. I'm not gonna put up with Tyson this weekend, not after our little fight the other night.. And you saw what Cam and Naiomi were going through with Jimmy and Jey, did you not? We could all use a girls weekend, and you need our help."
Mariah smiled, hugged her best friend as she said quietly, "You guys don't have to.." as Eve poked her head into the room and asked, "Room for one more? The fiance has conferences all weekend, I really do not feel like going home to the big empty house.."
"Sure." Mariah said as Eve smiled and then took a few deep breaths as she asked "So.. Jed or Jud, whatever his name is.. He hasn't tried calling or anything, right?"
"Last time we were on downtime, he made the mistake of crashing family poker and Dad and Uncle K kinda showed him what a Texas ass kicking felt like.. Uncle Steve was drunk but he had the shotgun loaded and aimed in his face before anyone counted to three."
"What was it like growing up around them?" Eve and Kaitlyn asked as Natalya groaned and said "Between my dad and uncles, her dad and his friends.. We never really had a dull moment backstage."
"Yeah. And when we weren't pestering them, we were pranking each other and the others.. Remember the zit cream in Sable's shampoo?"
"Oh my God, I almost forgot about that!" Natalya laughed as the two women looked at each other and then at Stella as they both said quickly, "No ideas."
The laughing from the hallway of the hotel had them all looking up, and they all rolled their eyes at Brie, Nikki, Layla, AJ standing there.
"What? Want your asses kicked again before we hit the road?" Mariah asked as she held her hand over her daughters ears while Stella grumbled about it.
"No, we just came by to tell you idiots that you might have won the last two fights, but we're gonna get you all." AJ said as she giggled and bounced around on her tiptoes.
A male voice from behind her had them all looking as he said snidely, "Shove off and go play in traffic. All of you. Before the crazy comes out." as Dean Ambrose stepped into view.
"What do you want?"
"We need to have a serious talk." Dean murmured as Mariah looked at him with a raised brow.
He kept eyeing her daughter and then she asked cautiously, "What?"
"I really don't think you want it coming out in here, now do ya?" Dean asked, obviously worked up, a little angry.. See, he'd done the math since he figured out Mariah was the same girl he'd been with off and on during CZW.
Didn't matter that he probably did it wrong, but.. all in the same, if there was even a small chance that Stella was his, you're damn right he was confronting Mariah. Even though as he stood here, he had to ask himself, what if she WERE his..
He'd never had a dad, what the heck even made him think he could begin to even be one?
Roman's words, sagely spoken just moments ago when he'd finally had his arms twisted and told both Seth and Roman his thoughts, kept repeating in his mind.
'So go tell her.. Confront her about it, man. If you think Stella could be your kid, you better speak up now. At least try, damn it.. Do you really WANT Barrett raising your kid?'
Before she could say anything, he'd grabbed her, speed walked out into the hallway, down the corner and around to a more private area with her.
"Why the hell haven't ya even bothered to talk to me?"
"What do you mean?"
"We dated almost two years off and on, woman, do not even lie, tell me ya forgot.."
Mariah studied him intently.. "Jon?"
"Finally.. It's about damn time, woman."
"In my defense, Jon, we really never dated... We just kind of fell into bed or something.. And I'm not that girl anymore. I have Stella.."
"I know.. There something you wanna tell me there, Ria?"
Mariah looked at him with a raised brow, then it clicked, what he thought. She grabbed her sides as she leaned over and laughed, then stopped, took a deep breath and asked, "You think... Oh man.."
"Damn it, why wouldn't I think that?"
"Because, Jon, for one thing, she's not your kid. And for another, had she been your kid, I'd have told you, like it or not. I'm not the kinda girl who goes around, lying to cover things up. It's easier to tell the truth, take your shit and get it done with."
"Yeah..." Dean muttered as he looked at her and then asked what he'd been curious about since they'd come to the same lineup again.."Why ya been ignoring me?"
Mariah sighed as she looked at him and said quietly, "Because.. You're not really known for the one girl, one guy kind of stuff, and if I'm gonna ever date again, I have to know that whoever it is, is in it for the good, the bad and the really, really ugly. We fought too much, and when you didn't come up and act like you knew me, I took it to mean that you'd forgotten."
"Yeah? Well obviously ya were wrong." Dean said as he looked at her, laughed a little and then said "If it makes ya feel better.. I was gonna come down here and demand to be in her life, if she was mine.. I still wanna get to know her.. Maybe get reacquainted with you too." as he eyed her warily, as if he weren't sure why the words were still even leaving his mouth as he said them.
"We can be friends. But like I've told everybody else, not really lookin for anything right now.. Still trying to fix my life where Jed messed it up."
Dean studied her a moment. Friends gave him leverage, gave him something to work with and anything was better than Barrett getting his claws in.. Even though he sort of had the feeling that the British male might have already done that very thing.
After all, she and Wade had some history too, he reminded himself.
"That all or?"
"That's all. Sorry, I just.. What did happen to Stella's real dad.. I mean I've heard it wasn't Jed.."
Mariah looked down, bit her lip as she said quietly, "Let's just say it's something I really don't talk about and leave it at that, okay?"
"Why the hell not?"
"Because, Dean, there are just some things about me I don't want all over the damn locker room."
"I'm not gonna tell anybody."
"Right."
"Fine, damn. But you will tell me sooner or later."
"No, Dean, I will not. I don't intend on telling anybody about it, to be honest. My daddy knows, my uncle knows, that's pretty much the only people who need to know it about me. Besides, why's it matter?"
"Because, Ria.. Whatever it is, sooner or later, it's gonna keep eating at ya until ya wind up either telling someone about it, or it ruins ya life.. Why do ya think I just go around being a psycho all the time? It's better than keeping shit in like ya do."
A throat clearing from behind them, Natalya pointing Dean down the hallway stiffly had Mariah almost laughing a little as she said "Relax, Nattie, he was just asking me something."
"Yeah? Well judging from what I heard about him, Ri, asking leads to a lot more with this one." Natalya said in concern as she added, "No offense." quickly, but avoided looking at him any less harsh than she had been when she'd come out to make sure her best friend was alright.
"Think about it, Ria." Dean called over his shoulder as he walked down to his room where Seth and Roman were waiting. And he had to let his mind process how oddly let down he felt at finding out Ria wasn't hiding Stella from him, Stella really was some other guy's kid.
And he had to fight the possessive jealousy that struck him with this realization. What was with him today? Lately?
"What the hell did he want?" Eve asked as she held Stella in her lap, looked at Mariah expectantly.
"Guys, oh my god.. He thought Stella was..."
She started to laugh a little and then said quietly, "He thought Stella was his daughter, from when we dated on CZW, and that I'd been hiding it."
"Is she?" Eve asked as she blurted quickly, "Sorry.. I just.."
"No, she's not." Natalya said quietly, as she looked at Mariah and then said "Mariah doesn't really talk about what happened, but trust me.. It's not a good story."
"How do you know?"
"We were out one night,before you found out about our little buddy Volt here, you got a little too far gone and you sort of told me?" Natalya said quietly as she looked at her best friend, bit her lip.
" haven't you ever said anything to me about it?"
"Because, I can tell it hurts to think about, and you still have problems dealing with it." Natalya said as Stella spoke up and asked, "You okay, mama?"
"Yeah, sweetie." Mariah said as she asked, "So girls.. Looks like we're having an all girls weekend/week?"
"Hell yes. I cannot wait."
"Me either. And Jimmy and Jey better not think they gonna call a girl and be all sweet. Oh no, sir.. This kitchen is closed until they realize that just because they get pissed, doesn't mean their ladies gotta suffer."
"Hell yes. Clank clank."
"I wanna ride a horse." Eve said in an unsure voice as Kaitlyn and Mariah looked at her, then at each other and then back, asked incrediously, "You've never.."
"Nope."
"Wow.. You're getting on a horse.."
"maybe a pony?" Natalya suggested then said "Baby steps. Trust me. Mariah let me ride a horse, and yeah.. I wished I'd have taken the old mare that Taker saddled."
"Hey.. Diablo NEVER went that crazy with me."
"Hell yes, he did."
"Okay, so it was one time." Mariah said as the women set to loading their stuff into the back of the truck that Mariah bought earlier in the week. Stella clapped her hands happily as she said "Fank you all for coming with us."
"We wanted to, Volt."
"Definitely. Can't have mama turning you into a little tomboy, right?"
"Hey.. There is nothing wrong with being a tomboy." both Natalya, Mariah and eventually Kaitlyn said as they laughed and said again at the same time, "Jinks."
A whole weekend/week lie ahead, they all needed the rest.. But what were they going to get into during their downtime?
A/N: Holy crap on a cracker! I'm so happy, so many reviews already, and I've only really just started this one! I love you guys soooooo freakin much, you're all amazing! I'm so glad you like this, I was worried it'd be a little too out there or something, but..
That said, I need to ask you guys something.. Who do you see with Mariah/Stella? I'm not even sure who she'd go with, I only have basic bare things figured out about her personality, actually.. I do know she's kinda like a country/biker/tomboy type and she doesn't take anyone's crap.. So yeah, that's all I do know for now.
Suggestions, ladies?
The chapter above.. I got inspired while watching Miz Tv for tonight. And yeah, while I'm not eve's biggest fan, judging by what the line up is as of late? I'd take her back over this crap with AJ and the Bellas. I realize that it all probably would never go down this way, but what the hell, right? It's my imagination, lol. Blame my overactive imagination..
Roman's not up for a pairing in this one, btw, just in case I actually pick up writing my roman x oc story later. But yeah, That's about it.
Thanks so much for all the reviews, I hope you guys are liking the story so far.