Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, other than Brielle and Lilly.
Rated: M
Warning(s): Slash, Het, Stripping, Exotic Dancing, Domestic Violence, etc.

Chris Jericho walked over to the front desk, an official court document in his hand. It was time to make up for all of the time that he had lost with that beautiful child. It was time to fix this. "Excuse me, ma'am?"

The woman stuffed a few sheets into a folder and looked away from her desk. "What can I do for you, sir? Do you need directions to a patient's room, or are you here about specific care for a family member?"

"Actually, neither." Chris smiled as he handed over the document. "You see, a few weeks back, my daughter was brought in because she suffered a massive heart attack. Her name is Brielle Copeland."

The woman's face lifted at the name of the child. "She's your daughter? Oh, Brielle is such a dream! I wish all of the kids in the pediatric ward could be so well-behaved."

"I'm glad to hear that she hasn't been a hassle." Chris continued to flare his disarming smile. "I have a bit of a dilemma involving Brielle, however. I have a court order that grants me emergency custody of Brielle."

The woman's face fell as she read over the order. Most of it was complaints about abuse from the child's mother, Adam Copeland. "Mr. Jericho, when Brielle was first checked in, we checked her for abuse. She was clear."

"Oh, but I've seen him hit her. In fact, I'm having my own personal PCP look into whether or not her heart attack was caused by the stress of it all. Having a prostitute for a mother can do that to you." Chris hissed.

"Mr. Jericho, Brielle was born with a medical condition -," the woman tried to intervene, but it was to no avail. Chris was determined to have his way and he wasn't about to be deterred.

"Now, if you would be so kind as to release her into my care. I have to take her back home, where she will be safe and sound from that monster that thinks that he can call himself a man." Chris said.

The woman looked over the court order one last time. She felt a sick twist in her stomach as she read over all of the accounts of abuse listed there. She was a mother too, but she also considered herself to be an excellent judge of character. When she had seen Adam, she had seen a mother that would fight tooth and nail to save their only child. When she had seen him, she had seen a little bit of herself.

However, she also knew that severe penalties often followed if a court order was not obeyed. She had three children and needed to put food in their mouths, and she couldn't do that without a little extra cash to throw around. So, with a heavy heart, she signed off the release documents with Chris' name and handed them to him. He took the sheets that dealt with Brielle's after-care, before he signed his name on the line and handed it back to her.

He didn't even wait to find out which room she was in. He already knew. And with a smile on his face that was easily a mile wide, he entered the room and found Brielle on her bed, idly playing with her baby doll. She had no clue as to what was about to happen. It could be blamed on her childish innocence, but it could also be blamed on her father's cruelty for desiring to take her away from the only parent that she had ever known.

Brielle turned to face him. This was the first time that he had seen her without an oxygen mask on. She was absolutely beautiful. "Who are you?" She asked him, her voice tiny and hoarse.

"Who am I?" Chris pointed to his chest. Brielle nodded. "Well, I'm your Daddy. Chris Jericho. And I'm here to take you home with me. There will be lots of dollies for you to play with and a swing set in the backyard."

Brielle blinked at him slowly, her blue eyes shimmering with confusion. "Where is Mommy? Did he say that I could leave with you?" Brielle asked him innocently.

Chris was silent for a moment, before he said, "Your Momma was busy, so he told me to come pick you up."

Brielle continued to look at him in disbelief. "But he always comes and sees me. Every day."

Chris was quickly becoming exasperated with her. "Well, not today. He had other stuff that he needed to do, I guess. But enough about him. Is all of your stuff packed?"

Brielle motioned to the little Barbie suitcase in the corner of the room. "Was the other stuff more important than me?" She asked, afraid.

Chris sighed, before he turned around to face her. "I guess to him it must have been. But don't you worry, baby. You are my number one priority from here on out. Do you understand me?"

Brielle nodded sadly, still terribly confused. "Yes, Daddy."

Chris smirked. So, it wouldn't take much to have the baby brat acquaint herself with him after all. Honestly, he wished that he could be there when Adam arrived and found that Brielle had already been checked out of the hospital. However, he couldn't. Once he had Brielle, they would be on the first flight over to Winnipeg. Chris wasn't about to let anyone or anything come between him and Brielle again.

Once Brielle was dressed, Chris scooped her into his arms and rolled the suitcase out behind them. Brielle rested her blond head on his chest, uncertain of what the future held. All she knew was that her Mommy hadn't come to see her and that this man said that that meant he didn't want her anymore. In her childish mind, that was all of the confirmation she needed. Adam didn't love her, so she would leave with Chris, who did.

Mark had almost made a full recovery from the bullet wound that he had received. It wasn't totally healed, no. That would take several months and it was likely that he would be heavily scarred for the rest of his life. However, each day he worked on his stamina and now he was able to walk up and down the hall twice a day. It was a considerable improvement from the bedridden man that he had once been. Now, at least he could view the world vertically.

Occasionally, he would receive word about his husband. It was never more than a passing comment here or there. The doctors claimed that it was because he had made such amazing progress; they didn't want it to be stunted by an extreme lapse of emotion. Mark was worried about him, sure. But after the first few weeks, he just didn't ask anymore. It wasn't worth the stress and, as he would soon find out, it was a waste of his breath.

Then, there would be days like today. Today, Vince had closed the club early and had come down with Lilly just to brighten up his day. Mark was always thankful to see his daughter, the little bundle of energy. But today, the blond doll had her hair all curled and she wore a fancy new dress, which had been a gift from her Uncle Vince. Proudly, she danced around the room to show it off to her Daddy.

"You look beautiful, Flower." Mark told her. Lilly smiled and bounded over to him, before she slid onto the foot of the bed and offered him a big smile. "What is it, baby?"

"I got a message from Momma." Lilly told him. "He told me to tell you that he loves you very much and he's sorry that he can't be with you. He's got a lot of booboos and they hurt a lot more than the doctors thought they did."

Mark smiled at her, proud that she had remembered all of that information. Lilly seemed to have a two-second memory, after all. "Well, thank you for passing that message along, Flower."

"You're welcome." Lilly said, proud for the praise she had received. "Hey, Daddy?"

"What is it, baby?" Mark asked.

"How does your booboo feel? Is it any better?" Lilly motioned to her heart, which was where Mark had been hurt.

Mark looked down at his own heart, which was still heavily covered in gauze and tape. Sometimes, he felt like a mummy. With all of the wires going in and coming out of his body, he could also be mistaken for the bionic man. But when he looked back at Lilly, he could see the seriousness in her little eyes. She was honestly afraid. And as her father, he needed to reassure her. He needed to make all of those fears vanish.

"I feel just fine, baby-doll. My booboo is much better." Mark told her. "Pretty soon, I'll be out of here. Then, we can both go home and make Mommy a get-well-soon card."

"Really?" Lilly asked, already excited.

"Really." Mark confirmed with a small smile. There weren't words to express how much he loved his baby girl.

Randy and Adam had had a wonderful date. Randy had been the perfect gentleman and Adam had never felt more loved or appreciated. They had even planned to have another one next week. After Randy dropped Adam off at his house, Adam changed out of his nice clothes and put on the normal clothes that he wore – some loose jeans and a plain white t-shirt that was one-size too small, because he couldn't afford much more with Brielle's medical bills.

He walked back into the cool night air. Because there wasn't any gas in the tank, he would have to walk over to the hospital. Not that Adam minded. It was excellent exercise. He looked back at the house once to make sure that all the lights had been turned off. He had lost his keys and Jeff had his spare, so he couldn't lock the door. He could only hope for the best, which in this neighborhood meant that they didn't rob you of every last dime you owned.

The walk to the hospital was made in silence. All the while, Adam felt a sickening twist in his stomach that told him that something was wrong. What it was, he wasn't sure of. Maybe it was that maternal instinct that seemed to kick into overdrive whenever Brielle was sick, but the hospital would've called if that was the case. So what could be the issue? Adam continued to think this over as he entered the hospital and made his way toward the elevator.

Once he reached the floor that he desired, he walked out into the cool muskiness that seemed to be everywhere in the hospital. The sharp stench of disinfectant almost knocked him out cold. He coughed a few times to clear his throat and nose of the horrific substance, before he walked over to the reception desk. It was the same desk that Chris had visited a few hours before with the court order for emergency custody of Brielle.

"Hello." Adam said kindly. "I received a call earlier that said that my daughter was to be released today. Her name is Brielle Copeland." Adam stated.

The woman looked at him with wide eyes. So, this was the man who was accused of beating his child. She had heard about it around the floor, but now that she saw him… "What is your name, sir?"

Adam blinked. He had been there so many times before, and they still needed him to state his name. "Adam Joseph Copeland." He said.

"That's what I thought." The woman sighed. "Brielle has already been released from the hospital and into the care of her father. This was done due to a court order issuing him temporary emergency custody of the child."

Adam started to choke. "What?!"